Food & Beverage

  • August 29, 2024

    Trucker Urges Justices To Back Wide RICO Scope In CBD Case

    A commercial truck driver who alleges he lost his job after consuming products containing THC is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm a Second Circuit ruling that the civil racketeering statute applies to personal injuries when they upset a person's employment.

  • August 29, 2024

    Judge Trims Assault, Wage Claims Against Long Island Cafe

    A New York federal judge tossed some claims brought by one of eight former employees suing Marie Eiffel Market, a Long Island cafe popular with celebrities, but left the majority of the claims brought by the employees untouched.

  • August 29, 2024

    FTC Wants Kroger's Constitution Suit To Follow Merger Case

    The Federal Trade Commission is sparring with Kroger over where, and when, to handle the grocery giant's constitutional counterattack to the FTC's merger challenge, with the agency teeing up a bid to move the company's Ohio federal court suit to Oregon, where it's defending the proposed Albertsons purchase.

  • August 29, 2024

    Wendy's Settles Beef Over Mystery Shopper Data Patent

    Wendy's International LLC and subsidiary Quality Is Our Recipe LLC have cut a deal to end data patent infringement claims brought against them in a sprawling intellectual property case that has already seen several settlements from other fast-food chains.

  • August 29, 2024

    Bankruptcy Judge Allows Red Lobster To Reject 23 Leases

    Troubled seafood chain Red Lobster gained a Florida bankruptcy judge's approval for its proposal to reject leases of an additional 23 restaurant locations slated to close at the end of the month.

  • August 29, 2024

    Deals Rumor Mill: Ackman IPO, Covestro Takeover, Trinitech

    Bill Ackman is reviving plans for an initial public offering of his new closed-end fund, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is inching closer to launching a takeover of plastics company Covestro, and private equity owners are exploring a $2 billion sale of financial software firm Trintech. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.

  • August 28, 2024

    Farmer Owes Monsanto $7.4M After Flouting Seed Judgment

    An Illinois federal judge has revived a 7-year-old judgment she entered against a farmer who allegedly prevented a farm from collecting some of its patented Monsanto soybean seed crops planted on the farmer's land and sold them for himself without permission.  

  • August 28, 2024

    Mich. Pot Co. Says Court Can Hear Suit Against IP Atty

    A Michigan cannabis company can maintain its lawsuit against an attorney and his wife who it claims badmouthed it on social media, a federal judge ruled, after the business showed the court has jurisdiction over the couple.

  • August 28, 2024

    'Holy Cow!': MLB Legend's Co. Sues Eatery Over Catchphrase

    A company that manages the intellectual property rights of the late Major League Baseball sportscaster Harry Caray filed a trademark infringement suit in Texas federal court Tuesday accusing a Dallas restaurateur of trying to piggyback off the goodwill associated with Caray's famed catchphrase "holy cow!"

  • August 28, 2024

    'Smoking-Gun' Flaw Found In New Ark. Hemp Law, Say Cos.

    In a legal fight over a recent Arkansas state law restricting hemp-derived intoxicants, the hemp companies who brought the challenge told a federal judge Wednesday they found "smoking-gun evidence" from regulators showing the 2023 law is unconstitutionally vague.

  • August 28, 2024

    Fla. Bank City National Says Applebee's Franchisees Owe $8M

    City National Bank of Florida sued a Louisiana-based Applebee's franchisee and three of its subsidiaries for $8.3 million, saying in a complaint filed Wednesday in Florida federal court that the companies defaulted on a federal COVID-19-era loan and then transferred control of their restaurants without consent.

  • August 28, 2024

    Teamsters Can't Arbitrate Sysco Pension Spat, Judge Says

    A Teamsters local can't take its challenges about a monthly early retirement benefit to arbitration, a Michigan federal judge determined Wednesday, finding that the grievance process under a collective bargaining agreement doesn't cover the dispute.

  • August 28, 2024

    Insurer Blasts Ralph Lauren's Appeal For COVID-19 Coverage

    Factory Mutual Insurance Co. urged the Third Circuit on Wednesday to reject Ralph Lauren Corp.'s bid to recoup up to $700 million in COVID-19 pandemic losses, blasting the fashion house's "conclusory allegations" that it was entitled to coverage.

  • August 28, 2024

    Wash. AG Fears Kroger Will Move Goalposts For Merger Trial

    The Washington Attorney General's Office told a state court Wednesday that Kroger refuses to commit to sticking with the current terms of its divestiture package in its merger with Albertsons, which the state fears would unfairly "move the goalposts" less than three weeks before a trial on the state's merger challenge kicks off.

  • August 28, 2024

    Instacart Can Arbitrate Driver's Suit, But 2nd Circ. To Weigh In

    A New York federal judge shipped to arbitration a driver's lawsuit alleging that Instacart misclassified him as an independent contractor but said the Second Circuit can weigh in on whether the Federal Arbitration Act's exemption applies that allows cases from transportation workers to stay in court.

  • August 28, 2024

    The Biggest Enviro Cases To Watch In 2024: Midyear Report

    Environmental attorneys can expect to see several developments in pending litigation during the remainder of 2024, including two cases that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear about Clean Water Act regulations for San Francisco and the extent of the federal government's authority as part of environmental reviews for projects. Here are some of the biggest cases to watch in the rest of 2024.

  • August 28, 2024

    Ga. Appeals Court Says Worker Should Get Pandemic Aid

    The Georgia Court of Appeals overturned a superior court order affirming the denial of pandemic unemployment assistance benefits to a college student who worked part-time at a Chick-fil-A, saying both the trial court and the Georgia Department of Labor's review board wrongly found he quit his job for personal reasons.

