Retail & E-Commerce

  • February 18, 2026

    Amazon Escapes Fired Pansexual Worker's Bias Suit

    An Illinois federal judge tossed a pansexual Amazon worker's bias suit claiming that a colleague called him a homophobic slur and that he was fired for complaining about it, ruling he can't overcome evidence that he was terminated for racking up too much "idle time" on the job.

  • February 18, 2026

    3 Firms Advise On $3.1B Mister Car Wash Take-Private Deal

    Private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners LP has agreed to purchase all outstanding Mister Car Wash Inc. shares not owned by Leonard Green affiliates at a $3.1 billion enterprise value, the car wash brand announced Wednesday.

  • February 17, 2026

    Unilever's Deal Over Benzene Allegations Hits Speed Bump

    A Connecticut federal judge on Tuesday declined to grant preliminary approval to a proposed $3.6 million class action settlement with Unilever to end claims that certain aerosol dry shampoo propellants contained benzene, saying the settlement class is too broad and that the covered time period goes back too far. 

  • February 17, 2026

    Walgreens Can't Ditch 'Dishwasher Safe' Cutlery Dispute

    An Illinois federal judge largely rejected a bid from Walgreen Co. and other companies to ditch a proposed class consumer suit targeting plastic cutlery that melted in a dishwasher, saying the customer has plausibly alleged that the utensils' front packaging label features a misleading claim that they are "dishwasher safe."

  • February 17, 2026

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Advance Auto Parts Fraud Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday declined to revive a suit by investors claiming Advance Auto Parts and its top brass misled them about the failure of a new pricing strategy and about accounting errors, ruling they failed to allege the auto parts retailer had wrongful intent.

  • February 17, 2026

    Atty Can't Both Lead And Rep Class In Lawsuit, NJ Court Says

    An attorney can't be both the lead plaintiff and class counsel in a class action, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Tuesday, leaning on a more than 40-year-old state supreme court decision in denying class certification in a lawsuit accusing an electric bike maker of selling defective products.

  • February 17, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Greenlights $71M Christmas Tree Patent Verdict

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a $71.4 million judgment against Polygroup Ltd. for infringing rival Willis Electric Co. Ltd.'s artificial prelit Christmas tree patent, rejecting Polygroup's arguments that the patent was invalid and Willis' damages expert should have been excluded.

  • February 17, 2026

    NC Justices Asked To Undo Earth Fare Founder's $195K Award

    Organic supermarket chain Earth Fare and its post-bankruptcy owner told North Carolina's top court on Tuesday that its founder can't recover damages for work he was salaried to do while revitalizing the brand, saying the justices should unravel a $195,000 unjust enrichment verdict in his favor.

  • February 17, 2026

    Union Says Express Scripts Diverted Billions In Kickback Fees

    A Chicago plumbers union healthcare fund told an Illinois federal court Tuesday that the nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts, violated federal criminal law when it used a Switzerland-based company to hide kickbacks it generated by charging drug companies fees for key placement on prescription plan drug lists.  

  • February 17, 2026

    Pepsi And Walmart Inflated Soda Prices, ND Businesses Say

    Pepsi and Walmart devised a plan to inflate prices for Pepsi soft drinks above competitive levels, two North Dakota businesses said in a proposed class action in New York federal court that alleges the companies violated federal antitrust laws.

  • February 17, 2026

    CoStar Rival Urges High Court To Reject Antitrust Appeal

    A rival accusing CoStar of blocking competition for commercial real estate listing services is urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to review a ruling that revived the rival's counterclaims, saying that CoStar just disagrees with how the appeals court viewed the allegations.

  • February 17, 2026

    NY Regulators, Cannabis Biz Challenge Town's Zoning Policy

    New York cannabis regulators and a licensed cannabis business have urged a state appellate court to find that the state's marijuana law preempts localities from enforcing more stringent location policies for marijuana stores than what is found in state law.

  • February 17, 2026

    Packaging Co. Says Stiiizy Owes $7M On Breached Contracts

    All Packaging Co. LLC is suing Stiiizy Inc., alleging in California federal court that the cannabis company is in breach of a pair of contracts and has failed to pay around $7 million under those agreements.

  • February 17, 2026

    Ga. Justices Order Do-Over In Challenge To Auto Dealer Regs

    The Georgia Supreme Court ordered a trial court Tuesday to redo its analysis of an electric carmaker's challenge to the state's prohibition on direct-to-consumer auto sales, ruling that the court failed to consider whether the ban comported with the state Legislature's constitutional prerogatives.

  • February 17, 2026

    Kids Cup Brand Says Testing Co. Missed High Lead Levels

    A Massachusetts testing firm failed to identify higher-than-allowed lead levels in a line of stainless steel tumblers marketed for children, leading to a recall of about 400,000 cups, the brand's owner alleged in a state court complaint docketed Tuesday.

  • February 17, 2026

    Fla. High Court Asked To Revive Pot Ballot Initiative

    The sponsor of a ballot initiative that would legalize recreational cannabis in Florida asked the state's high court Monday to take up its appeal of a ruling that said directives handed down to county election supervisors that invalidated more than 70,000 signatures were not unlawful.

