Food & Beverage

  • July 01, 2024

    Crumbl Aims To Burn Privacy Suit Over Info-Tracking Cookies

    Crumbl LLC has urged a California federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action alleging the cookie maker helped payments processor Stripe Inc. illegally track customer activity and collect sensitive information via website cookies, saying the plaintiff's "poorly drafted" complaint fails to allege an underlying privacy violation.

  • July 01, 2024

    Visa, Mastercard Judge Says Apple Fee Case Should Exit MDL

    The Brooklyn federal judge handling multidistrict litigation over Visa and Mastercard merchant fees on Monday suggested that a case alleging the credit card companies had agreements with Apple that violated antitrust law should be sent back to Illinois federal court, saying the facts in the case are not similar enough.

  • July 01, 2024

    Military Store Service Says Blind Vendors Must Follow Process

    The U.S. Department of Defense asked a federal judge on Monday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by blind entrepreneurs accusing the military of ignoring a law that requires officials to prioritize businesses owned by blind people, arguing that the merchants should have completed the administrative process first.

  • July 01, 2024

    Washington State, Tribes Can Wade Into Water Regs Dispute

    A D.C. federal judge said Washington state and five Native American tribes can intervene in a business group's lawsuit trying to overturn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to reestablish water quality standards for the Evergreen State that it had rolled back during the Trump administration.

  • July 01, 2024

    Gluten Abounds In Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Bagels, Suit Says

    Trader Joe's has been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court claiming its "Gluten Free Almost Everything Bagels" actually contain high levels of gluten that exceed the legal limits for the claim.

  • July 01, 2024

    Wolfgang Puck Judge Chops Sanctions Bids In Royalty Fight

    A Florida magistrate judge on Sunday rejected competing sanctions bids in a contentious lawsuit filed by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and interior designer Barbara Lazaroff claiming the owner of an appliance company hid assets to get out of paying a $2.4 million arbitration award for unpaid royalties.

  • July 01, 2024

    Aldi Unit, Warehouse Settle Suit Over Rodent-Ravaged Sweets

    A New Jersey federal court has permanently tossed a suit brought by an Aldi branch and its insurer seeking payback from a warehouse operator after rodents feasted on hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of chocolate stored there, signing off on a settlement.

  • July 01, 2024

    Commerce Bulks Up Chinese Pea Protein Duties To 355%

    The U.S. Department of Commerce announced final countervailing duties topping 355% for four Chinese makers of pea protein, while producers considered to be under government control will face anti-dumping duties approaching 270%.

  • July 01, 2024

    Starbucks Targets 'Starbuds' Marijuana Truck In IP Suit

    Starbucks has filed a trademark suit against the operator of a repurposed New York City food truck that sells marijuana under the brand Starbuds Flowers and uses an altered image of the coffee giant's iconic siren logo smoking a joint.

  • July 01, 2024

    SD Ban On Modified Hemp Products Allowed To Take Effect

    A new South Dakota state law prohibiting the processing of hemp derivatives into intoxicating products was allowed to go into effect Monday after a federal judge declined to grant an injunction halting its enforcement while a constitutional challenge played out.

  • July 01, 2024

    Newman's Own Hairbrush License Deal Barred By Conn. Court

    Two daughters of late Hollywood actor and philanthropist Paul Newman have won a temporary injunction in Connecticut state court against the use of his image and likeness in connection with a Wet Brush brand hairbrush, barring the licensing of his publicity and intellectual property rights to any product that is not food.

  • July 01, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Two multimillion-dollar settlement approvals, a $25 million fee-shifting demand, and a biotech merger spoiled by murder: This was just the beginning of the drama last week in the nation's preeminent court of equity. Shareholders in satellite companies filed new cases, a cannabis company headed toward trial, and there were new developments in old disputes involving Tesla and Truth Social.

  • July 01, 2024

    Judge Won't Block Iowa Hemp Law Regulating THC Limits

    An Iowa law that imposes new restrictions on products with hemp-derived THC went into effect Monday after a federal judge, who previously expressed "serious concerns" about the statute's constitutionality, declined to grant a temporary restraining order halting its enforcement.

  • July 01, 2024

    Colo. Restaurant Says Insurer Must Cover Plumbing Damage

    A Denver restaurant said it is owed coverage for its property losses and a neighbor's demand for reimbursement after a sewage leak allegedly caused by defective plumbing work damaged a commercial condominium complex, telling a Colorado state court its insurer unreasonably denied or delayed coverage.

  • June 28, 2024

    Chevron's End Is Just The Start For Energized Agency Foes

    By knocking down a powerful precedent that has towered over administrative law for 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's right wing Friday gave a crowning achievement to anti-agency attorneys. But for those attorneys, the achievement is merely a means to an end, and experts expect a litigation blitzkrieg to materialize quickly in the aftermath.

  • June 28, 2024

    Visa, Mastercard Can Manage 'Greater' Fee Deal, Judge Says

    Visa and Mastercard could likely tolerate a "substantially greater judgment" than the proposed settlement valued at about $30 billion in multidistrict litigation over the credit card companies' merchant fees, a New York federal judge ruled in an order unsealed Friday evening, rejecting the parties deal.

