Retail & E-Commerce

  • May 01, 2024

    NJ, NY Law Firms Dominate Class Action Filings Since 2021

    Class actions have been steadily increasing over the past decade, with two firms from New Jersey and New York filing the most suits over the past three years, according to a new Lex Machina report surveying the class action field.

  • May 01, 2024

    Trader Joe's Must Pay Fees To Union After 'Meritless' TM Suit

    A California federal judge ordered Trader Joe's to pay $112,622 in attorney fees to a union of its employees in a suit alleging the union's logo infringes the grocer's name and trademarks, saying Trader Joe's claim that the suit is unrelated to a labor dispute "cannot be taken seriously."

  • May 01, 2024

    Amazon Can't Sanction Atty In Chinese Seller Award Case

    Amazon can't sanction a Manhattan lawyer for her alleged history of using "frivolous" legal arguments to try to send back to state court litigation to vacate arbitral awards involving Chinese sellers, a New York federal judge ruled Wednesday.

  • May 01, 2024

    Bipartisan Reps. Introduce Bill To Trace Battery Supply Chains

    Environmental advocacy groups including the Sierra Club, Earthworks and SAFE have thrown their support behind a new bill to promote traceability in battery supply chains, a measure aimed at weeding bad labor and environmental practices out of the supply chain.

  • May 01, 2024

    Colorado Asks Judge To Review New Kroger Spinoffs At Trial

    Kroger can't throw a new divestiture plan on the table two months before discovery closes and then ask the court to consider it when deciding whether to hand down a preliminary injunction blocking its $25 billion union with Albertsons from moving forward, the state of Colorado says.

  • May 01, 2024

    Chancery Nixes Amazon.com Investor's Antitrust Docs Probe

    An Amazon.com stockholder on Wednesday lost a Delaware Court of Chancery suit seeking court-ordered access to company records to probe claims that the online retailing giant engages in anti-competitive practices, with a court magistrate finding the evidence insufficient to justify the demand.

  • May 01, 2024

    Sony, PlayStation Users Spar Over Early Antitrust Cert. Denial

    Sony and PlayStation Store users fought before a California federal judge Wednesday over the company's bid to deny class certification to users who claim it overcharged them through a monopoly on downloadable game cards, with the users arguing that Sony waived its arbitration arguments under the Ninth Circuit's recent Hill ruling.

  • May 01, 2024

    Texas 'Gave Away The Game' In ATF Suit, 5th Circ. Judge Says

    A Fifth Circuit judge told Texas it "just gave away the game" by stating that the application for obtaining a firearm suppressor counts as the injury, asking how the state could contend it had experienced such an injury without having applied for a license to own a suppressor during oral arguments Wednesday in a suit challenging federal firearm regulations.

  • May 01, 2024

    Senate Dems Reintroduce Bill To Tax And Regulate Cannabis

    Senate Democrats on Wednesday reintroduced a cannabis legalization bill that would remove the drug entirely from the ambit of the Controlled Substances Act and impose a tax-and-regulate scheme akin to what is currently in place for alcohol and tobacco.

  • May 01, 2024

    Hotel Chains Hit With Algorithmic Pricing Collusion Suit

    A group of hotel-goers has hit six major hotel chains with a proposed class action, alleging that the companies used a shared pricing algorithm to fix and raise hotel prices nationwide.

  • May 01, 2024

    Chipotle Granted Win in Customer Change-Shorting Row

    A Pennsylvania federal judge gave Chipotle Mexican Grill an early win Wednesday in a lawsuit by customers alleging they were stiffed out of change during a coin shortage, finding that because the customers agreed to not receive coin change during their transactions, they can't reasonably argue the fast food giant did anything wrong.

  • May 01, 2024

    Apple Users Defend Web Apps Antitrust Case

    Consumers urged a California federal court not to toss their case accusing Apple of violating antitrust law by preventing iPhones from running web-based apps that don't need to be downloaded, saying Apple used deals with Google and others to protect its dominance.

  • May 01, 2024

    Biden Admin Sanctions Cos. Helping Russia Evade Curbs

    The Biden administration on Wednesday set financial and visa restrictions on nearly 300 individuals and businesses abroad, including those suspected to be helping Russia evade existing sanctions and obtain critical defense materials.

  • May 01, 2024

    Chinese Wood Exporter Calls To Axe Penalty Duties

    A Chinese plywood producer urged the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday to nix penalty duties the U.S. Department of Commerce assigned it based on purported omissions during questioning, arguing that the "missing" information was irrelevant.