  • August 28, 2024

    Attys Duel Over Fees After $12.8M Deal In Chiquita MDL

    Attorneys for different sets of plaintiffs in long-running multidistrict litigation over Chiquita Brands International Inc.'s funding of Colombian paramilitary groups are facing off over attorney fees after a settlement in the case.

  • August 27, 2024

    Miss. Seafood Co. Pleads Guilty To 'Fish Substitution' Scheme

    The largest seafood wholesaler in the Mississippi Gulf Coast and two of its managers pled guilty Tuesday to scheming with others to market and sell cheap frozen fish imports as premium and locally sourced, federal prosecutors in Mississippi announced.

  • August 27, 2024

    Boston Cop's Family Sues Girlfriend, Bars For Wrongful Death

    The family of John "J.J." O'Keefe, the Boston police officer allegedly killed by his girlfriend Karen Read, filed a wrongful death suit against her and two local bars where the couple were seen before his death.

  • August 27, 2024

    Taco Bell Franchisee Will Pay $2M To End Job-Posting Suits

    A Taco Bell franchisee, Sharp Electronics and DoorDash are among the latest employers to reach class deals in Washington state court to end job seekers' allegations they failed to include salary or wage ranges in job postings, in violation of Evergreen State pay transparency laws.

  • August 27, 2024

    19 New Jersey Stores Cited For Selling Flavored Vapes

    Nineteen New Jersey shops could face fines of $4,500 for selling flavored vapor products, which were outlawed in the Garden State in April 2020, the state attorney general said Tuesday.

  • August 27, 2024

    Grocery Co. Appeals Union Pension Fund's Win To 7th Circ.

    A grocery retailer will appeal its Illinois federal court loss to the Seventh Circuit in a dispute over union pension fund withdrawal liability, after the court in July backed an arbitrator's decision that upheld the union's calculation of what was owed as compliant with federal benefits law.

  • August 27, 2024

    Perdue Says Jarkesy Sinks DOL's Whistleblower Process

    Perdue Farms Inc. has challenged the constitutionality of the U.S. Department of Labor's administrative proceedings for whistleblower complaints as it faces a retaliation complaint from a contractor.

  • August 27, 2024

    Randy Mastro, Gibson Dunn In Arbitration Over Departure

    Trial lawyer Randy Mastro is locked in closed-door arbitration with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP over the terms of his 2022 departure for King & Spalding LLP, the litigator revealed Tuesday as part of his controversial nomination to serve as New York City's top lawyer.

Expert Analysis

  • What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement

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    A look at recent attorney general actions, especially in the areas of antitrust and artificial intelligence, can help inform businesses on what they should expect in terms of enforcement trends as 10 attorney general races play out in 2024, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Reducing The Risk Of PFAS False Advertising Class Actions

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    A wave of class actions continues to pummel products that allegedly contain per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances, with plaintiffs challenging advertising that they say misleads consumers by implying an absence of PFAS — but there are steps companies can take to minimize risk, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.

  • Aldi Design Infringement Case Highlights Assessment Issues

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    The forthcoming English Court of Appeal decision in Marks and Spencer v. Aldi, regarding the alleged infringement of design rights, could provide practitioners with new guidance, particularly in relation to the relevant date for assessment of infringement and the weight that should be attributed to certain design elements in making this assessment, say Rory Graham and Georgia Davis at RPC.

  • USCIS Fee Increases May Have Unintended Consequences

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    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ new fee schedule, intended to provide the agency with needed funds while minimizing the impact of higher fees on individual immigrants and their families, shifts too much of the burden onto employers, say Juan Steevens and William Coffman at Mintz.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • How Recent Laws Affect Foreign Purchase Of US Real Estate

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    Early diligence is imperative for U.S. real estate transactions involving foreign actors, including analysis of federal and state foreign investment laws implicated by the transaction, depending on the property's nature and location, the parties' citizenship, and the transaction's structure, say Massimo D’Angelo and Anthony Rapa at Blank Rome.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • The Corporate Disclosure Tug-Of-War's Free Speech Issues

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    The continuing conflict over corporate disclosure requirements — highlighted by a lawsuit against Missouri's anti-ESG rules — has important implications not just for investors and regulated entities but also for broader questions about the scope of the First Amendment, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

  • A Refresher On Alcohol Sponsorships Before The Super Bowl

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    As millions of people will see in Super Bowl commercials Sunday, celebrity sponsorships continue to be a valuable tool for alcohol beverage marketers — and those looking to better target audiences must understand how regulation of the alcohol industry affects these deals, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    Food Safety Bill Needed To Protect Kids From Heavy Metals

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    The recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that hundreds of children may have been exposed to unsafe lead levels in applesauce highlights the continuing failure by Congress to pass legislation that would require baby food manufacturers to ensure safer levels of heavy metals in their products, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

  • What Brands Must Know For Calif. Recycle Label Compliance

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    A brand that stamps nonrecyclable packaging with the chasing arrows symbol could face liability under California's new law on labeling recyclable material, so brand owners should keep an eye on the state's pending survey process to identify which materials meet the criteria before requirements go into effect, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

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    While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Zimbabwe Ruling Bolsters UK's Draw As Arbitration Enforcer

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    An English court's recent decision in Border Timbers v. Zimbabwe, finding that state immunity was irrelevant to registering an arbitration award, emphasizes the U.K.'s reputation as a creditor-friendly destination for award enforcement, say Jon Felce and Tulsi Bhatia at Cooke Young.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Brazil

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    Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.

  • Vagueness In Calif. Climate Law Makes Compliance Tricky

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    California's recently enacted Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act requires companies making claims of carbon neutrality, or significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions, to disclose information supporting those claims — but vague and conflicting language in the statute poses multiple problems for businesses, say John Rousakis and Chris Bowman at O'Melveny.

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