Retail & E-Commerce

  • May 01, 2024

    Vape Wholesaler Can't Escape Suit Over Exploding Battery

    A Washington federal judge has refused to let e-cigarette wholesaler Vapor Beast LLC out of a suit by a man alleging he was injured by an exploding lithium-ion battery, saying there isn't enough evidence for the court to determine whether his claims were filed on time.

  • April 30, 2024

    Berry Dunn McNeil Sued Over Breach Affecting 1M Clients

    Maine-based accounting firm Berry Dunn McNeil & Parker LLC faces a proposed class action Tuesday in federal court alleging it failed to adequately protect its clients' personally identifiable information that was compromised during a data breach last year which affected over a million people.

  • April 30, 2024

    OpenAI Tries To Throw Out Another Copyright Case

    OpenAI is seeking to dismiss a suit in New York federal court from two alternative news websites asserting copyright infringement allegations against the Microsoft Corp.-backed artificial intelligence developer, saying they haven't shown they've been harmed.

  • April 30, 2024

    7th Circ. Backs Costco's Win In Gas Price-Matching Feud

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld Costco's victory against a dozen Wisconsin gas stations that claimed the warehouse giant sold regular unleaded fuel below a statutory minimum markup price that allegedly caused a decline in revenue, finding no evidence showing that Costco's pricing practices caused the stations a single lost sale.

  • April 30, 2024

    Kroger, Albertsons Say FTC Distorts Markets In Merger Case

    Kroger and Albertsons told an Oregon federal court to reject a pending merger challenge by the Federal Trade Commission and a group of states, saying it distorts the competitive landscape for the grocery and labor markets.

  • April 30, 2024

    Wash. Job Applicant's Pay Transparency Suit Tossed For Now

    A Washington federal judge tossed a job applicant's state pay transparency suit against a rent-to-own retailer, ruling the job-seeker didn't prove how the company's failure to include pay information in a job listing negatively affected him.

  • April 30, 2024

    FTC Digging Into $2.3B Walmart-Vizio Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission wants information about Walmart's $2.3 billion plan to take over smart television maker Vizio before it decides whether to sign off on the controversial acquisition.

  • April 30, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Upholds TM Win For Brazilian Hair Products Co.

    A Tuesday precedential ruling from the Federal Circuit sided with a Brazilian hair products maker in its legal fight with a Massachusetts businessman over who could claim a Portuguese phrase celebrating curly hair.

  • April 30, 2024

    Feds Endorse Easing Marijuana Status In Big Policy Shift

    Federal drug enforcers will recommend loosening restrictions on cannabis for the first time since the drug was made federally illegal decades ago, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

  • April 30, 2024

    Don't Miss It: McDermott, Paul Weiss Lead Month's Hot Deals

    A lot can happen in the world of mergers and acquisitions over the course of a month. Here, Law360 recaps the deals you may have missed, including transactions helmed by McDermott and Paul Weiss.

  • April 30, 2024

    Atty, Pot Entrepreneurs Get Conspiracy Claims Thrown Out

    A California state appeals court has thrown out claims against a group of attorneys and cannabis entrepreneurs that they were part of a "straw man practice" conspiracy to monopolize the San Diego cannabis market, finding the complaint failed to allege they did anything illegal.

  • April 30, 2024

    EPA Finalizes Methylene Chloride Ban

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday finalized a rule banning all consumer uses and most industrial and commercial uses of methylene chloride, a chemical regulators say can increase cancer risks and cause reproductive damage with repeat exposure. 

  • April 29, 2024

    High Court Won't Revisit Class Cert. In Chili's Data Breach Row

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review an Eleventh Circuit ruling that kept alive a class action claiming Chili's restaurants failed to protect customer data in a 2018 data breach that revealed millions of credit card records, which class counsel said "enshrines a path" toward compensation for consumers against companies that mishandle their data.

  • April 29, 2024

    Amazon Files $200M Countersuit Over Solar Projects' Fallout

    Amazon claims a California-based private equity firm reneged on a pair of 15-year deals to sell it power from two new solar developments, launching a suit in Washington state court following competing allegations in California that the retail giant tried to sabotage the projects after signing the deals.

  • April 29, 2024

    Ex-Girlfriend Can Claim Late P&G Worker's Investment Funds

    The ex-girlfriend of a deceased Procter & Gamble employee can receive over $754,000 he had in his investment account after a decades-long career with the company, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Monday, finding that the employee's estate hadn't shown he was misled about who he'd chosen as a beneficiary.

  • April 29, 2024

    Target, Grubhub Say Visa, Mastercard Fee Deal Is A Scam

    Visa and Mastercard's settlement to slash their merchant fees by some $30 billion over the next several years has no fans in Target and Grubhub, who told the judge overseeing the long-running antitrust litigation that the deal isn't fair to anyone except the credit titans.

  • April 29, 2024

    Zillow Fights Investor Cert. In Home Pricing Program Suit

    Zillow urged a Washington federal court not to certify a class of shareholders amid an investor's suit alleging he was misled about the performance of its home-flipping program, arguing that the alleged misstatements had no bearing on stock prices.

