Retail & E-Commerce

  • November 19, 2024

    Hemp Co. Hit With $100K Verdict, Loses Trade Secret Claim

    A Texas jury has hit a hemp products maker with more than $100,000 in damages after finding it knowingly sold defective THC gummies to a CBD retailer and rejecting claims that the manufacturer owns a right to the rosin-based method of THC extraction.

  • November 19, 2024

    Senators Blast Visa And Mastercard, Promise Action On Fees

    A bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary Committee members blasted executives from Visa and Mastercard on Tuesday over swipe fees charged to merchants, promising to rein in what the lawmakers called the companies' monopoly on credit card payments if they do not change their practices.

  • November 19, 2024

    Calif. Man Wants 9th Circ. To Rehear LG Battery Decision

    A California man who alleges that a faulty LG Chem Ltd. 18650 lithium-ion battery melted the skin off his hand is asking the Ninth Circuit for an en banc rehearing of a decision dismissing his defect claims against the company, saying the panel broke with other circuits and binding precedent by finding that California courts did not have jurisdiction over the Seoul-based company.

  • November 19, 2024

    Meat Buyer For BJ's Wholesale Says Co. Pushed Him Out

    A former BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. meat buyer who oversaw more than $12 billion in annual sales of beef and lamb for the Massachusetts-based company says he was fired after the retailer refused to accommodate his need to care for his ailing wife, according to a complaint filed on Monday in state court.

  • November 19, 2024

    Simpson Thacher-Led Blackstone Makes $8B Jersey Mike's Deal

    Private equity giant Blackstone said Tuesday it has agreed to buy a majority stake in Jersey Mike's Subs in a deal that values the fast-casual submarine sandwich outlet at about $8 billion, including debt, according to a person familiar with the matter.

  • November 19, 2024

    College Decor Co. Dormify Hits Ch. 11 With Up To $50M Debt

    Dormify Inc., a retailer that sells college gear and decor for dorms, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware, estimating between $10 million and $50 million in debt less than a week after a Pennsylvania federal court entered a default judgment against it in a lawsuit from an affiliate marketing firm.

  • November 18, 2024

    5th Circ. Indicates DOT Airline Fees Rule May Need Reworking

    A pair of Fifth Circuit judges signaled Monday that the U.S. Department of Transportation may have to rework its rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, suggesting that it might be too costly for airlines to comply with the mandate and consumers would be overloaded with information.

  • November 18, 2024

    Target Downs Investor Suit Over Inventory Glut For Good

    A Minnesota federal judge has tossed for good a proposed class action alleging Target Corp. and its top executives misled shareholders by hiding that the big-box retailer had "abandoned its customer-focused purchasing strategy" in favor of "indiscriminately buying large quantities of inventory" that consumers did not want.

  • November 18, 2024

    Ex-AutoZone CEO Must Face $1M 'Short-Swing' Profit Suit

    A Tennessee federal judge said a former AutoZone Inc. CEO must face an investor suit seeking to recover over $1 million in alleged "short-swing" trading profits on behalf of the company, saying the shareholder has plausibly alleged that the ex-CEO's trades were not exempt from certain insider trading rules.

  • November 18, 2024

    Netgear Says Huawei Engaging In Global Patent 'Warfare'

    Router maker Netgear urged a California federal judge Monday to hold a mini-trial to determine a reasonable royalty rate for licensing Wi-Fi technology patents from Huawei, which Netgear claims is engaging in anticompetitive behavior and a "scorched earth worldwide litigation campaign" to extract excessive royalties.

  • November 18, 2024

    9th Circ. Judges Seem Split In Trans Woman's Spa Bias Case

    Ninth Circuit judges debated Monday whether a nude Korean spa's ban on patrons who "present" as male discriminates against transgender women without gender-affirming surgery, with one judge asking how it was different from barring Black patrons and another who went to a similar spa as a boy in Korea seeming to suggest customers had a right to choose whom to be naked in front of.

  • November 18, 2024

    Live Nation Says Ticket Buyers Must Arbitrate Antitrust Suit

    Live Nation moved to arbitrate a proposed consumer antitrust class action alleging it monopolizes concert promotions and secondary ticketing services for major venues, arguing in New York federal court Friday the customers agreed to arbitrate any dispute each time they logged in to their accounts or accepted secondary ticket transfers.

  • November 18, 2024

    Brokerage Startup Defends Suit Over NAR Listing Rules

    A residential brokerage startup defended its antitrust lawsuit from dismissal motions filed by the National Association of Realtors and multiple brokerages, arguing in Utah federal court that it has standing to bring its suit "as an excluded competitor" and that it's not required to make specific claims about the roles of the defendants in the alleged antitrust conspiracy.

  • November 18, 2024

    Texas Judge Suggests Letting Influencers Battle Over 'Beige' IP

    A federal magistrate judge has declared that a "feud between social media influencers" in Texas is the first of its kind in the country, as it's an intellectual property dispute over replicating a rival's "neutral, beige, and cream aesthetic."

  • November 18, 2024

    FCC's Carr Likely To Test Agency's Ability To Rein In Big Tech

    Brendan Carr's selection as the next Federal Communications Commission chair prompted a wave of plaudits from industry and some dismay from liberal groups, but one thing stands out among experts: He will push to counter what he sees as out-of-control conduct by tech platforms.

