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Food & Beverage
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August 14, 2024
Suit Claims Giant Uses Banned, Toxic Oil In Orange Soda
A proposed class of soda drinkers is suing The Giant Co. LLC in Pennsylvania federal court, alleging that it makes and sells orange soda made with a kind of vegetable oil that federal regulators banned for its negative effects on the thyroid gland.
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August 14, 2024
Skadden, Davis Polk Guide $2.1B US Food Service Deal
Skadden-led Performance Food Group Co. said Wednesday it has agreed to purchase private equity-backed food service distributor Cheney Bros. Inc., represented by Davis Polk, for $2.1 billion in cash.
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August 14, 2024
Candy Giant Mars Paying $36B For Pringles Maker Kellanova
Snack food and candy giant Mars Inc. said Wednesday it has agreed to purchase Kellanova, the maker of Cheez-It and Pringles snacks, for $35.9 billion, including assumed debt, in a deal that "enables Mars to further shape the future of snacking" and is the largest merger announced all year.
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August 13, 2024
Fund Manager Seeks Del. Legal Fee Rulings In Ponzi Fight
Attorneys for a former hedge fund manager now entangled in wide-ranging Ponzi scheme allegations urged a Delaware vice chancellor on Tuesday toward quick action on his legal fee indemnification claims, citing "great risk" from mounting personal liability exposure.
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August 13, 2024
Full 7th Circ. Asked To Review Tossing Of Protein Pouch Fight
A Florida-based protein powder maker is asking the Seventh Circuit to reconsider its upholding of a Wisconsin federal court's decision to toss its claims over allegedly defective plastic zipper pouches on the grounds that they were filed too late.
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August 13, 2024
Campbell Soup Co. Defends V8 Splash Labeling As Accurate
Campbell Soup Co. has urged a New Jersey federal judge to toss a putative class action alleging it duped consumers into thinking its V8 Splash beverages are naturally flavored and healthy, saying the drinks' labels never claimed the drinks were free of artificial flavors.
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August 13, 2024
Aramark Applicant Drops Wash. Pay Transparency Suit
A job applicant on Monday dropped her proposed class action accusing Aramark of failing to include full pay ranges in job postings in violation of Washington state's wage transparency law.
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August 13, 2024
Parts Maker Can't Escape Goya Death Suit
A machine manufacturer must face claims that a negligent inspection at a Texas-based Goya food distribution center led to a forklift operator burning to death after crashing into a pipe carrying hot beans, a federal judge has ruled, saying a jury could still find the company liable for failing to warn of the low hanging pipe.
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August 13, 2024
Kroger Blasts FTC's 'Head-To-Head' Competition Claims
Kroger and Albertsons have assailed the Federal Trade Commission's challenge to their merger, telling an Oregon federal judge that there's no need to preliminarily block the deal because the agency is pushing a "never before applied" theory that reducing head-to-head competition is illegal, which the grocery stores said is undone by the law and the companies' planned divestiture of 579 stores.
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August 13, 2024
Tort Report: Disney Blasted For 'Absurd' Arbitration Bid
A Disney unit's unconventional bid to arbitrate a wrongful death suit and a hefty crash suit verdict out of California lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.
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August 13, 2024
Eateries Can't Stop $75M Settlements In Chicken Antitrust Suit
An Illinois federal judge granted final approval Tuesday to $75 million in settlements between direct chicken purchasers and House of Raeford Farms and Koch Foods in a massive consolidated price-fixing case, denying an objection by restaurants, which he said could not second-guess class counsel's decisions after failing to opt out.
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August 13, 2024
Fla. Produce Co. Can't Change Settlement, EEOC Says
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked a Michigan federal court Tuesday to enforce a settlement with a Florida-based produce supplier that is now insisting on changing the deal over sexual harassment claims after the parties had already agreed on the terms.
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August 13, 2024
Food Law Atty Rejoins Thompson Coburn From Davis Wright
Thompson Coburn LLP said this week that a former partner who focuses on agriculture and food law has rejoined the firm's St. Louis office after a stint with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
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August 12, 2024
Colo. Brewery And Ex-Manager Settle Embezzlement Suit
A Colorado brewery and its ex-manager accused of embezzling more than $600,000 for his own business agreed to permanently dismiss a lawsuit, one day after a state judge let the brewery seek punitive damages in the case.
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August 12, 2024
NLRB Official Says Justices' Ruling Doesn't Ax Injunction Bid
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to nix a two-part legal test available to National Labor Relations Board prosecutors pursuing injunctions in some circuits and standardize the use of a four-part test will not diminish prosecutors' likelihood of winning an injunction against a Michigan hospital, an NLRB official argued.
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August 12, 2024
Microplastics False Ad Complaint 'Doesn't Hold Water'
An Illinois federal judge has thrown out a proposed class action alleging that BlueTriton Brands Inc. doesn't tell consumers that its Ice Mountain spring water contains microplastics, saying no reasonable consumer would believe "100% natural spring water" is a guarantee down to the molecular level.
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August 12, 2024
Fed. Circ. Says Co. Can't Patent Coke Zero's Secret Sweetener
A Federal Circuit panel found Monday that the company that developed the artificial sweetener used in Coke Zero can't patent its formula after it has already touched the lips of customers even if they kept the recipe secret, something that's consistent with "precedent going back to the 1800s."