  • April 29, 2024

    Bookstores Want In On FTC's Antitrust Case Against Amazon

    A trade group for bookstores has asked a Washington federal court for permission to intervene in the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against Amazon to raise concerns about the e-commerce giant's sale of books and contracts with publishers.

  • April 29, 2024

    Apple Says Nothing's Changed To Revive COVID App Suit

    Apple urged a California federal judge not to reopen a tossed antitrust lawsuit over the company's refusal to distribute a COVID-19-tracking app on the App Store, arguing that neither new European Union law nor Epic Games' jury win over Google change the dynamics of a case that has favored the iPhone maker at every turn.

  • April 29, 2024

    Defendant Seeks Tribe's Confidential Data In Smoke Shop Suit

    An entrepreneur being sued by the Cayuga Nation is arguing in New York federal court that he should be allowed to view "highly confidential" spreadsheets purportedly detailing revenue losses the tribe suffered due to an unlicensed smoke shop on tribal land, asserting he has no business ties to the store.

  • April 29, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    A multibillion-dollar Tesla trust proposal, a Truth Social bond, power plays over Prince's estate, and three in the ring for World Wrestling Entertainment. All of this and much more came up in Delaware Chancery Court dockets last week.

  • April 29, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Nike Settles TM Suit Against Bape Over Shoe Designs

    Nike has settled its trademark infringement suit accusing Bape of copying the "iconic" look of its Air Force 1 and Air Jordan sneakers, according to a notice of voluntary dismissal Monday, which comes nearly two months after a New York federal judge refused to nix the case.

  • April 29, 2024

    Trade Court Presses Commerce Dept. On Korean Electricity

    The question of whether South Korean authorities subsidize the country's steel producers is again before the trade court as of Monday, with the U.S. Department of Commerce heading into a third remand over a 2018 duty review.

  • April 29, 2024

    StarKist Looks To Block Guilty Plea From Price-Fixing Trial

    StarKist and its South Korea-based owner are urging a California federal judge to reject a bid by packaged tuna buyers to bring evidence of the tuna company's guilty plea into the civil litigation, arguing that the plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice is irrelevant to a trial over claims that major tuna brands conspired to keep prices high.

  • April 29, 2024

    Reebok Says TM Foe Must Foot Bill After Key Depo Called Off

    Reebok asked a Massachusetts federal judge to force an Italian shoemaker to pay legal costs and produce its former CEO for a deposition in a trademark case, saying the scheduled meeting in Milan was canceled just hours before Reebok's attorneys were scheduled to board a flight.

Expert Analysis

  • How Retail Tenants Can Avoid Paying Rent Prematurely

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    When negotiating leases for spaces in shopping centers, retail tenants should ensure that the language specifies they only need to begin paying rent when the center is substantially occupied as a whole, as it can be difficult to modify leases that are executed without co-tenancy requirements or termination rights, say Joshua Bernstein and Benjamin Joelson at Akerman.

  • Analyzing New EU Measure To Prevent Reexports To Russia

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    Niels Ersbøll, Alexander Italianer and Laura Beuls at Arnold & Porter offer a comprehensive overview of the European Union's new rule requiring export agreements to contain a clause prohibiting the reexport of goods to Russia, and discuss what companies should do to ensure compliance.

  • Back Labels In False Ad Cases Get Some Clarity In 9th Circ.

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    Courts in the Ninth Circuit have recently delivered a series of wins to advertisers, making clear that any ambiguity on the front of a product's package can be resolved by reference to the back label — which guarantees defendants a powerful tool to combat deceptive labeling claims, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    The first quarter of 2024 saw a number of notable legal and regulatory developments that will significantly affect New York's financial services industry, including the New York Department of Financial Services' finalized novel guidance directing banks to continuously monitor the character and fitness of key personnel, say Brian Montgomery and Nathan Lewko at Pillsbury.

  • Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease

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    This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.

  • The Merger Cases That Will Matter At ABA Antitrust Meeting

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    While the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week will cover all types of competition law issues in the U.S. and abroad, expect the federal agencies' recent track record in merger enforcement to be a key area of focus on the official panels and in cocktail party chatter, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.

  • Ruling Signals Wave Of CIPA Litigation May Soon End

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    A California state court's recent ruling in Licea v. Hickory Farms, which rejects the argument that IP address tracking violates the California Invasion of Privacy Act's pen register provision, is likely to reduce or stop the slew of new cases filed against businesses for similar alleged violations, says Patricia Brum at Snell & Wilmer.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • UK Amazon Ruling Spotlights TM Rights In International Sales

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    Highlighting the conflict between the territorial nature of trademark rights and the borderless nature of the internet, the U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision — that Amazon's U.S. website could infringe EU and U.K. rights by targeting local buyers — offers guidance on navigating trademark rights in relation to online sales, say Emmy Hunt, Mark Kramer and Jordan Mitchell at Potter Clarkson.

  • 5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS

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    The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.

  • Handling Customer Complaints In Bank-Fintech Partnerships

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    As regulators mine consumer complaint databases for their next investigative targets, it is critical that fintech and bank partners adopt a well-defined and monitored process for ensuring proper complaint handling, including by demonstrating proficiency and following interagency guidance, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

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