Retail & E-Commerce

  • November 14, 2024

    Atlanta Developer Says City Dodging Discovery In Property Fight

    An Atlanta landowner suing the city over its allegedly illegal condemnation of a disused fast food joint has asked a Georgia federal judge to keep the suit alive, telling the court the city can't win a recent summary judgment bid while discovery remains open.

  • November 14, 2024

    UPS Driver's Class Claims Can Stay In Court, Judge Says

    UPS can't make a driver arbitrate his sick leave and wage class claims against the company, a Colorado federal judge ruled, finding the plaintiff is part of a group of workers who are exempt under federal arbitration law because their jobs are linked to interstate commerce.

  • November 14, 2024

    Wash. Justices Grill Lowe's Attorney In Fallen Fencing Case

    Washington State Supreme Court justices pushed back Thursday against a stance taken by Lowe's that a shopper injured by a fallen roll of wire fencing had presented inadequate evidence showing the accident could've been anticipated, with one justice remarking that the big box store seemed to "gloss over" key details in the case.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • In Biz Account Breaches, Look Beyond The Payment Platform

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    A business's legal path to recovering funds after bad actors access a payment platform account and engage in unauthorized transactions can lead into murky legal territory where liability is unclear, and pursuing the payment platform itself will be an uphill, if not insurmountable, struggle, say Edward Marshall and Morgan Harrison at Arnall Golden.

  • A Look At Calif. Contract Considerations In Fiji Water Ruling

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    A California appellate court's recent decision in Carolina Beverage v. Fiji Water, that a party may not seek contractual recovery on the basis of constructive termination, offers a look at contract construction and other considerations on negotiating distribution agreements, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.

  • Making Plans For BNPL Consumer Protection Compliance

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    With an interpretive rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau set to require buy-now, pay-later providers to implement credit card-like consumer safeguards by the end of July, loan providers must solidify their federally compliant customer dispute resolution and disclosure procedures before the newly emboldened bureau's deadline, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Tailoring Compliance Before AI Walks The Runway

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    Fashion industry players that adopt artificial intelligence to propel their businesses forward should consider ways to minimize its perceived downsides, including potential job displacements and algorithmic biases that may harm diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, say Jeffrey Greene and Ivory Djahouri at Foley & Lardner.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • How Uyghur Forced Labor Law Affects Importing Companies

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    Amid a growing focus on forced labor in supply chains and a likely increase in enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, companies may face costly import delays unless they develop and implement compliance best practices, say Thad McBride and Lauren Gammer at Bass Berry.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

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    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What 4 Cyber Protection Actions Mean For Marine Transport

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    Several recent steps by the Biden administration are necessary to address the cyber threats that increasingly disrupt the maritime sector, but also impose new legal risks, liabilities and operating costs on the owners and operators of U.S.-flagged vessels and facilities, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Inside Antitrust Agencies' Rollup And Serial Acquisition Moves

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    The recent request for public comments on serial acquisitions and rollup strategies from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department mark the antitrust agencies' continued focus on actions that fall below premerger reporting thresholds, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

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    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Rare Robinson-Patman Ruling Exhibits Key Antitrust Risk

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    A rare federal court decision under the Robinson-Patman Act, which prohibits certain kinds of price discrimination, highlights the antitrust risks faced by certain suppliers and is likely to be cited by future plaintiffs and enforcement officials calling for renewed scrutiny of pricing and discounting practices, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Counterfeits At The Olympics Pose IP Challenges

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    With the 2024 Olympic Games quickly approaching, the proliferation of counterfeit Olympic merchandise poses a difficult challenge to the protection of intellectual property rights and the preservation of the Olympic brand's integrity, says Kimiya Shams at Devialet.

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