  • June 28, 2024

    Iowa's Hemp Law Could Be 'Unconstitutionally Vague'

    A federal judge on Friday suggested she'd consider blocking an Iowa hemp law, set to go into effect Monday, which would impose new restrictions on THC levels and dole out criminal penalties, saying the statute "potentially raises due process concerns."

  • June 28, 2024

    In Chevron Case, Justices Trade One Unknown For Another

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overrule a decades-old judicial deference doctrine may cause the "eternal fog of uncertainty" surrounding federal agency actions to dissipate and level the playing field in challenges of government policies, but lawyers warn it raises new questions over what rules courts must follow and how judges will implement them.

  • June 28, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Revives Part Of Sprout Baby Food Label Suit

    A California couple suing Sprout Foods over nutrient statements on its baby food pouches can pursue a Golden State law claim but not fraud-based claims, a split Ninth Circuit panel ruled Friday, saying federal law doesn't preempt the state's labeling standards, but the parents haven't shown the products were misleading.

  • June 28, 2024

    The NFL Lost Big: What Happened, What Happens Next

    A California federal jury's rebuke of the NFL's Sunday Ticket broadcast package has the league staring down a $4.7 billion class action verdict, prompting experts to wonder why the league was willing to risk a jury trial in the first place and how it will try to overturn the verdict now that it lost.

  • June 28, 2024

    ITC Advances Probe Into Chinese Disposable Containers

    The U.S. International Trade Commission on Friday advanced an investigation into Chinese imports of disposable aluminum containers, pans, trays and lids after finding that the imports were potentially injuring domestic manufacturing.

  • June 28, 2024

    Off The Bench: NFL's Big Loss In Court, NBA Agent Spat

    In this week's Off The Bench, a jury delivers the NFL a $4.7 billion punch to the gut, an NBA agent looks to get paid for work that was credited to Rich Paul, and the Arizona Cardinals try to get a former executive's defamation claims sent to arbitration.

  • June 28, 2024

    EEOC Says Claims Of Trans Worker's Harassment Are Valid

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged an Illinois federal court to keep afloat its suit accusing a hog farm of allowing its president and a worker to harass a transgender female employee, saying it put forward enough details to back up its claims.

  • June 28, 2024

    High Court Enters July With 3 Rulings To Go

    In a rare move, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue opinions into the beginning of July as the court tries to clear its merits docket of three remaining cases dealing with presidential immunity, whether governments can control social media platforms' content moderation policies and the appropriate deadline to challenge agency action. 

  • June 28, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen Uber hit with claims from Addison Lee and the former CEO of the Kabbee app, animal by-product company Leo Group file a defamation claim against a local anti-odor campaigner, and a self-styled lord who claims to be the illegitimate son of the late Prince Phillip resume legal action against his cousins for a share in his late aunt's estate. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Expert Analysis

  • What The NYSE Proposed Delisting Rule Could Mean For Cos.

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    The New York Stock Exchange's recently proposed rule would provide the exchange with discretionary authority to commence delisting proceedings for a company substantially shifting its primary business focus, raising concerns for NYSE-listed companies over the exact definition of the exchange's proposed "substantially different" standard, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Trademark In Artistic Works 1 Year After Jack Daniel's

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    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products ruling, courts have applied Jack Daniel's inconsistently to deny First Amendment protection to artistic works, providing guidance for dismissing trademark claims relating to film and TV titles, say Hardy Ehlers and Neema Sahni at Covington.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

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    The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.

  • Calif. Web Tracking Cases Show Courts' Indecision Over CIPA

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    Several hundred cases filed to date, and two recent conflicting rulings, underscore California courts' uncertainty over whether the use of web analytics tools to track users' website interactions can give rise to a violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, says Patricia Brum at Snell & Wilmer.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

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    To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

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    Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • 'Food As Health' Serves Up Fresh Legal Considerations

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    The growth of food as medicine presents a significant opportunity for healthcare organizations and nontraditional healthcare players to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs, though these innovative programs also bring compliance considerations that must be carefully navigated, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • After Years Of Popularity, PAGA's Fate Is Up In The Air

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    The last two years held important victories for plaintiff-side employment attorneys in California Private Attorneys General Act litigation at the trial and appellate court levels, but this hotbed of activity will quickly lose steam if voters approve a ballot measure in November to enact the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act, says Paul Sherman at Kabat Chapman.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

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    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

  • Series

    Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.

  • Proposed Cannabis Reschedule Sidesteps State Law Effects

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act provides certain benefits, but its failure to address how the rescheduling would interact with existing state cannabis laws disappointed industry participants hoping for clarity on this crucial question, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

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    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • How Real Estate Cos. Can Protect Their IP In The Metaverse

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    The rise of virtual and augmented reality creates new intellectual property challenges and opportunities for real estate owners, but certain steps, including conducting a diligence investigation to develop an understanding of current obligations, can help companies mitigate IP issues in the metaverse, says George Pavlik at Levenfeld Pearlstein.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

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