Retail & E-Commerce

  • May 09, 2024

    Skadden-Led Firm Nets $250M In May's Second SPAC Listing

    GP-Act III Acquisition Corp., a Skadden-led special-purpose acquisition company backed by multiple private investment firms, began trading on Thursday after completing a $250 million initial public offering, marking the second SPAC listing this month in an otherwise battered market.

  • May 09, 2024

    Tablet Co. Wins China Duty Refund, Loses On Tariff Heading

    A digital writing tablet company will recoup the bulk of tariffs it paid under the Section 301 duty program to import its goods after the U.S. Court of International Trade rejected its preferred tariff classification Thursday.

  • May 09, 2024

    Solar Co. Wins Remand Of Feds' 'Contrary To Law' Duties

    The U.S. Court of International Trade has published opposing outcomes for two Chinese solar cell producers penalized in a recent duty review, affirming duties topping 238% for one and directing the government to reconsider a 12.24% rate for the other.

  • May 09, 2024

    Wisconsin Co., Hong Kong Biz To Drop Cup Holder IP Dispute

    A Wisconsin business and a Hong Kong furniture maker are looking to end their long-winding patent and trade dress dispute over cup holders, years after a jury handed the Badger State company a $100 million award that was later significantly reduced by the court.

  • May 09, 2024

    Hermes Seeks Exit From Antitrust Suit Over Birkin Bag Sales

    Hermès urged a California federal judge on Thursday to toss an antitrust class action accusing the luxury fashion retailer of tying the sale of its iconic Birkin and Kelly handbags to other items, saying the plaintiffs' assertion that the handbags constitute their own market minimizes the "fierce competition" across the luxury goods industry.

  • May 09, 2024

    Chicken Farmers Win Cert. Of 24K Class In No-Poach Suit

    An Oklahoma federal judge has certified a class of more than 24,000 broiler chicken farmers accusing Pilgrim's Pride of conspiring with others to suppress grower compensation through no-poach agreements, noting the plaintiffs provided direct and circumstantial evidence to show the existence of an antitrust conspiracy affecting all farmers.

  • May 09, 2024

    Caremark Can Seek Arb. In Oklahoma Tribe's Prescription Suit

    An Oklahoma federal court judge has paused a dispute between the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Caremark LLC until the pharmaceutical company can resolve a bid to compel the tribe into arbitration in an Arizona court over unpaid reimbursement claims.

  • May 09, 2024

    Plumbing Co. Owner Cops To Tax Scheme Tied To Gold Bars

    The co-owner of a Boston plumbing supply company pled guilty Thursday to underreporting his business and personal income, after prosecutors said he plowed some of the unreported receipts into $10 million worth of gold and silver bars.

  • May 09, 2024

    Plumbing Co. Ignoring OT Precedent, 1st Circ. Judge Chides

    A First Circuit judge said Thursday that a plumbing supply distributor arguing that its inside sales representatives don't qualify for overtime pay appears to be "running as fast as you can to get away" from a key recent precedent.

  • May 09, 2024

    Man Says LG Chem Can't Duck NC Courts In Battery Suit

    A man suing South Korea-based LG Chem Ltd. over an exploding lithium-ion battery is urging a North Carolina federal district court to find that it has jurisdiction over the company, saying LG has sufficient ties to the state through its marketing and selling of the batteries, even if it doesn't sell directly to customers.

  • May 09, 2024

    Texas Judge Slashes Nike Atty Fee Request In Trademark Suit

    A Texas federal judge was not convinced Nike's attorneys and staff spent more than 750 hours to defend a trademark infringement suit brought by a digital creator, awarding them $25,000 instead of the $570,000 in attorney fees the company requested.

  • May 09, 2024

    4th Circ. Mulls Scope Of Farm Bill In Virginia Hemp Fight

    A Fourth Circuit panel on Thursday pushed attorneys for the state of Virginia and a group of hemp companies and customers to define precisely how much power states have to restrict the production and sale of intoxicating products derived from federally legal hemp.

  • May 09, 2024

    Nike Denied Nursing Workers Lactation Spaces, Suit Says

    Nike failed to provide nursing employees with adequate breaks or spaces to express breast milk and told a manager that she was setting a bad example for her team when she asked to pump milk outside of her scheduled breaks, a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County superior court said.

  • May 09, 2024

    Deals Rumor Mill: Paramount, Peloton, International Paper

    Sony and Apollo plan to break up Paramount if their $26 billion bid prevails, private equity firms are eyeing a Peloton buyout, and International Paper gets a $15 billion bid from Brazil's Suzano. Here, Law360 breaks down the notable deal rumors from the past week.

  • May 09, 2024

    Sam Ash Music Hits Ch. 11, Plans To End 100-Year Retail Run

    Sam Ash Music, a 100-year-old music instrument retailer, filed for Chapter 11 protection in New Jersey bankruptcy court with up to $500 million in debt and plans to close its 42 stores in the U.S., citing weakened sales as customers shifted to online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • May 08, 2024

    Kroger Must Keep Fighting Metal-Tainted Baby Food Claims

    An Ohio federal judge Wednesday refused to throw out a proposed class action accusing the Kroger Co. and its subsidiaries of selling baby food tainted with toxic metals, ruling that the mothers who sued have plausibly alleged that they wouldn't have purchased the product had they known the truth.