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August 12, 2024
Cannabis Drink Cos. Drop Challenge To Iowa THC Law
After failing to temporarily block an Iowa law that imposed new restrictions on hemp-derived THC consumables, two manufactures of cannabis-infused drinks have decided to drop their lawsuit seeking to upend the statute, according to a notice filed in federal court.
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August 12, 2024
Beyond Meat Escapes Investor Suit Over Production Woes
A California federal judge has tossed a proposed class action accusing vegan burger manufacturer Beyond Meat of securities fraud, saying investors will need to be more specific about what the company's CEO knew at the time he touted the company's allegedly faltering partnerships with fast-food restaurants like McDonald's.
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August 12, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Multimillion-dollar share conversions, power struggles in a classic rock band, a good deal for fandom collectibles, and a pindown by two heavyweights were all part of the spectacle in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week. New cases involved pharmaceutical companies, cannabis, drones and liquid-gas exports. In case you missed it, here's the latest from the Chancery Court.
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August 09, 2024
The Long Road To Legalizing Pot In Florida And South Dakota
Voters in Florida and South Dakota will have the opportunity this Election Day to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over, and while the two efforts vary in their particulars, they both follow years of work by legalizers to craft a proposal that could gain court approval.
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August 09, 2024
Domino's Drivers' Attys Urge Court To Reject Sanctions Bid
Attorneys for Domino's Pizza delivery drivers alleging the company doesn't properly reimburse for mileage expenses have implored a Michigan federal judge not to sanction them, saying they weren't aware of arbitration agreements the company alleges should preclude the action until Domino's produced them.
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August 09, 2024
DC Circ. Says Animal Group Can't File Perdue False Ad Suit
The Animal Legal Defense Fund doesn't have standing to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture over labels the agency approved for Perdue poultry products that the advocacy group says mislead customers into believing the animals have access to the outdoors, the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday.
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August 09, 2024
Kraft-Heinz Investor Can't Revive Del. Insider Trading Suit
Attorneys for a Kraft Heinz stockholder lost a bid to convince Delaware's Court of Chancery that new evidence justified reopening a dismissed suit alleging that company insiders with ties to a controlling investor, Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital Inc., sold $1.2 billion worth of shares on nonpublic information.
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August 09, 2024
Fishery Says DOL's Refusal To Testify Should End Wage Suit
A Mississippi fishery is urging a federal judge to dismiss the U.S. Department of Labor's suit alleging the company interfered in the agency's wage investigation, saying the acting labor secretary's refusal to testify warrants ending the case.
Expert Analysis
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Classwide Calculations May Get Price Premium Damages Wrong
In many consumer class actions, plaintiffs assert that they overpaid for a product because of a misrepresented or defective product feature, and that a single price premium estimate can be applied classwide — but failure to account for differences in price premiums across a putative class may lead to improper damage awards, say economists at Ankura Consulting.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Insurance Lessons From 11th Circ. Ruling On Policy Grammar
The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in ECB v. Chubb Insurance, holding that missing punctuation didn't change the clear meaning of a professional services policy, offers policyholder takeaways about the uncertainty that can arise when courts interpret insurance policy language based on obscure grammatical canons, say Hugh Lumpkin and Garrett Nemeroff at Reed Smith.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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Mercon Coffee Ch. 11 Ruling Shows Insider Releases' Limits
A New York bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Mercon Coffee’s Chapter 11 case highlights the stringent requirements for retention-related transfers to insiders, even in cases where no creditor has objected, say Robert Klyman and Scott Shelley at DLA Piper.
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Illinois BIPA Reform Offers Welcome Relief To Businesses
Illinois' recent amendment to its Biometric Information Privacy Act limits the number of violations and damages a plaintiff can claim — a crucial step in shielding businesses from unintended legal consequences, including litigation risk and compliance costs, say attorneys at Taft.
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Gilead Drug Ruling Creates Corporate Governance Dilemma
If upheld, a California state appellate court's decision — finding that Gilead is liable for delaying commercialization of a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on another drug — threatens to undermine long-standing rules of corporate law and exposes companies to liability for decisions based on sound business judgment, says Shireen Barday at Pallas.
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Rebuttal
Cancer Research Org. Is Right To Avoid Corporate Influence
While a previous Law360 guest article criticizes the International Agency for Research on Cancer's processes, its reliance on peer-reviewed literature is proper and its refusal to allow corporate influence is sound science, say Lance Oliver and Ridge Mazingo at Motley Rice.
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How Courts' Differing Views On Standing Affect PFAS Claims
Two recent opinions from New York federal courts — in Lurenz v. Coca-Cola, and Winans v. Ornua Foods North America — illustrate how pivotal the differing views on standing held by different courts will be for product liability litigation involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, particularly consumer claims, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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Defamation Suit Tests Lanham Act's Reach With Influencers
Recently filed in the Northern District of Texas, Prime Hydration v. Garcia, alleging defamation and Lanham Act violations based on the defendant's social media statements about the beverage brand, allows Texas courts and the Fifth Circuit to take the lead in interpreting the act as it applies to influencers, says attorney Susan Jorgensen.
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Addressing The Growing Hazards Of Mass Arbitration
Though retail companies typically include arbitration provisions in their terms of service, the recent trend of costly mass arbitrations filed by plaintiffs may cause businesses to rethink this conventional wisdom, say attorneys at BCLP.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.