Food & Beverage

  • October 25, 2024

    Inari Wins Bid To Kill Plant Gene Patent At PTAB

    A Massachusetts-based plant breeding startup was able to show that a patent owned by a unit of a DowDuPont spin-off covering a plant gene resistant to weed killers wasn't patentable, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found.

  • October 25, 2024

    Vidal Warned Of 'Heightened' Burden, 'Loophole' In Seed Fight

    Two new petitions in front of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director say the patent administrative board created "a heightened new standard" in one instance and a trade secrets "loophole" in another in order to protect patents covering purportedly novel corn seeds developed by a unit of DowDuPont spin-off Corteva.

  • October 25, 2024

    Lemonade Co. Sues Brewers' Affiliate Over Deal Gone Sour

    A lemonade and nuts vendor is suing a minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers in Mississippi federal court, alleging that the team caved in to pressure from the Coca-Cola Co. and abruptly terminated an agreement that allowed the merchant to sell his items at home games.

  • October 25, 2024

    BLM Gives Green Light To Nevada Lithium Mine

    The Biden administration has announced that it's approving the proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in southeast Nevada, a decision a conservation group said threatens to push an imperiled wildflower species into extinction.

  • October 25, 2024

    Bimbo Fired 72-Year-Old 1 Year Before Retirement, Suit Says

    A longtime employee of Bimbo Bakeries USA filed a federal age discrimination lawsuit against his former employer Wednesday claiming that the company forced him out of his job just over a year before he was scheduled to retire, over bogus allegations that he stole company time.

  • October 25, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen the Competition and Markets Authority take action against a mattress retailer after it was caught pressuring its customers with misleading discounts, Lenovo and Motorola target ZTE Corporation with a patents claim, Lloyds Bank hit by another claim relating to the collapse of Arena Television and U.K. tax authority HMRC sued by the director of an electronics company that evaded millions of pounds in VAT. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • October 24, 2024

    Colo. Says Grocers' Execs Get Paid, No Matter The Fallout

    Colorado told a state judge Thursday that consumers bear the risk in a proposed $24.6 billion merger between Kroger Co. and Albertsons, arguing grocery executives will still get their multimillion-dollar payouts even if prices go up or stores close.

  • October 24, 2024

    Calif. Chili's Workers Fight Uphill For Meal Break Class Cert.

    A California federal judge considering class certification for nearly 1,300 Chili's employees, who are accusing the owner of their restaurants of not providing meal breaks, said Thursday that individualized questions about whether workers were coerced into asserting they voluntarily skipped their break could doom their bid.

  • October 24, 2024

    Walmart Sued Over Deceptively Marketed Avocado Oil

    A Florida woman filed a proposed class action accusing Walmart Inc. of falsely advertising its avocado oil, deceiving consumers into thinking it was pure when it was actually cut with cheaper oils.

  • October 24, 2024

    Walmart Hid Patent Evidence, Co.'s Sanctions Bid Claims

    Zest Labs wants Walmart sanctioned in a suit claiming the retail giant stole the startup's trade secrets related to shelf-freshness technology, telling an Arkansas federal judge that Walmart hid important evidence about patents it had filed applications for.

  • October 24, 2024

    Seneca Foods Must Pay Steel Duties On Tin Imports

    The country's largest vegetable canner must pay Section 232 tariffs to import tin, after the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the U.S. Department of Commerce justified its belief that the company could source the steel domestically.

  • October 24, 2024

    McDonald's Customers File First Suits Over E. Coli Outbreak

    A Colorado man and Nebraska woman have lodged the first lawsuits against McDonald's Corp. in the wake of the E. coli outbreak tied to its Quarter Pounder hamburgers, according to a pair of complaints filed in Illinois state court on Wednesday and Thursday.

  • October 24, 2024

    Bayer Hit With False-Ad Suit Over Malic Acid In Vitamins

    Bayer is falsely advertising its Flintstones sour gummy vitamins as being free of artificial flavors, a California woman alleged in a proposed class action filed Wednesday in state court, saying the multivitamin supplement meant for children actually gets its sour flavor from synthetic malic acid.

