Retail & E-Commerce

  • November 14, 2024

    Dick's Settles New Jersey AG's Suit Over Ammunition Sales

    New Jersey and Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. have reached a deal to resolve allegations that the retail chain violated the Garden State's consumer protection laws by selling and shipping large capacity ammunition magazines into the state, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Thursday.

  • November 14, 2024

    Importer Says Its Duty Probe Answers Give It Standing To Sue

    A company that imports mattresses has hit back at the government's argument that the importer cannot challenge duties it incurred because it didn't participate in an investigation into the tax, saying the company provided factual data in response to a questionnaire during the probe.

  • November 14, 2024

    Whole Foods Workers Seek Massive Class In 401(k) Fee Suit

    Former Whole Foods employees have asked a Texas federal judge to turn their suit against the company into a class action, saying they'd like to represent nearly 100,000 current and former employees in litigation accusing the grocery chain of mismanaging its 401(k) plan.

  • November 14, 2024

    Ex-Worker Says Johnson & Johnson Fired Her For Disabilities

    Johnson & Johnson was sued in Georgia federal court Wednesday by a former employee who said she was discriminated against for her disabilities, then fired for failing to relocate to New Jersey despite an agreement allowing her to work remotely from any East Coast location.

  • November 14, 2024

    Attys Want To Drop Baby's Dad As Client In Conn. Death Suit

    The father of the victim at the center of a product liability lawsuit against Target Corp. and a baby lounger manufacturer has stopped communicating with counsel and apparently wants nothing more to do with the case, his attorneys told a Connecticut federal judge in seeking to drop him as a client.

  • November 14, 2024

    Capri, Tapestry Kill $8.5B Handbag Deal Amid FTC Battle

    Capri Holdings Ltd. and Tapestry Inc. have called off their $8.5 billion merger following an extended regulatory battle with the Federal Trade Commission, with the companies mutually agreeing to terminate the deal because it is "unlikely" to obtain the regulatory approvals needed to close on time, Capri said Thursday.

  • November 14, 2024

    Meta Fined €798M For Tying Marketplace Ads To Facebook

    The European Union's antitrust watchdog hit Meta Platforms Inc. with a €797.8 million ($841 million) fine Thursday for giving its Facebook Marketplace an unfair advantage over rival online classified ads services by automatically showing postings to its social media users.

  • November 13, 2024

    Jury Backs Some Claims In Inline Plastics Patent, Axes Others

    A Massachusetts federal jury on Wednesday upheld two claims in a patent covering a tamper-resistant container, the latest development in a six-year-old infringement dispute.

  • November 13, 2024

    Tempur Sealy Has 'Keys' To Merger, Mattress Firm CEO Says

    Mattress Firm's CEO told a Houston judge Wednesday that he has not had any involvement in Tempur Sealy's post-acquisition agreements with mattress suppliers, testifying that Tempur's board chairman and CEO is the one "driving" the deal.

  • November 13, 2024

    Ex-Oil Products Co. VP Admits To Stealing Trade Secrets

    A former executive at a New Jersey-based producer of oil products and proprietary flavors admitted possessing and conspiring to possess stolen trade secrets, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey announced Wednesday.

  • November 13, 2024

    Store Chain Must Face Customer's Cookie Label Injury Suit

    A Japanese convenience store chain can't escape a proposed class action by a shopper who claims she suffered a violent allergic reaction due to its mislabeled cookies made with nuts, a federal judge has ruled, allowing the woman's claims that its other products may be similarly mislabeled.

  • November 13, 2024

    3 Men Sentenced For Fake 'Alaska Stone Arts' Scheme

    Three men have been sentenced for scheming to sell hundreds of phony products by passing them off to unsuspecting customers as authentic artwork made by Alaska Natives, the U.S. government said.

  • November 13, 2024

    NJ Sues Gun Retailers That Sold Ammo To Undercover Cops

    Two Garden State firearms retailers have been hit with lawsuits for selling ammunition and gun-related products to undercover investigators without asking for proof that they could lawfully possess a firearm, the state's top law-enforcement official announced Wednesday.

  • November 13, 2024

    Insurers Say Hyundai, Kia Should Pay For Combusting Cars

    A slew of insurers for owners of certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles are suing the companies in a case removed to California federal court Wednesday, seeking to recoup costs associated with almost a decade of claims for cars that allegedly spontaneously combust and have not been fixed by the manufacturers.

  • November 13, 2024

    Instant Brands Equity Owner Accused Of Lying To Lenders

    The litigation trustee for bankrupt kitchenware maker Instant Brands Wednesday filed suit in Texas bankruptcy court accusing the company's equity owner of lying to lenders and sending the company into Chapter 11 in order to collect $200 million in dividends.

  • November 13, 2024

    1st Circ. Punts Pandemic Retail Antitrust Case To Puerto Rico

    A divided First Circuit has ruled that local Puerto Rico courts, not federal courts, should hear an unfair-competition suit by local merchants accusing major big-box retailers Costco and Walmart of violating executive orders during the pandemic by continuing to sell "non-essential" goods.

  • November 13, 2024

    Kohl's Accused Of Cheating Calif. Workers Out Of OT, Breaks

    Department store chain Kohl's engaged in a series of wage and hour violations in California, including failing to pay overtime to nonexempt employees and failing to provide meal and rest breaks, a worker told a state court.

  • November 13, 2024

    7-Eleven Exec Throws Hat In Ring With Buyout Bid

    The parent of 7-Eleven said Wednesday it has received a nonbinding bid from an executive and one of his companies, at a reported $11 billion premium over a prior $47 billion takeover offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

  • November 13, 2024

    Online Car Financing Co. Vroom Crashes Into Ch. 11

    Former used car seller and financier Vroom Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday in Texas with a prepackaged plan to swap $290 million of debt for the bulk of the equity in a reorganized business.

