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Retail & E-Commerce
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March 26, 2024
Chewy, IBM Agree To End Online Ad Patent Dispute
Online pet goods retailer Chewy Inc. and computing giant IBM Corp. have agreed to drop a patent fight in New York federal court, shortly after a federal appeals court wrote there was a "genuine dispute of material fact" surrounding infringement allegations tied to one of IBM's patent claims.
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March 26, 2024
SPAC 'Frenzy' Led To $1.6B Deal For Dog Treat Co., Suit Says
Shareholders of a special-purpose acquisition company that merged with dog-treat box company BarkBox in a $1.6 billion deal have sued the executives and directors of both entities, alleging they breached their fiduciary duties in connection with what the complaint calls "an extreme example of the 'churn-and-burn' SPAC frenzy."
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March 26, 2024
Calif. Pot Co. Glass House Seeks Toss Of Competition Suit
Cannabis company Glass House Brands Inc. urged a Los Angeles County court to toss a competitor's lawsuit accusing it of intentionally peddling most of its goods to retailers who sell on the illicit market, arguing that the court shouldn't step on the toes of the state's cannabis authority.
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March 26, 2024
Insurer Wants $29M Treble Damages Ruling Reversed In NC
An insurer has asked a North Carolina state appeals court to overturn a nearly $29 million ruling penalizing it for failing to defend an employee who crashed a company truck, killing his colleague, citing a policy exclusion for employee injury cases it said the trial court ignored.
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March 26, 2024
Terraform Backer Tells Jury His Firm Lost Big On $36M Stake
A Boston venture capitalist told the Manhattan federal jury hearing fraud claims against Terraform Labs and its creator Do Kwon on Tuesday that his former company confidently invested $35.9 million in the crypto startup based on representations that regulators say were false.
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March 26, 2024
6th Circ. Won't Let Propane Retailer Nix EEOC's Subpoena
The Sixth Circuit said Tuesday that Ferrellgas LP must provide the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with information it requested as part of an investigation into a sex and race discrimination charge, backing a lower court's conclusion that the request wasn't too expansive.
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March 26, 2024
Starbucks Settles Worker's Suit Alleging Manager Groped Her
Starbucks Corp. has settled a lawsuit with an employee who alleged her reports of groping and harassment by a manger resulted in a retaliatory investigation, stunting her career with the coffee chain.
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March 26, 2024
Meta, Porn Stars Fight Over Fate Of OnlyFans Suit
Meta traded barbs with adult entertainment performers about how to end a suit claiming the social media giant conspired with OnlyFans to boost the risqué platform over competitors, with the performers fighting to drop their California federal court allegations in a way that they could still be refiled.
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March 26, 2024
Alibaba Offers $3.75B Logistics Biz Takeover Instead Of IPO
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on Tuesday went back on its plans to spin off Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd. through an initial public offering and instead announced plans to buy the remaining stake in the business that it does not already own for up to $3.75 billion.
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March 26, 2024
Sony Ducks $500M PlayStation Patent Suit In Del.
A Delaware federal court has sided with Sony in a $500 million patent infringement suit brought by Genuine Enabling Technology LLC over PlayStation consoles, marking a close to the case.
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March 26, 2024
Visa, Mastercard Cut Deal In Long-Running Swipe Fee Dispute
Visa and Mastercard reached a settlement Tuesday that merchants in a long-running antitrust case say will reduce fees by $30 billion over the next several years, while eliminating restrictions on steering customers to cheaper payment options.
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March 26, 2024
FCC Partners With Agencies On Privacy Enforcement
The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday it will ramp up enforcement with other federal and state agencies to protect sensitive data from hackers and foreign adversaries.
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March 26, 2024
Ill. Judge Needs More Info To OK $57M Chicken Antitrust Fee
An Illinois federal judge overseeing a sprawling antitrust litigation against broiler chicken producers said he couldn't rule on class counsel's renewed bid for a $57 million attorney fee award thrown out by the Seventh Circuit last year without more information on one of the firm's graduated fee arrangements in a similar 2015 antitrust case, which wasn't disclosed in the first go-around.
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March 26, 2024
2nd Circ. Revives Gender Bias Case Against Grocery Chain
A district court applied too harsh a standard when it dismissed a fired manager's sex bias suit against a supermarket chain, the Second Circuit said Tuesday, in a ruling that sought to "demystify" the test for assessing whether some discrimination claims can move to trial.
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March 26, 2024
Costco Parking Lot Fall Suit Doomed By 2-Inch Rule
An Illinois federal court has thrown out a woman's trip-and-fall suit against Costco Wholesale Corp., saying the less than 2-inch difference in surface height is not enough of a defect that Costco had a duty to repair it.
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March 26, 2024
Carrefour Buying €365M Of Its Shares From Store Owner
Hypermarkets giant Carrefour said on Tuesday that it will buy back almost 3.5% of its share capital from the owner of the Galeries Lafayette department store chain for €365 million ($396 million), part of its wider €700 million share repurchase program.
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March 25, 2024
Walmart Blocks DOJ Proceedings Over Immigration Records
The federal government cannot continue pursuing proceedings before the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer against Walmart for alleged violations of immigration-related recordkeeping requirements, a Georgia federal judge ruled Monday, saying the office's administrative law judges unconstitutionally carry out federal law without presidential oversight.
