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Cannabis
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April 01, 2024
Split 9th Circ. Says Court Can Void Pot Co.'s TM Applications
A Ninth Circuit majority affirmed on Monday the cancellation of cannabis grower Central Coast Agriculture's trademark applications for its "Raw Garden" brand due to its lack of bona fide intent to use the marks commercially, with one judge dissenting, saying district courts can't interfere with and prematurely cancel trademark applications.
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April 01, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Last week, Delaware's Court of Chancery saw a $42.5 million settlement, dismissal of two big suits with two more remanded back, and new cases from shareholders of Walt Disney, Donald Trump's Truth Social, Rivian Automotive and BarkBox.
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April 01, 2024
Swedish Match Sued Over Allegedly Youth Targeted Zyn Ads
Philip Morris International and its subsidiary Swedish Match North America LLC have been hit with a putative class action from an unnamed California man alleging he became addicted to the company's Zyn smokeless oral nicotine pouches when he was a minor because of the product's marketing campaign.
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April 01, 2024
Fla. High Court Says Voters Will Choose Whether To Legalize Pot
Florida voters will have the opportunity to legalize recreational marijuana at the ballot box this November, after the state Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge brought by the state's attorney general and ruled that the proposal didn't violate a state rule restricting ballot measures to only one subject.
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April 01, 2024
Last Hemp Co. Exec Agrees To SEC Injunction In $14M Scam
A CanaFarma Hemp Products Corp. co-founder who pled guilty to claims that he lied about the company's prospects in order to raise $14 million has become the last of four executives to reach a partial agreement resolving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's civil claims.
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April 01, 2024
Mass. Justices Puzzle Over Standard For Zoning Appeal Bond
Massachusetts' highest court on Monday grappled with whether developers in Boston must show that project opponents are acting in bad faith in order to obtain an appeal bond, as they now must do elsewhere in the state since a 2022 holding in a suburban affordable housing challenge.
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April 01, 2024
With Suit, NJ City Looks To Clear The Air About Cops' Pot Use
A New Jersey city's lawsuit demanding clarity over whether state or federal law governs off-duty pot use for cops could help cannabis and employment lawyers navigate a growing battle between workers' rights and workplace safety.
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April 01, 2024
Duracell Gets Vape Co.'s 'Optimum' TM Suit Tossed For Good
A New Jersey federal judge has thrown out a vape company's trademark suit alleging Duracell U.S. Operations Inc. infringed on its trademark for the "Optimum" brand name, saying there's no evidence showing any actual or potential confusion between the companies' products.
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March 29, 2024
Strange But True: Product Liability Stories For April Fools'
Severed digits and fried rodents in food, e-cigarettes shaped like liquor bottles and claims that the advertising for Reese's peanut butter candies dashes consumers' expectations made Law360's list of strange cases for April Fool's.
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March 29, 2024
Weed Investors' Money Shift Cost Co. Millions, Suit Says
A Michigan entrepreneur has hit his ex-partner with a $5 million lawsuit, accusing him of wrecking plans to buy a 10-acre marijuana grow facility near Ann Arbor by poaching the lead investors so he could fund his own Colorado cultivation.
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March 29, 2024
Cannabis Co. Consultant Barred From Penny Stock Trading
A Florida federal judge has barred a self-designated consultant for a cannabis company from penny stock trading for life, finding that he knowingly put out statements claiming the company had deals to do business in countries where it was not legally allowed to sell cannabis products.
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March 28, 2024
Union Permitted MTA's Drug Test In Rep's Firing Suit, Judge Says
A former New York electrical worker and union rep can't sue the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for firing him after a return-to-work drug test found evidence of marijuana use, as the union never raised the alarm about such drug tests before, a New York federal judge has ruled.
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March 28, 2024
Va. Gov., Critic Of Legal Pot, Vetoes Bill To Begin Sales
Glenn Youngkin, the Republican governor of Virginia, on Thursday vetoed a Legislature-approved bill that would have taxed and regulated the sale of adult-use cannabis, saying marijuana sales would pose a public health and safety risk to Virginians.
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March 28, 2024
Cannabis Drink Co. Ordered To Pay Directors' Legal Fees
A Minnesota-based joint venture formed to make cannabis-infused health drinks must partially indemnify two directors it sued for breaches of fiduciary duty after the complaints against them were dismissed, Delaware's Court of Chancery ruled Thursday.
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March 28, 2024
Faruqi & Faruqi Beats 5 Firms To Lead NewAge Investor Suit
A Colorado district judge has selected two clients of Faruqi & Faruqi LLP to lead an investor class action accusing the executives and directors of wellness company NewAge Inc. of securities fraud, saying the plaintiff with an even bigger financial interest is unfit for appointment because he hid his "troubling" background.
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March 28, 2024
FDA Warns 61 Stores Over Illegal Vape Sales
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week sent warnings to 61 retailers for selling illegal Lava and Elf Bar cigarettes, saying that both of the unauthorized brands are popular with young people.
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March 28, 2024
Trucking Co. Can't Undo $20M Verdict In Crash Death Suit
A Missouri appeals court won't let Great Plains Trucking Inc. upend a $20 million verdict against it in a wrongful death suit, finding the trial court didn't abuse its discretion by excluding testimony about a plaintiff's cannabis usage or allowing the mother and father of the deceased to use separate counsel at trial.