  • November 12, 2024

    Sephora Again Loses Bid To Toss Ex-Workers' Late Pay Suit

    A New York federal judge on Tuesday stood by his decision denying Sephora's motion to dismiss a proposed class action accusing it of not paying employees every week, rejecting the company's contention that he used an incorrect standard of review when departing from a federal magistrate judge's recommendation to toss the case.

  • November 12, 2024

    Big Tech Litigant's Latest Suit Vs. Google Tossed

    A Florida federal judge has granted Google's motion to dismiss a patent infringement and antitrust suit from web development company Greenflight targeting the search giant's reverse phone number lookup, ruling that the plaintiff's phone lookup service appearing low on Google's search results doesn't amount to standing to sue.

  • November 12, 2024

    'Heat Machine' Maker's Trade Dress Win Clears 8th Circ.

    The Eighth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a finding from a bench trial that cleared the Costco supplier behind the "Heat Machine" involved in "a complex intellectual property dispute" with the maker of the "HeatDish," a different machine that Costco also sells.

  • November 12, 2024

    3 Firms Guide Rare Canadian IPO Eyed By Groupe Dynamite

    Canadian women's clothing retailer Groupe Dynamite Inc. has launched plans for an estimated C$300 million ($215 million) initial public offering, marking a rare Canadian listing under guidance from three law firms.

  • November 12, 2024

    HIV Drug Buyers Want Gilead Product Switch Claims Revived

    Insurers and benefit plans are asking the Ninth Circuit to revive a chunk of their antitrust case against Gilead, arguing their claims that Gilead delayed generic competition to its HIV drugs by monopolizing the market should have new life.

  • November 12, 2024

    Web App Antitrust Suit Backed By Epic-Apple, 9th Circ. Told

    A proposed class of iPhone buyers urged the Ninth Circuit on Friday to revive their antitrust claims over Apple's barriers against advanced web-based apps, saying a California federal judge's dismissal order directly contradicts binding precedent from Epic Games' landmark monopoly suit against the tech giant.

Expert Analysis

  • Diving Deep Into Sweeping NY Financing Bill — And Its Pitfalls

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    A New York bill seeking to impose state usury limits onto a broader variety of financing arrangements and apply lender licensing requirements to more diverse entities would present near-insurmountable compliance challenges for lenders and retailers, say Kate Fisher and Tom Quinn at Hudson Cook.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • High-Hazard Retailers: Are You Ready For OSHA Inspections?

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    In light of a bill introduced this month in Congress to protect warehouse workers, relevant employers — including certain retailers — should remain aware of an ongoing Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiative that has increased the likelihood of inspection over the next couple of years, say Julie Vanneman and Samantha Cook at Dentons Cohen.

  • Lessons On Challenging Class Plaintiffs' Expert Testimony

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    In class actions seeking damages, plaintiffs are increasingly using expert opinions to establish predominance, but several recent rulings from California federal courts shed light on how defendants can respond, say Jennifer Romano and Raija Horstman at Crowell & Moring.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Del. Dispatch: Chancery's Evolving Approach To Caremark

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    Though Caremark claims are historically the least likely corporate claims to lead to liability, such cases have been met in recent years with increased judicial receptivity — but the Delaware Court of Chancery still expressly discourages the reflexive filing of Caremark claims following corporate mishaps, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Why Employers Shouldn't Overreact To Protest Activities

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    Recent decisions from the First Circuit in Kinzer v. Whole Foods and the National Labor Relations Board in Home Depot hold eye-opening takeaways about which employee conduct is protected as "protest activity" and make a case for fighting knee-jerk reactions that could result in costly legal proceedings, says Frank Shuster at Constangy.

  • ITC Ruling Has Serious IP Implications For Foreign Imports

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    While a recent U.S. International Trade Commission decision is a win for trade secret owners who can show injury to a U.S. domestic industry, the decision also means that companies operating in foreign jurisdictions will be subject to the requirements of U.S. trade secret law, say Paul Ainsworth and Cristen Corry at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • TTAB Ruling Raises Foreign-Language Mark Questions

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    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's recent decision to cancel the Veuve Olivier registration due to its similarity to Veuve Clicquot brings new focus to the treatment of foreign terms and the doctrine of foreign equivalents, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Best Practices To Accommodate Workplace Service Animals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Since the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently pledged to enforce accommodations for people with intellectual, developmental and mental health-related disabilities, companies should use an interactive process to properly respond when employees ask about bringing service animals into the workplace, say Samuel Lillard and Jantzen Mace at Ogletree.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • Opinion

    State-Regulated Cannabis Can Thrive Without Section 280E

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    Marijauna's reclassification as a Schedule III-controlled substance comes at a critical juncture, as removing marijuana from being subjected to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code is the only path forward for the state-regulated cannabis industry to survive and thrive, say Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie and Sammy Markland at FTI Consulting.

  • 4 Sectors Will Likely Bear Initial Brunt Of FTC 'Junk Fees' Rule

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    If the Federal Trade Commission adopts its comprehensive proposed rule to ban unfair or deceptive fees across the U.S. economy, many businesses — including those in the lodging, event ticketing, dining and transportation sectors — will need to reexamine the way they market and price their products and services, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • 8 Legal Issues Influencing Investors In The Creator Economy

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    The rapidly expanding digital creator economy — funding for which more than doubled in the U.S. in the first quarter — comes with its own set of unique legal issues investors must carefully consider before diving in, say Louis Lehot and Alan Pate at Foley & Lardner.

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