Food & Beverage

  • February 05, 2025

    Trump's Immigration Agenda Could Gut Key Workforces

    Immigration raids are threatening harsh consequences for industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor, with economic losses being compared to recession levels if workers are swept up in the raids or don’t show up to work for fear of getting deported.

  • February 05, 2025

    DOL Scores Partial Win In Farmworker Union Wage Rate Fight

    A Washington federal judge has granted the U.S. Department of Labor a partial win in a farmworker union's challenge to federal policies that have allegedly depressed farmworker wages, concluding that some claims challenge DOL actions that aren't final agency actions.

  • February 05, 2025

    The Wonderful Co. Hits Rival With TM Suit Over Wonderspread

    The Wonderful Co. sued a competitor for trademark infringement in California federal court Wednesday, accusing it of mimicking its "Wonderful" marks and trying to sow consumer confusion by selling nut-based products in packaging that features similar names, "Wonderspread" and "Wondersquare." 

  • February 05, 2025

    Dickinson Wright Continues IP Growth With Chicago Hire

    Dickinson Wright PLLC said Wednesday that it had hired a named member of the small Illinois intellectual property firm formerly known as Bishop Diehl & Lee Ltd., marking the latest of the firm's many recent investments into the practice.

  • February 05, 2025

    Chancery Tosses Challenge To $1.1B Smart & Final Sale

    Writing that nothing in a "grab bag" of stockholder claims amounted to disclosure failures, Delaware's chancellor dismissed a suit challenging the $1.1 billion April 2019 sale of Smart & Final Stores Inc. — formerly controlled by funds of Ares Management Corp. — to interests of Apollo Global Management.

  • February 05, 2025

    Modelo, Constellation Urge Judge To Block 'Counterfeit' Beer

    Modelo and Constellation Brands have asked a Texas federal court to stop a beer distribution company from importing and selling "counterfeit" beers that have labels similar to those of Modelo, Corona and other beverages.

  • February 05, 2025

    China Hits Trump Tariffs With Mostly Symbolic WTO Challenge

    The Chinese government has challenged the Trump administration's new 10% tariff at the World Trade Organization, alleging violations of key global trade rules, even as years of U.S.-led gridlock has rendered the Geneva body mostly defunct as a dispute resolution forum.

  • February 05, 2025

    Food Slicer Patent Case Ends In Mistrial After 6 Days

    A Missouri federal judge has declared a mistrial on day six of a trial between two companies that accused each other of infringing food slicing patents.

  • February 05, 2025

    Justices' Ruling Nixes Md. Court's FLSA Order, 4th Circ. Told

    A Maryland federal court's decision imposing a stricter standard for an employer to claim an overtime exemption is no longer valid after the U.S. Supreme Court said the heightened evidence standard isn't necessary, an international food distributor told the Fourth Circuit.

  • February 05, 2025

    Ex-CBD Co. Franchisee Says Magistrate Can't Rule On DQ Bid

    A former franchisee for CBD company American Shaman Franchise System LLC on Wednesday objected to an order from a magistrate judge rejecting his bid to disqualify her, saying that a magistrate judge has no authority to decide on a posttrial motion.

  • February 04, 2025

    JBS Inks $83.5M Deal Over Ranchers' Beef Price-Fixing Claims

    One of the nation's biggest meat producers has reached an $83.5 million deal to end claims it conspired with others in the industry to suppress the price ranchers are paid for raising feeder cattle.

  • February 04, 2025

    Whirlpool Sinks Customer's Suit Over Service Plan Repair

    A Washington federal judge has tossed a customer's proposed class action over a dishwasher warranty for good, finding no "reasonable consumer" would have been misled to believe the terms covered the full cost of any repair given the "caveats" on marketing materials.

  • February 04, 2025

    Calif. Women Drops Bindle Bottle Suit Over Lead

    A maker of water bottles will not have to face an Oakland woman's lawsuit accusing it of selling products with high levels of lead after a California federal judge approved a request by both sides to permanently dismiss her claims.

  • February 04, 2025

    Calif. Agency's Individual Claims Against Grocer May Be Axed

    A California state judge on Tuesday told attorneys with the California Civil Rights Department that she doesn't think the law allows it to seek individual damages on behalf of the roughly 1,000 applicants it says were illegally denied jobs by a supermarket chain due to their criminal history, calling it a "problem" with the case. 

  • February 04, 2025

    Ex-Celsius VP Cops To Insider Trading In Florida Case

    A former vice president and head accountant of Celsius Holdings Inc. pled guilty to insider trading Tuesday in Florida federal court, admitting that he used confidential information about sales expectations to buy securities in the energy drink company and sold them a month later at a profit.

  • February 04, 2025

    Southern Glazer's Wants FTC Unfair Pricing Suit Canned

    Southern Glazer's asked a California federal judge Monday to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission's first price discrimination lawsuit in 25 years, arguing that even if the "mistaken economic theory" undergirding it holds true, dissents from the FTC's Republicans illustrate why the case fails anyway.

  • February 04, 2025

    Insurer Points To Limits In McDonald's Franchisees' Policies

    An insurer told a Washington federal court that it owes limited coverage to two McDonald's franchisees it insures in suits accusing them of illegally withholding specific pay figures in job postings. 