  • October 24, 2024

    Fenway Food Safety Czar Fired For Flagging Rats, Suit Says

    A former Aramark food safety manager said in a suit filed Thursday that he was fired because he raised concerns about unsanitary conditions at Fenway Park, a Boston music hall, and the spring training ballpark of the Boston Red Sox.

  • October 24, 2024

    Cleary-Led Keurig Buying Ghost Energy For $1B-Plus

    Cleary Gottlieb-led Keurig Dr Pepper said Thursday it has agreed to purchase Winston & Strawn LLP-advised energy drink purveyor Ghost in a two-part transaction that will include the upfront purchase of a 60% stake in Ghost for $990 million, followed by the purchase of the remaining 40% stake in 2028. 

  • October 24, 2024

    Cigna, Frontier Renew Stalled Merger Bids, Plus Other Rumors

    Cigna Group and Frontier Airlines have both restarted once-stalled bids to acquire smaller rivals, rekindling merger rumors spanning the healthcare and airlines industries, while Sports Illustrated's secondary ticket platform wants to borrow up to $50 million to acquire competitor Anytickets. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.

  • October 24, 2024

    DOL Says H-2A Farmworker Protections Must Remain

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged a Georgia federal court to uphold its new protections for foreign H-2A farmworkers, arguing that conservative-led states' bid to block its rule should fail because safeguarding foreign workers is key to ensuring better pay and conditions for American-born farmworkers.

  • October 23, 2024

    'Where's The Puff?' Judge Asks In Little Caesars IP Battle

    An Illinois federal judge asked Little Caesars Wednesday what was so puffy about its recent "Crazy Puffs" products, as a Chicago-based company that makes "Pizza Puffs" argued the chain is infringing trademarks it has held for nearly half a century.

  • October 23, 2024

    Stop & Shop Parent Co. Sued Over Orange Soda Ingredient

    The parent company of grocery stores Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and others was hit with a proposed class action Tuesday in North Carolina federal court alleging that the company's orange soda contained an oil additive that allegedly can cause neurological damage.

  • October 23, 2024

    Hibachi Restaurant Reaches $500K Wage Deal With Workers

    A New Jersey hibachi restaurant struck a $500,000 settlement with five former servers to resolve their lawsuit alleging the company did not pay them any wages and deducted money from their tips, which was their only source of income, according to a filing in federal court.

  • October 23, 2024

    DOJ Bolsters Defense In Pork Price-Fixing Case, Cos. Say

    Hormel, Tyson, JBS and other pork producers told a Minnesota federal court that a Justice Department intervention into a private price-fixing litigation actually backs their defense, even though the government took no position on the merits of the case.

  • October 23, 2024

    USDA Unveils $1.5B In Conservation, Climate-Smart Projects

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday revealed a $1.5 billion investment in 92 partner-driven conservation projects through the agency's Regional Conservation Partnership Program. 

  • October 23, 2024

    'Alkaline Water' Co. Hit With $5B In Punitive Damages

    A Nevada jury awarded $5 billion in punitive damages Wednesday in a 15-plaintiff trial over liver damage linked to Real Water's "alkaline water," the largest verdict yet in ongoing litigation against the bankrupt company.

  • October 22, 2024

    'Alkaline Water' Co. Owes $230M In Latest Liver Trial

    A Nevada state jury awarded $230 million Tuesday in the latest trial over liver damage from Real Water's "alkaline water" and sent the 15 plaintiffs, including a UFC fighter, to a punitive damages phase.

  • October 22, 2024

    Calif. Panel Says Panera Must Face PAGA Claims

    A California state appeals court on Monday reversed a state trial court's ruling compelling a Panera restaurant employee to arbitrate Private Attorneys General Act claims against the bakery and café chain, saying an arbitration agreement the worker had entered explicitly excluded PAGA claims.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: USDA Rules May Be Up In The Air

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    The Supreme Court's end of Chevron deference may cause more lawsuits against U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, like the one redefining "unfair trade practices" under the Packers and Stockyards Act, or a new policy classifying salmonella as an adulterant in certain poultry products, says Bob Hibbert at Wiley.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation

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    As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy

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    Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Anticipating Disputes In Small Biz Partnerships And LLCs

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    In light of persistently high failures of small business partnerships and limited liability companies, mediator Frank Burke discusses proactive strategies for protecting and defining business rights and responsibilities, as well as reactive measures for owners.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 36 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

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