  • May 01, 2024

    Ohio Justices Say Workers' Comp Appeal Didn't Expire

    The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed an injured Whirlpool Corp. worker to continue his appeal of an order denying him additional workers' compensation coverage, saying the state Industrial Commission's five-year limit on jurisdiction doesn't apply to his appeal in state court.

  • May 01, 2024

    AI Is Top Of Mind For Companies — And Securities Regulators

    As references to artificial intelligence in securities filings soar, attorneys say companies must ground their disclosures in fact and be upfront about risks posed by AI in order to avoid the wrath of regulators, who promise to crack down on misleading claims.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • What Retailers Should Note In Calif. Web Tracking Suits

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    As retailers face a deluge of class actions alleging the use of conventional web analytic tools violate wiretapping and eavesdropping provisions of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, uncovering the path toward a narrow interpretation of the law will largely depend on how these cases proceed, say Matthew Pearson and Kareem Salem at BakerHostetler.

  • Chancery's Sears Ruling Clarifies Stockholder Duties

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    In a recent landmark decision involving stockholders of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, the Delaware Chancery Court addressed for the first time what precise duties a controlling stockholder owes, highlighting that controller interference with board action is not per se invalid and that enhanced scrutiny is a reasonableness test, say Christopher Chuff and Taylor Bartholomew at Troutman Pepper.

  • What's At Stake In High Court NLRB Injunction Case

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    William Baker at Wigdor examines the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to hear Starbucks v. McKinney — where it will consider a long-standing circuit split over the standard for evaluating National Labor Relations Board injunction bids — and explains why the justices’ eventual decision, either way, is unlikely to be a significant blow to labor.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

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    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

  • 5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money

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    As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.

  • Expediting Psychedelics Approvals In The US And Canada

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    Accelerated regulatory pathways for psychedelics in the U.S. and Canada play a pivotal role in the progression of drugs, devices and novel therapies toward commercialization, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell, and Ana Dukic and Sabrina Ramkellawan at AxialBridge.

  • Directors And Officers Face Unique AI-Related Risks

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    As privacy, intellectual property and discrimination lawsuits focusing on artificial intelligence increase, corporate directors and officers must stay aware of associated risks, including those related to compliance, litigation and cybersecurity, says Jonathan Meer at Wilson Elser.

  • Series

    Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • New Strain Of Web Tracking Suits Pose Risks For Retailers

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    Amid an ongoing surge of California state and federal lawsuits that are using novel theories to allege companies used certain recording technologies to illegally track website users, retailers should take steps to develop a potential argument that customers consented to any alleged uses of these devices, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52

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    Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.

  • Ex-OpenSea Staffer Case May Clarify When Info Is Property

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    In considering the appeal of a former OpenSea manager’s wire fraud conviction in U.S. v. Chastain, the Second Circuit may soon provide guidance about whether economic information is traditional property in certain insider trading prosecutions — a theory of fraud that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly narrowed, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Unraveling The Bundled Benefits Of Retail Memberships

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    The recent prevalence of paid retail memberships and the associated findings of a consumer survey suggest that assessing consumer preferences and welfare may be important when considering resolution mechanisms in antitrust contexts, say Rosa M. Abrantes-Metz at Berkeley Research Group, Mame Maloney at The Brattle Group and Jeff Brazell at the University of Utah.

  • Opinion

    Stakeholder Amici Should Be Heard In Russian Trade Case

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    Although the U.S. Court of International Trade recently rejected U.S. Steel's amicus brief in NLMK Pennsylvania v. U.S., other industry stakeholders should seek to appear — and the court should allow it because additional perspectives will lead to a more informed ruling, say attorneys Jeffrey Shapiro and Michael Andrews.

  • Workplace Speech Policies Limit Legal And PR Risks

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    As workers increasingly speak out on controversies like the 2024 elections and the Israel-Hamas war, companies should implement practical workplace expression policies and plans to protect their brands and mitigate the risk of violating federal and state anti-discrimination and free speech laws, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • US Cos. Must Guard Against Russian Diversion Of Goods

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    Amid allegations that Russia is end-running trade sanctions through the diversion of otherwise innocuous, everyday goods, U.S. industry involved in the manufacture or distribution of electric products must step up its customer and partner due diligence to avoid unwittingly facilitating the weapons proliferation cycle, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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