  • May 08, 2024

    Amazon Seeks To Ax $525M Verdict Over Data Storage Patents

    Amazon asked an Illinois federal judge Wednesday to throw out a jury's verdict that the e-commerce giant owes $525 million for infringing three of Kove IO's patents relating to cloud data storage technology, saying the Chicago software company didn't actually prove infringement.

  • May 08, 2024

    Apple Judge Skeptical Tech Giant Complying With Epic Order

    The California federal judge overseeing Epic's antitrust suit against Apple reacted skeptically Wednesday to an Apple executive's claim that it has fully complied with her order aimed at allowing app developers to send users to outside payment platforms, saying some of Apple's new rules appear to "stifle competition."

  • May 08, 2024

    Vietnam's Labor Issues Mar Bid For Market Economy Status

    Representatives from U.S. industry, organized labor, and human rights advocacy urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to reject Vietnam's bid for market economy status Wednesday, denouncing its track record on labor rights.

  • May 08, 2024

    NAFTA Tribunal Orders US To Redo Duties On Canadian Wood

    A panel assembled under the North American Free Trade Agreement ordered the U.S. to redo countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber, rejecting the U.S.' conclusion that Canadian lumber companies hadn't fairly paid Ottawa to harvest lumber on government property.

  • May 08, 2024

    In Final Memo, Blumenauer Eyes Path Forward For Cannabis

    Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., a longtime champion of cannabis reform in Congress who plans to retire this year, is calling marijuana reform a "winning issue" for policymakers and outlined numerous actions both legislators and federal agencies can take to move the issue forward.

  • May 08, 2024

    Blue Bottle Coffee Loses Suit Over 'Blue Brew' TM

    A California federal judge has handed a loss to Blue Bottle Coffee LLC in its trademark infringement case against a company selling coffee gear and accessories using the phrase "Blue Brew," saying there wasn't any evidence that customers would be confused.

  • May 08, 2024

    CBD Retailer Wants To Avoid Privacy Suit

    CBD retailer Charlotte's Web Inc. has urged a California federal judge to toss a woman's suit accusing it of secretly recording conversations of those who visit its website, saying the lead plaintiff didn't even use the allegedly wiretapped chat functions and therefore can't have been harmed.

  • May 08, 2024

    Scooter Co.'s Mismanagement Cost ESOP Millions, Suit Says

    A scooter company violated federal benefits law by putting too much of workers' retirement funds into investments that produced meager returns and causing its employee stock ownership plan to lose out on about $3.3 million since 2018, a proposed class action filed in Pennsylvania federal court said.

  • May 08, 2024

    Levi Strauss Settles TM Suit Over Rival's Tab Label Design

    Jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. has settled its suit in California federal court alleging Italian clothing company Brunello Cucinelli infringed on Levi's tab trademark in an effort to sow customer confusion and reap profits.

Expert Analysis

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

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    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • Ohio Voters Legalize Cannabis — What Comes Next?

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    This month, voters approved a citizen-initiated statute that legalizes marijuana for recreational use in Ohio, but the legalization timeline could undergo significant changes at the behest of the state's lawmakers, say Daniel Shortt and David Waxman at McGlinchey Stafford.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 'Trump Too Small' Args Show Justices Inclined To Reverse

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the "Trump Too Small" trademark case Vidal v. Elster — and the tenor of the justices' feedback makes it clear that the refusal to register a mark under the Lanham Act most likely does not violate free speech rights, as opposed to the Federal Circuit's decision last year, says Brian Brookey at Tucker Ellis.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • Sellers Seeking Best Deal Should Focus On Terms And Price

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    Rising interest rates and a decline in the automotive mergers and acquisitions market mean that a failed deal carries greater stakes, and sellers therefore should pursue not only the optimum price but also the optimum terms to safeguard their agreement, says Joseph Aboyoun at Fox Rothschild.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: South Korea

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    Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Opinion

    Civil Litigation Against Gun Businesses Can Reduce Violence

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    With mass shootings skyrocketing, and gun control legislation blocked by powerful interest groups, civil litigation can help obtain justice for victims by targeting parties responsible beyond the immediate perpetrator — including gun manufacturers, dealers and retailers, says Tom D'Amore at D'Amore Law Group.

  • Retailers: Beware Legislator And Regulator Junk Fee Focus

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    In light of the Biden administration’s recent focus on restricting so-called junk fee surcharges across industries, attorneys at Benesch discuss what retailers should know about several evolving developments, including a new California law, a proposed Federal Trade Commission rule, an expanding litigation landscape, and more.

  • Rite Aid's Reasons For Ch. 11 Go Beyond Opioid Suits

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    Despite opioid-related lawsuits being the perceived reason that pushed Rite Aid into bankruptcy, the company's recent Chapter 11 filing reveals its tenuous position in the pharmaceutical retail market, and only time will tell whether bankruptcy will right-size the company, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Considerations For Navigating Mixed-Use Developments

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    As mixed-use developments continue to rise in popularity, developers considering this approach to urban planning must be aware of key considerations ranging from title and zoning laws to proper engagement with stakeholders, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.

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