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March 28, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty Named Acting GC At Neptune Wellness
Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. elevated to acting general counsel one of its in-house lawyers, who previously worked in BigLaw, the consumer-packaged goods company said in a securities filing on Wednesday, just days after a federal judge's order to replace its legal counsel.
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March 28, 2024
'Better Made' Chips Goes After 'Better Smoke' Pot
Detroit-based Better Made Snack Foods Inc. said a number of cannabis companies in Michigan have been selling a line of "Better Smoke" cannabis products that mimics the snack brand's century-old logo in a trademark infringement lawsuit filed Wednesday.
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March 28, 2024
Romney Tells DEA Pot Review Must Heed Treaty Obligations
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on Wednesday expressed skepticism about federal health regulators' recommendation to loosen marijuana restrictions and pressed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to explain how it would consider the drug's status in light of U.S. treaties.
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March 27, 2024
Cannabis Caucus Dems Urge Garland To Restore Pot Protections
The two Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives' Congressional Cannabis Caucus blasted Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday for not reissuing "overdue" protections for marijuana businesses acting in compliance with state and tribal law.
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March 27, 2024
LG Chem Mostly Wins Discovery Feud In Vape Battery Suit
A New Jersey appellate court on Wednesday allowed an LG Corp. unit to prevail on 21 out of 22 discovery challenges in a suit over an exploding vape pen battery, saying the majority of the plaintiff's requests were overly broad and not tailored to his claims.
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March 27, 2024
CBD Retailer Used Spyware, Recorded Online Chats, Suit Says
Charlotte's Web Inc., a CBD retailer, is secretly recording conversations of those who visit its website in violation of a California privacy law that is simple to follow, according to a proposed class action removed to federal court on Monday.
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March 27, 2024
Fla. Panel Reverses $43M Judgment In Tobacco Suit
Florida's Third District Court of Appeal on Wednesday reversed a $43 million judgment against Philip Morris USA Inc. in a wrongful death case, issuing a split decision stating that hearsay testimony allowed during the trial wasn't offered to prove that the female decedent believed filtered cigarettes were safe.
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March 27, 2024
Chancery Sides With Cannabis Company On Legal Fees Row
A Delaware Court of Chancery judge at a Wednesday hearing gave Left Coast Ventures Inc. time to fulfill a court order requiring it to cover legal fees for three former directors of the cannabis company defending a merger-related suit, after a company attorney told the judge the money will be coming.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice
The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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What RJ Reynolds' Calif. Suit Means For Tobacco Regulation
R.J. Reynolds' recently filed lawsuit against the attorney general of California is testing the limits of the state's 2020 ban on flavored tobacco products — and whatever the outcome, it may help shape tobacco regulations at both the state and federal levels in coming years, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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NBA Players Must Avoid Legal Fouls In CBD Deals
The NBA’s recently ratified collective bargaining agreement allows athletes to promote CBD brands and products, but athletes and the companies they promote must be cautious of a complex patchwork of applicable state laws and federal regulators’ approach to advertising claims, says Airina Rodrigues at Brownstein Hyatt.
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How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks
Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.
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Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip
After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Preparing For Md. Adult-Use Cannabis: Operations And More
As a new regulatory body takes the reins before Maryland’s adult-use cannabis market launches on July 1, industry stakeholders should understand key provisions related to management agreements, secured creditors and receiverships, dispensary operations, and hemp, say Seth Gitner and Jonathan Havens at Saul Ewing.
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Preparing For Md. Adult-Use Cannabis: Licensing Provisions
As the launch of Maryland’s adult-use cannabis market quickly approaches, current and prospective businesses will need to understand key provisions and limitations related to license conversion, qualifying partnerships, social equity applications and microlicenses, say Seth Gitner and Jonathan Havens at Saul Ewing.
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5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
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Recent Bills Show Congress' Growing Maturity On Cannabis
Though two recently introduced cannabis reform bills, the Prepare Act and the Small Business Tax Equity Act, are unlikely to pass in this Congress, they demonstrate a new level of focus and sophistication on the part of lawmakers as it relates to cannabis at the federal level, says Irina Dashevsky at Greenspoon Marder.
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Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
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Perspectives
A New HOPE For Expunging State-Level Cannabis Convictions
As states across the U.S. legalize cannabis, individuals with related convictions face hurdles to expunging their records due to outdated record-keeping systems — but the recently introduced HOPE Act would remedy this by providing grant funding to state and local governments, says Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio.
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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What Courts Say About Workers' Comp And Medical Marijuana
Whether employers and insurance carriers are required or allowed to reimburse employees for out-of-pocket costs for treating work-related injuries with medical marijuana has spawned a debate, and the state courts that have addressed this matter are split on a number of issues, say Alexandra Hassell and Anthony Califano at Seyfarth.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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How The Fla. AG Is Impeding Recreational Marijuana
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has again vowed to stand in the way of a measure on a ballot proposal to legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana, which followed guidance from a previous Florida Supreme Court decision — and if the court sides with her, proponents will be left at an impasse, say Daniel Russell and Daniel McGinn at Dean Mead.