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March 25, 2024
Merchants Hit AmEx With Antitrust Claims Over Its Fee Rules
American Express faces a proposed merchant class action alleging it violated federal antitrust law by barring businesses from taking certain measures to keep their credit card swipe costs down.
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March 25, 2024
NJ Justices End Suit That Alleged Fake Aeropostale Discounts
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday dismissed consumers' claims that the owner of several Aeropostale stores in the Garden State deceived them with phony discounts, ruling that the shoppers received the merchandise they expected despite not receiving a true price cut.
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March 25, 2024
Atlanta Wants Ex-Eatery's 'Spurious' Demolition Suit Tossed
The city of Atlanta has asked a Georgia federal judge to dismiss a property owner's suit accusing it, its property review board and its police department of trying to illegally demolish the property, once set to become a Starbucks coffee shop, without proper notification.
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March 25, 2024
Texas Co. Hit With COVID Products Ban, $37.6M Fine To FTC
A federal judge has ordered a Houston-area man and his company to pay the FTC nearly $37.6 million, writing that he "took advantage of consumers' desperation" during the COVID-19 pandemic and "consistently misled" customers about his ability to deliver personal protective equipment.
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March 25, 2024
Pool Co. Objects To Rival Counsel's Exit After $15M Verdict
A swimming pool equipment supply company that won a $15 million verdict against a competitor in North Carolina federal court is now attempting to block the rival's counsel from leaving the case, saying the company may use the loss of its attorneys as justification for delaying final judgment.
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March 25, 2024
3rd Circ. Won't Rethink AbbVie Privilege Ruling
The Third Circuit refused Monday to reconsider a ruling that found AbbVie was unable to show a lower court went against precedent or made errors when ordering the drugmaker to turn over attorney communications from a patent case allegedly meant to delay an AndroGel rival.
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March 25, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Last week in Delaware's Court of Chancery, litigants battled as Truth Social went public, Carl Icahn and Tripadvisor hit a roadblock, and more shareholders wailed about "invasive" bylaws. Oil drilling and pharmaceutical mergers sparked new lawsuits, and a sewing machine trademark owner sued to end a contract.
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March 25, 2024
MNC Capital Ups Vista Outdoor Takeover Bid To $3B
Dallas, Texas-based investment firm MNC Capital Partners on Monday upped its proposed takeover bid of Vista Outdoor Inc. by approximately $1 billion after the company rejected its initial offer, now offering roughly $3 billion to purchase the sporting and outdoor products company.
Expert Analysis
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Tips On Numerical Range From Fed. Circ. Philip Morris Ruling
The Federal Circuit's recent RAI v. Philip Morris decision that a patent provided sufficient written description to support a claimed numerical range offers several takeaways for practitioners, including the need for a cautious approach to criticism of ranges, say attorneys at BCLP.
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Fed. Circ. Patent Lesson: No Contradiction, No Indefiniteness
The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Maxwell v. Amperex Technology highlights the complexities of construing patent claims when seemingly contradictory limitations are present, and that when a narrowing limitation overrides a broader one, they do not necessarily contradict each other, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies
As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.
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11th Circ. FMLA Ruling Deepens Divide Over Causation
The Eleventh Circuit's recent ruling in Lapham v. Walgreen distinguishes the circuit as the loudest advocate for the but-for causation standard for assessing Family and Medical Leave Act retaliation claims, though employers in other jurisdictions may encounter less favorable standards and the U.S. Supreme Court will likely have to address the circuit split eventually, say attorneys at Benesch.
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2nd Circ.'s Nine West Ruling Clarifies Safe Harbor Confusion
The Second Circuit’s recent ruling in Nine West’s Chapter 11 suit clarifies that courts in the circuit will apply a transfer-by-transfer analysis to determine the applicability of Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code, and that to be safe harbored, a financial institution must act as an agent with respect to the specific transfer at issue, says Leonardo Trivigno at Carter Ledyard.
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Enforcement Risk Amid Increased Consumer Data Use
While no state has introduced a private right of action for noncompliance with a comprehensive consumer privacy law — except for the California Consumer Privacy Act's data breach provision — organizations and retailers face risk from enforcement actions by state attorneys general and privacy regulators, say attorneys at Dentons.
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Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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Opinion
The Problems In Calif. Draft Behavioral Ad Privacy Regs
The California Privacy Protection Agency has an opportunity with its automated decision-making technology and profiling rulemaking to harmonize California's regulation of data-driven advertising, but this will be a failure unless several things are changed in its proposed treatment of behavioral advertising, say Alan Friel and Kyle Fath at Squire Patton.
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A New Push To Clear Up Marijuana's Foggy Legal Status
A recently publicized U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommendation to reschedule marijuana has reignited discourse over the drug's federal legal status — and although rescheduling would mitigate the legal risks for the industry and drastically increase the resources available for industry participants, the path forward will not be clear cut, say Joseph Cioffi and Louis DiLorenzo at Davis+Gilbert.
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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The Corporate Transparency Act Isn't Dead Yet
After an Alabama federal court's ruling last week rendering the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, changes to the law may ultimately be required, but ongoing compliance is still the best course of action for most, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
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New FinCEN Guide Provides Useful BOI Context For Banks
Financial institutions should review a new Financial Crimes Enforcement Network compliance guide for helpful details about how the agency's beneficial ownership information database should be used, though questions remain about the access rule and whether it will truly streamline bank borrowers' Corporate Transparency Act due diligence, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
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How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts
Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.
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7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves
As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.