  • February 04, 2025

    'Is This A Joke?' Judge Denies Atty Fees For Grocery Patrons

    A California federal judge had so little tolerance for shoppers claiming victory and seeking attorney fees from the abandoned Kroger-Albertsons merger that in tossing their motion and underlying lawsuit he noted with incredulity, "Plaintiffs are actually making these arguments."

  • February 04, 2025

    Steptoe & Johnson Adds Business Duo In Dallas

    Steptoe & Johnson PLLC has bolstered its business department in Dallas with a pair of corporate attorneys, one who joined from Carrington Coleman Sloman & Blumenthal LLP and one who arrived from Cowles & Thompson PC.

  • February 03, 2025

    5th Circ. Panel Split On NLRB Case After Post-Loper Remand

    Members of a Fifth Circuit panel appeared split Monday about whether to once again uphold a National Labor Relations Board decision letting its acting prosecutor pull a pending suit in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year to scale back courts' deference to federal agencies.

  • February 03, 2025

    Canada, Mexico Would Likely Get 'Symbolic' Wins On Tariffs

    Canada and Mexico inked deals with the Trump administration on Monday to win a 30-day reprieve on a blanket 25% tariff slated to be imposed on nearly all of their U.S.-bound exports. But if the tariffs are eventually enacted and the United States' North American neighbors seek out relief from international tribunals, experts say Washington would probably lose — but that result probably wouldn't change much.

  • February 03, 2025

    Canada Gets Trump Tariffs Paused After Retaliation Threats

    Canada and the U.S. have agreed to pause planned tariffs for at least 30 days while the two countries try to work out an agreement, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump said late Monday afternoon, an announcement that came after Canada floated retaliatory tariffs earlier in the day and said it would rip up a contract with Elon Musk's Starlink.

  • February 03, 2025

    Food Plant Says AIG, Others Stalling Fire Payout

    A Massachusetts food plant that sustained extensive damage in two fires 10 days apart last year says its insurers, led by AIG, have covered just 1% of its losses and appear to want the company to pay two deductibles totaling nearly $10 million, despite findings that the two fires were connected.

  • February 03, 2025

    Kroger, Albertsons No-Poach Suit Back In Colo. Court

    A proposed class action accusing Kroger Co. and Albertsons of brokering an illegal no-poach agreement that hurt wage negotiations during a strike in Colorado is back in state court, after a grocery store worker dropped a federal court lawsuit and refiled her claims in Denver District Court.

  • January 31, 2025

    McDonald's Settles Suit Over Latino College Scholarships

    McDonald's told a Tennessee federal court on Friday that it is revising its Latino scholarship program to get rid of requirements for applicants to be of Hispanic or Latino heritage, ending a lawsuit lodged by a group that had successfully sued Harvard University over its affirmative action policies.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Advertising Law Trends To Watch In 2025

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    Although advertisers are encouraged by the incoming Trump administration's focus on deregulation, this year could feel like wading through uncharted waters, and decreased federal government regulation may mean increased state regulation, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • NY Plastic Pollution Verdict May Not Bode Well For Other Suits

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    The dismissal of New York state's public nuisance complaint against PepsiCo over pollution of the Buffalo River with the company's single use plastic bottles may not augur well for similar lawsuits filed by Baltimore and Los Angeles County, although tort law varies from state to state, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • 2024 Was A Banner Year For Shareholder Activism

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    Shareholder activism campaigns in 2024 continued at an elevated pace globally, with activist investors exploiting valuation gaps and pushing aggressively for corporate governance reforms, including the ouster of many companies' chief executives, a trend that could continue once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • How Trump 2.0 May Change Business In Latin America

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    Companies in Latin America should expect to face more trade restrictions, tighter economic sanctions and enhanced corruption risks, as the incoming administration shifts focus to certain non-U.S. actors, most notably China, says Matteson Ellis at Miller & Chevalier.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Surprise NC COVID Ruling Revises Reasonable Expectations

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    The North Carolina Supreme Court's recent finding in favor of policyholders in a suit for business interruption coverage due to COVID-19 shutdown orders runs contrary to most other state and federal courts' holdings on the issue, and may revitalize the reasonable expectations doctrine in the state, say attorneys at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Complying With Seasonal Product Labeling Requirements

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    Though the holiday season is in the rearview, many seasonal alcohol products remain in the market, and producers should ensure that their labels comply with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's additional requirements for such products, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

  • 5 Drug And Device Developments That Shaped 2024

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    The last year saw significant legal developments affecting drug and device manufacturers, with landmark decisions and regulatory changes that require vigilance and agility from the industry, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • How To Manage During A Trade Dispute With USMCA Partners

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    Companies can try to minimize the potential impacts of future tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, and uncertainty about future trade relations, by evaluating supply chains, considering how they may be modified, and engaging with the new administration over exemptions and the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Product Safety Issues In 2024 Highlight Need For Vigilance

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    A look at some of the medications and foods that led to significant class actions last year demonstrates the need for robust regulatory systems and proactive measures to protect consumers from defective and harmful products, says Jennifer Taylor at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin.

  • Lessons Learned From 2024's Top ADA Decisions

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    Last year's major litigation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act highlights that when dealing with accommodation requests, employers must communicate clearly, appreciate context and remain flexible in addressing needs, say attorneys at Dechert.

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