Retail & E-Commerce

  • September 15, 2025

    Google Consumers' Attys Seek $85M In Fees For $700M Deal

    Attorneys who helped consumers reach a still-pending $700 million antitrust deal with Google in 2023 have urged a California federal judge to grant them $85 million in attorney fees, saying the settlement, reached alongside state attorneys general, was an "exceptional" result obtained in the "face of substantial litigation uncertainty."

  • September 15, 2025

    Rent The Runway Gets Investor Suit Trimmed On 2nd Look

    Designer dress rental company Rent the Runway convinced a New York federal judge to trim certain shareholder claims against it after the judge reconsidered an earlier ruling on a putative class action suit that alleges the company failed to inform investors about major challenges it was facing prior to its 2021 initial public offering.

  • September 15, 2025

    Bayer Urges 9th Circ. Not To Revive Tevra Flea, Tick Meds Suit

    Bayer is urging the Ninth Circuit not to grant a new trial over claims that it locked up the market for pet flea and tick treatment, saying the only evidence that rival Tevra showed a jury at trial was "highly dubious."

  • September 15, 2025

    California Judge Denies Smoke Shops' Bid To Halt Fresno Law

    The California city of Fresno can enforce its new restrictions on smoke shops, including limiting their number and banning them from selling flavored tobacco and cannabis products, a California federal judge has ruled, rejecting arguments for a preliminary injunction after determining that the controls are probably constitutional.

  • September 15, 2025

    Rolling Stone Publisher Says Google AI Robs Its Content

    Google is using its monopoly as a search engine to strong-arm websites into allowing their content to be fed into the tech titan's artificial intelligence machine, which returns a response at the top of every search page, according to the publisher behind Rolling Stone and Variety.

  • September 15, 2025

    Appeals Panel Says Wash. Spam Law Covers Recruiter Texts

    A Washington Court of Appeals panel said Monday that the state's commercial email prohibition extends to "text messages sent to further the growth or prosperity of a business," finding logistics company CRST broke the law by sending unsolicited recruitment texts to contractors.

  • September 15, 2025

    Shoe Brand Vans' Turnaround Turmoil Sparks Investor Suit

    Outdoor apparel company V.F. Corp. has been hit with a proposed securities class action accusing it of misleading investors about the progress it made on a corporate turnaround strategy intended to return its shoe brand Vans to positive growth.

  • September 15, 2025

    Compass Diversified Faces Shareholder Suit Over $265M Deal

    Compass Diversified Holdings, a publicly traded statutory trust that buys industrial and branded consumer goods companies, was hit with an investor lawsuit in Connecticut federal court alleging that poor financial management of one of its companies ended up tanking Compass' stock price 62% years later.

  • September 15, 2025

    Hemp Cos. Say Okla. Police Wrongly Seized $125K Shipment

    Hemp companies on the East and West coasts have filed a $4 million federal lawsuit against Oklahoma officials who allegedly confiscated and ruined a large shipment of legal hemp, saying local law enforcement has refused to acknowledge that it was not marijuana.

  • September 15, 2025

    Comcast Says Wash. State Tax Unfairly Targets Online Ads

    Washington state's new law imposing sales tax on certain advertising services violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act and the U.S. Constitution, Comcast said in a complaint obtained Monday by Law360.

  • September 15, 2025

    Sears Investors Ink $9M Deal In Fiduciary Breach Case

    A hedge fund manager and his firm will pay more than $9 million to end a long-running lawsuit alleging that they shortchanged investors when they took Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. private in 2019, according to a deal filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery.

  • September 15, 2025

    Judge Says Key DOJ Ad Tech Expert Has Little Experience

    A Virginia federal judge signaled trouble ahead Monday for U.S. Department of Justice efforts to paint the sought breakup of Google's advertising placement technology business as technically feasible, asserting during a hearing that a key government witness appears to have little relevant experience to address the question.

  • September 15, 2025

    Stop & Shop Says Too Late To Swap Plaintiff In Wipes Suit

    Stop & Shop on Monday urged a Massachusetts federal court to deny a bid to substitute new plaintiffs in a suit alleging its flushable wipes are not flushable as advertised, saying the plaintiff hasn't shown good cause for the change 14 months after the amendment deadline.

  • September 15, 2025

    Ill. Court Backs Sanction Over 'Smoking Gun' Email In Buyout

    An Illinois state appeals court has affirmed sanctions against an export company and its counsel, citing their failure to disclose a "smoking gun" email that undermined claims the company relied on a financial summary prepared by its accounting firm and ultimately paid too much to buy out a co-owner.

  • September 15, 2025

    Trade Court OKs 4th Try To Justify Chinese Floor Duties

    The U.S. Court of International Trade sustained antidumping duties on a Chinese wood flooring exporter after the U.S. Department of Commerce complied with a third remand order by the trade court to collect accurate data for plywood imports, according to an opinion published Monday.

  • September 15, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's governor weighed in on a challenge to recently approved state legislation that bars damages or "equitable" relief for some controlling stockholder or going-private deals. Meanwhile, Moelis told the Delaware Supreme Court that the struck-down stockholder agreement that triggered that legislation was valid. Additionally, one of two newly funded magistrates' posts in the Chancery Court has been filled.

  • September 15, 2025

    RI Opens Applications For Adult-Use Cannabis Licenses

    Rhode Island cannabis regulators on Friday opened applications for new cannabis retail licenses, signaling a significant step in the expansion of the state's recreational marijuana market following the state's legalization of the drug for adult use more than three years ago.