  • February 17, 2026

    Full Fed. Circ. Won't Review Car Seat Patent Case

    The full Federal Circuit has declined to hear arguments from Wonderland Switzerland AG that it should undo a panel's reversal of part of a ruling that Evenflo Co. infringed a patent covering car seats.

  • February 17, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Lets Duty-Free Status Stick For Magnetic Dividers

    The Federal Circuit affirmed duty-free treatment Tuesday for certain magnetic shelf dividers from China, saying the U.S. Department of Commerce was allowed to use interpretive information to determine whether duty orders on flexible magnets applied.

  • February 17, 2026

    Battery Co. Calls Energizer's Trade Secret Claims 'Meritless'

    A California battery company accusing Energizer and Walmart of colluding to fix retail battery prices said Energizer's counterclaims of inducing an account manager to steal trade secrets were "tactical and meritless" and has asked a federal judge to dismiss them.

  • February 13, 2026

    Novel Calif. Data Deletion Tool Off To Hot Start, Director Says

    Despite a relatively quiet rollout, more than 170,000 California residents have signed up for a first-of-its-kind system that allows them to ask all registered data brokers to delete their personal information in a single request, positioning the tool as a strong model for other states similarly looking to boost consumer protections, the executive director of the state's privacy regulator told Law360.  

  • February 13, 2026

    FullBeauty Can't Nix Wash. Anti-Spam Suit As Unconstitutional

    A Seattle federal judge rejected an apparel retailer's arguments that a Washington state anti-spam law is unconstitutional and preempted by federal law, ruling that a consumer's proposed class action against FullBeauty Brands can move forward.

  • February 13, 2026

    4th Circ. Gives Models 2nd Shot At Suit Over Stolen Photos

    Several models who said a nightclub used their photos without permission will have another chance at pursuing their trademark infringement claims after the Fourth Circuit on Friday found that the models' failure to respond to the club's motion to dismiss within 14 days was no reason to toss the suit.

  • February 13, 2026

    PTAB Largely Invalidates Men's Underwear Patent Claims

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has thrown out most of the claims in a patent on tight-fitting undergarments for men, handing a win to challenger Tommy John after being accused of infringing the patent in New York federal court.

  • February 13, 2026

    Chewy Settles Antitrust Claims Over Elanco Flea & Tick Meds

    Chewy has reached a settlement with consumers in a case accusing Elanco Animal Health Inc. of paying several pet supply retailers not to stock generic versions of its Advantix topical flea and tick prevention drugs.

  • February 13, 2026

    'Bikini Barista' Owner Can't Nix Wash. AG's Wage, Bias Suit

    The owner of four Washington kiosks known as bikini barista coffee stands can't dodge the state attorney general's action accusing him of underpaying and discriminating against female workers, a King County Superior Court judge ruled Friday, rejecting the defendant's argument that the women themselves would have to sue.

Expert Analysis

  • Wash. Email Subject Line Ruling Puts Retailers On The Hook

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    The Washington state Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy, finding that a state law prohibits misleading email subject lines, has opened the door to nationwide copycat litigation, introducing potential exposure measured not in thousands, but in millions or even billions of dollars for retailers, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Series

    Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

  • How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

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    As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

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    Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

  • Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

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    State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • AI's Role In Google Antitrust Suit May Reshape Tech Markets

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    The evolution of AI in retail has reshaped the U.S.' antitrust case against Google, which could both benefit small business innovators and consumers, and fundamentally alter future antitrust cases, including the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon, says Graham Dufault at ACT.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

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    Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

  • Why Appellees Should Write Their Answering Brief First

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    Though counterintuitive, appellees should consider writing their answering briefs before they’ve ever seen their opponent’s opening brief, as this practice confers numerous benefits related to argument structure, time pressures and workflow, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • 2nd Circ. Peloton Ruling Emphasizes Disclosure Context

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision to revive shareholders’ suit alleging that Peloton made materially misleading statements makes clear that public companies must continually review risk disclosures to determine if previous hypotheticals have materialized, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Series

    Mindfulness Meditation Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Mindful meditation enables me to drop the ego, and in helping me to keep sight of what’s important, permits me to learn from the other side and become a reliable counselor, says Roy Wyman at Bass Berry.

  • AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

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    Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

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    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

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    Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

  • Privacy Lessons From FTC Settlement With Chinese Toymaker

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    In U.S. v. Apitor Technology, the Federal Trade Commission recently settled with a Chinese toy manufacturer that shared children's physical location with a third-party app provider, but the privacy lessons from the settlement extend beyond companies focusing on children's products, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • TikTok Divestiture Deal Revolves Around IP Considerations

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    The divestiture deal between the U.S. and China to resolve a security dispute over TikTok's U.S. operations is seen as a diplomatic breakthrough, but its success hinges on the treatment of intellectual property and may set a precedent in the global contest over digital sovereignty and IP control, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

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