  • November 18, 2024

    Electronics Co. Hit With Default In $2B Price Fixing Case

    A California federal court will enter a default judgment against Irico Group on claims that could total $2 billion in damages in long-running litigation over an alleged conspiracy to fix cathode ray tube prices after finding the Chinese electronics company failed to preserve evidence.

  • November 18, 2024

    Judge Surprised Circle K Fired Clerk Who Touched Robber

    A Tenth Circuit judge appeared stunned Monday that Circle K dismissed an elderly convenience store clerk after its management concluded the worker violated company policy when she physically confronted an armed robber.

  • November 18, 2024

    $100M Deal In Suit Over Walgreens Rx Prices Gets First OK

    An Illinois federal judge gave an initial blessing Monday to a $100 million deal resolving claims from consumers and unions that Walgreens unlawfully overcharged insured consumers for prescription drugs while allowing members of its cost savings club to pay less.

  • November 18, 2024

    5th Circ. Eyes Procedure In 1st NLRB Constitutionality Cases

    The Fifth Circuit appears poised to punt — for now — on the issue of the National Labor Relations Board's constitutionality after a panel questioned on Monday whether SpaceX and Amazon have valid challenges to "effective" denials of their efforts to thwart prosecution for alleged labor violations.

  • November 18, 2024

    Dad Drops From Conn. Death Suit After Attys Tried To Dump Him

    A Connecticut man has dropped his claims against Target Corp. and the maker of a recalled infant cushion over the death of his baby daughter, but the girl's mother and estate administrator will continue pursuing the federal product liability lawsuit, court records showed Monday.

  • November 18, 2024

    CPSC Fines Canadian Co. $16M Over Wall Beds

    The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Monday that a Canadian furniture-maker has agreed to pay up to a $16 million civil penalty over allegations that it failed to report a defect in its wall beds that resulted in injuries and one death.

  • November 18, 2024

    Rust-Oleum Falsely Touted Spray Paint Coverage, Suit Claims

    Paint manufacturer Rust-Oleum Corp. has been hit with proposed class claims in Illinois federal court by customers who claim the paint manufacturer misled them by advertising its "2x" spray paint line as providing twice the coverage of other general purpose paints, when its own data contradicts those label claims.

  • November 18, 2024

    Amazon Worker Can't Add Retaliation Claim To December Trial

    A federal judge in Washington state has rejected a worker's eleventh-hour bid to amend his lawsuit accusing Amazon of passing him up for a promotion after he took protected military leave, saying the operations manager cannot "ambush" the e-commerce giant with fresh retaliation allegations just weeks before a trial in December.

  • November 18, 2024

    Walgreens, Grocer Accused Of Flouting Lie Detector Law

    Walgreens and New England supermarket chain Shaw's are violating a Massachusetts law requiring that job applicants be advised that the state does not allow the use of lie detector tests in employment decisions, a pair of proposed class actions filed Monday allege.

  • November 18, 2024

    Trade Court Orders Rethink Of Brazilian Lemon Juice Duties

    The U.S. Court of International Trade has ordered trade officials to reconsider duties on Brazilian lemon juice, finding they failed to acknowledge that a Brazilian supplier and a Louis Dreyfus Co. subsidiary were reliant on each other.

Expert Analysis

  • Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession

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    About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Opinion

    AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

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    The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • A Class Action Trend Tests Limit Of Courts' Equity Powers

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    A troubling trend has developed in federal class action litigation as some counsel and judges attempt to push injunctive relief classes under Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure beyond the traditional limits of federal courts' equitable powers, say attorneys at Jones Day.

  • A Look At How De Minimis Import Rules May Soon Change

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    The planned implementation of executive actions focused on the de minimis rule as it applies to shipments means companies should use this interval to evaluate the potential applicability and impact of Section 301, Section 201 or Section 232 duties on their products, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Antitrust Issues To Watch Amid Google Ad Tech Trial

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    Regardless of the outcome of the U.S. Department of Justice's advertising technology antitrust suit against Google in Virginia federal court, matters ranging from market definition to unified pricing will likely have far-reaching implications for the digital advertising industry, competition and innovation, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • What To Know About Latest Calif. Auto-Renewal Law Update

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    While businesses have about nine months to prepare before the recently passed amendment to California's automatic renewal law takes effect, it’s not too early to begin working on compliance efforts, including sign-up flow reviews, record retention updates and marketing language revisions, say Gonzalo Mon and Beth Chun at Kelley Drye.

  • How Lucia, Jarkesy Could Affect Grocery Merger Challenge

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    While the Federal Trade Commission is taking a dual federal court and administrative tribunal approach to block Kroger's merger with Alberstons, Kroger's long-shot unconstitutionality claims could potentially lead to a reevaluation of the FTC's reliance on administrative processes in complex merger cases, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • How To Avoid Liability When Using Cookie Consent Managers

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    As companies attempt to comply with consumer protection laws by implementing cookie consent managers on their websites, they must be wary of separate legal risks that can stem from implementing or using these tools incorrectly, says Ian Cohen at LOKKER.

  • Basel Endgame Rules: A Change Is Coming

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    The Federal Reserve Board's recently announced recalibration of the Basel endgame proposal begins a critical chapter in the evolution of not only the safety and soundness of U.S. banks, but also of banks' abilities to lend and support American businesses and consumers, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Series

    Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • How Labeling And Testing May Help Reduce PFAS Litigation

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    As regulators take steps to reduce consumers’ exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as forever chemicals, companies can take a proactive approach to mitigating litigation risks not only by labeling their products transparently, but also by complying with testing and marketing standards, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility

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    The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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