  • September 15, 2025

    US, China Agree On TikTok Ownership Transfer, Bessent Says

    The U.S. and China established a commercial framework for a deal with video sharing giant TikTok to transfer ownership of the app to the U.S., just days before a deadline to sell the app or shut it down, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at a press conference in Madrid on Monday.

  • September 15, 2025

    Insurance Agency Says It's Not Liable For Lack Of Coverage

    An insurance agency told a Pennsylvania state court that it can't be held liable for a furniture company's roughly $534,000 cyber loss, arguing that under state law, there is "no common law duty to advise, inform, or recommend optional coverage to the insured."

  • September 15, 2025

    Cookie Buyers Can't Get Certified In Mistranslated Label Suit

    A California federal judge on Monday denied certification to a proposed class of cookie buyers alleging that tree nuts were omitted from the English label of imported Japanese cookies, saying individualized questions about which consumers read, relied on and were injured by the mistranslation would predominate.

  • September 15, 2025

    Ex-Boston Sports Clubs CEO Owes $6M Over Pandemic Billing

    The former CEO of Boston Sports Clubs is liable for $6 million in damages and interest, because he approved a plan to charge gym members while the clubs were shuttered at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, then thwarted customers' attempts to cancel their contracts, a Massachusetts judge has ruled.

  • September 15, 2025

    Segway Says E-Scooter Hazard Suit Doesn't Belong In Wash.

    Segway Inc. is urging a Washington federal court to dismiss a proposed class action alleging its electric scooters are shipped with a dangerous defect, saying the company doesn't have sufficient ties to the state for it to have jurisdiction.

  • September 12, 2025

    Albertsons Loses Bid For Docs On Kroger CEO's Exit

    The Kroger Co. does not have to turn over documents to Albertsons Cos. Inc. concerning former Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen's abrupt exit, the Delaware Chancery Court ruled Friday, saying that personal conduct that prompted McMullen's resignation wasn't relevant to Albertsons' litigation claims over the grocery chains' failed $25 billion merger.

  • September 12, 2025

    Cannabis Brokers Sue Over $250K In Unpaid Commissions

    Two brokerage companies claim they were never paid his commission for helping guide two deals worth roughly $1.7 million involving the purchase of Los Angeles cannabis permits, according to a California state lawsuit seeking compensation from the cannabis entrepreneurs and their companies.

  • September 12, 2025

    Regulators Seize $86M Of Chinese-Made Vapes In Chicago

    Federal regulators seized $86.5 million in illicit vape products at a Chicago port of entry during a joint operation, according to an announcement claiming the haul is the largest single confiscation of e-cigarette products of this kind and is part of the government's "aggressive" crackdown against youth vaping and "foreign actors."

Expert Analysis

  • An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

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    Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

  • Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

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    Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Lessons From Pa. Wiretapping Class Action Dismissal

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    A recent wiretapping class action in Pennsylvania federal court resulting in the dispositive dismissal of the action provides key insights on how online notice and consent can be leveraged to directly address and mitigate legal risks and class action liability exposure, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

  • Opinion

    In Vape Case, Justices Must Focus On Agencies' Results

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. Wages and White Lion Investments having put off the question of whether agency decisions arrived at erroneously are always invalid, the court should give the results of agency actions more weight than the reasoning behind them when it revisits this case, says Jonathan Sheffield at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

  • Series

    Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

  • Influencer Campaign Lawsuits Signal New Endorsement Risks

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    Recent class actions allege that companies' influencer campaigns violate the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides and various state laws, but it's not clear whether the failure to comply can sustain these lawsuits, or whether the plaintiffs' creative theory of damages will hold up to scrutiny, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

  • 5 Ways Banking Has Changed In 5 Years Since COVID

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    Since the start of the pandemic five years ago, technology, convenience and shifting expectations have transformed compliance for the financial services industry in several key ways, from the shrinking role of the traditional bank branch to the rise of fintech and mobile payments, says Christopher Pippett at Fox Rothschild.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

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    Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Making Sense Of Small Biz Fair Lending Compliance

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    Despite the uncertainty brought on by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent efforts to revise fair lending data collection requirements under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the compliance dates have not yet been stayed, so covered institutions should still start to monitor any disparities now, say attorneys at Frost Brown Todd.

  • Defense Strategies After Justices' Personal Injury RICO Ruling

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    In Medical Marijuana v. Horn, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act can be invoked by some plaintiffs with claims arising from personal injuries — but defense counsel can use the limitations on civil RICO claims to seek early dismissal in such cases, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

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    Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

  • 5 Insurance Types For Mitigating Tariff-Related Trade Losses

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    The potential for significant trade-related losses as a result of increased tariffs may cause companies to consider which of their insurance policies, including marine, builders risk, trade credit, and directors and officers, could provide coverage to alleviate the financial impact, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • How Cos. Can Mitigate Increasing Microplastics Liability Risk

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    Amid rising scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe of microplastics' impact on health and the growing threat of litigation against consumer product and food and beverage manufacturers, companies can limit liability through compliance with labeling laws, careful contract management and other practices, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • Home Depot Ruling Tolls Death Knell For 'Silent Cyber'

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    The Sixth Circuit's recent ruling that Home Depot's insurers did not have to cover costs from a data breach hammered one more nail in the coffin of silent cyber, where coverage is sought under standard property or commercial general liability policies that were not intended to insure cyberattack claims, say attorneys at Zelle.

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