Court Rules DOL's H-2A Farmworker Wage Rule Unlawful

By MJ Koo

A California federal court found unlawful a U.S. Department of Labor rule overhauling minimum wage rate calculations for H-2A temporary agricultural workers, ruling four rule components were arbitrary and capricious and the agency bypassed required rulemaking procedures without adequate justification while declining to immediately vacate the rule.

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Brief

Ill. Judge OKs Direct Buyers' Last Turkey Deals, Striking Trial

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge struck an October turkey price-fixing trial on Wednesday as he gave his early blessing to the last two settlements resolving direct purchasers' claims in the consolidated litigation.

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Publix Fights IRS Over Denied $2.6M Research Tax Credit

By Kevin Pinner

Publix is challenging the IRS' denial of a $2.6 million tax credit for research and development, claiming that the $38.3 million it spent developing software and private-label products should qualify, according to a complaint filed in Florida federal court.

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Ex-Josh Cellars Exec Balks At Bid For Lit Funding Probe  

By Aaron Keller

Companies behind the Josh Cellars wine brand should be banned from probing a former executive's litigation funding deal during a November trademark royalties trial, the executive told a Connecticut state court Tuesday, arguing his cash sources are irrelevant to his attempt to seek more than $4 million through contract and fiduciary duty claims.

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Eton's Galzin TM And False Ad Suit Survives Dismissal Bid

By Ivan Moreno

Eton Pharmaceuticals can proceed with trademark infringement and false advertising claims accusing Extreme V of marketing a dietary supplement as a Wilson disease treatment, with a Michigan federal judge finding that Extreme V's defenses and factual challenges could not dispose of the case at the pleading stage.

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Urban Farm Startup 80 Acres Files Ch. 7 With $100M-Plus Debt

By Emily Lever

An Ohio-based vertical farming startup, 80 Acres Urban Agriculture, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in Delaware with several affiliates and listing $100 million to $500 million each in assets and liabilities. 

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Target's ERISA Win Doesn't Ax Tobacco Surcharge Questions

Though a Minnesota federal court's recent dismissal of a putative class action challenging Target's tobacco surcharge wellness program offers employers a defense road map, courts' differing conclusions about the Employee Retirement Income Security Act versus U.S. Department of Labor requirements leave the legal landscape unsettled, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

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Calif. Bill Curbing PE Role In Litigation Heads To Newsom

By Lauren Berg

A California bill to ban corporate investors from influencing litigation strategy is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk after passing with bipartisan support from the state Legislature.

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Pillsbury Settles Ex-Recruiting Director's Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has settled a Black former director's suit claiming the law firm fired her weeks after she shared that she was pregnant and would need accommodations, according to a Tennessee federal court filing.

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DOJ Flags Breach Of Internal Policies In Apple Suit

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice told a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday that its staffers breached internal policies when they shared personally identifiable information with an outside discovery vendor that was hired not by the department, but instead by the DOJ's state attorneys general partners, in the monopolization case against Apple.

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Prosecutors Say Goldstein Must Stay Behind Bars

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday to keep convicted Supreme Court attorney Thomas Goldstein behind bars while he appeals his conviction, arguing that he remains a serious flight risk with wealthy overseas connections and "an ongoing danger" whose tax crimes continued "even after conviction."

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Arizona Atty Reprimanded For Series Of AI Errors

By Matt Perez

An Arizona federal judge has formally reprimanded a lawyer who admitted to filing four briefs that contained errors including false quotes and a faulty case summary generated with artificial intelligence amid an employment discrimination suit, noting the lawyer previously faced sanctions on two separate occasions for violating court rules.

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House Committee Wants DOL IG To Widen Info-Sharing Probe

By Benjamin Morse

Top House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans urged the U.S. Department of Labor's watchdog Wednesday to expand its review of information-sharing arrangements with outside groups, asking whether three additional agencies improperly disclosed confidential investigative material during the Biden administration.

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