Retail & E-Commerce

  • November 22, 2024

    GeigTech Gets $2.67M In Window Shade Patent Retrial

    A federal jury in New York has found in a retrial that lighting fixture company Lutron Electronics should have to pony up $2.67 million for infringing a company's window shade patent.

  • November 22, 2024

    Hemp Cos. Owner Seeks Toss Of Cousin's TM Dispute

    A Miami-based delta-8 THC products manufacturer is looking to toss an infringement lawsuit filed by a former business partner, telling a Florida federal judge that the suit appears to be a patent fight and therefore belongs in trademark court.

  • November 22, 2024

    1st Circ. Affirms Volvo Win In Dealers' Maintenance Pay Suit

    The First Circuit affirmed a pretrial win granted to Volvo in a suit brought by two dealerships claiming the carmaker was underpaying them for maintenance they perform under prepaid service plans.

  • November 22, 2024

    Walmart Class Attys In $123M Opioid Deal Seek $24.6M Fee

    Three plaintiffs firms known for shareholder litigation are seeking $25 million in fees for their work on a $123 million settlement with Walmart in Delaware's Chancery Court, ending a suit that claimed oversight failures at the retail giant led to reckless opioid prescriptions and massive liabilities.

  • November 22, 2024

    Judge 'Concerned' With 'Lack Of Progress' In Walmart OT Suit

    A Georgia federal judge warned that he was "concerned by the lack of progress on the limited discovery" he reopened last month at the request of a Walmart warehouse manager suing the company for unpaid overtime hours.

  • November 21, 2024

    Messi Drink's Look A 'Blatant' Copy, Logan Paul's Co. Says

    Social media influencer Logan Paul's sports beverage company Prime Hydration has struck back at the maker of White Claw over its new beverage collaboration with soccer legend Lionel Messi, saying in a New York federal court filing that the "blatant copying" of their Prime product's trade dress has already created consumer confusion.

  • November 21, 2024

    Children's Place Investor Drops Suit After Counsel Rule Qualm

    A New Jersey federal judge agreed Thursday to let an investor who protested conditions the court placed on his pick for lead counsel to voluntarily toss his proposed class action against clothing retailer The Children's Place Inc.

  • November 21, 2024

    Franchise Group Lenders Want End To Debtor's Ch. 11 Rights

    Lenders of bankrupt retail-focused holding company Franchise Group Inc., including Pacific Investment Management Co. and private equity firm Irradiant Partners, have urged a Delaware bankruptcy judge to end holdco debtor Chapter 11 exclusivity restrictions, arguing that the move offers the best escape from a near-inescapable "Gordian knot" entangling all their claims.

  • November 21, 2024

    FCC To Hit Video Doorbell Maker For Skirting Security Rules

    The Federal Communications Commission wants to slap Chinese smart home device maker Eken with a more than $700,000 fine for breaking agency rules that require foreign companies to have an agent located in the U.S.

  • November 21, 2024

    Walmart Hit With $34.7M Verdict For Defaming Truck Driver

    A California jury has awarded $34.7 million to a former Walmart truck driver, finding that the retailer defamed him when it falsely accused him of fraud and fired him after he was injured on the job and filed a worker's compensation claim.

  • November 21, 2024

    AutoZone, Ex-Manager Agree To Park Sex Bias Suit

    A subsidiary of car parts retailer AutoZone Inc. struck a deal to end a sex, gender and age bias suit from a former district manager who said the company fired her and replaced her with a younger worker, according to a filing in California federal court.

  • November 21, 2024

    Tempur Gave UK Co. 'Total Autonomy' Post-Merger, CEO Says

    The CEO of a United Kingdom-based mattress company acquired by Tempur Sealy in 2021 told a Houston federal judge Thursday that his new parent company has provided him "total autonomy" since the acquisition.

  • November 21, 2024

    Big Lots Seeks To Include Claims Against Execs In Asset Sale

    Discount retailer Big Lots on Thursday asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to approve a $760 million asset sale to a private equity group and override creditor objections to the inclusion of potential litigation claims against company insiders in the package.

  • November 21, 2024

    Glassmakers Seek Duty Probe On Overseas Competitors

    A group of U.S. glassmakers asked the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday to look into float glass imports from China and Malaysia, saying subsidies in those countries have allowed the imports to be sold at artificially low prices.

  • November 21, 2024

    EPA Announces National Strategy To Tackle Plastic Pollution

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday unveiled its national strategy outlining how government agencies, businesses, nonprofits and communities can prevent plastic pollution. 

  • November 21, 2024

    Sherwin-Williams Wants Pause In NJ Pollution Suit

    Sherwin-Williams asked a New Jersey state court to pause a suit from Garden State regulators over the contamination at one of its former plants, arguing an expert for the state has claimed the cleanup required under a consent decree failed to accurately assess the scope of contamination and that a massive new soil excavation is required.

  • November 21, 2024

    Louisiana Defends New Hemp Law From Industry Challenge

    A Cannabis industry-led lawsuit seeking to block Louisiana from imposing new restrictions on consumables infused with hemp-derived THC should be squashed, the state told a federal judge, saying the legal theories the suit presents "have been tried and failed elsewhere."

  • November 21, 2024

    Vape Maker Sued Over Illegally High Delta-9 THC Levels

    Two men are suing Lifted Liquids Inc. in Illinois federal court, alleging that its hemp-derived vape products contain more than .3% Delta-9 THC despite its advertising, making the products federally illegal and putting users at risk.

  • November 21, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Agrees Tomofun's Pet Camera Didn't Infringe Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed a lower court's finding that pet technology company Tomofun's Furbo pet camera didn't infringe a pet communication patent, agreeing that the product at issue didn't cover key patent language.

  • November 21, 2024

    Calif. Judge Says Dormant Commerce Inapplicable To Pot

    A California federal judge on Thursday tossed an out-of-state entrepreneur's challenge to Sacramento's cannabis social equity licensure program, asserting that the dormant commerce clause does not apply to federally illegal marijuana.

  • November 21, 2024

    Newell Brands Wants Baby Bottle Microplastics Suit Tossed

    Newell Brands Inc. moved Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of misleading buyers by labeling its Nuk brand of baby bottles as BPA-free while failing to disclose the products leach microplastics when heated, saying the label is "objectively truthful."

  • November 21, 2024

    Chewy Investors Sue BC Partners In Del. Over PetSmart Deal

    British international investment giant BC Partners exploited its control of online pet product retailer Chewy Inc. when a BCP affiliate merged into Chewy after divesting its interest in PetSmart Inc., saddling Chewy with a potential $1.9 billion post-deal tax liability, according to a new Delaware Court of Chancery complaint.

  • November 21, 2024

    DOJ Urges Chrome, Android Sales In Google Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice late Wednesday formally asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge to order a range of steps to end Google's monopolization of general search services and the text ads shown alongside search results, most notably by forcing the company to spin off the Chrome browser.

  • November 20, 2024

    CVS Can't Dodge Proposed Action Over 'Non-Drowsy' Claims

    CVS Pharmacy must continue facing a proposed class action alleging it "dangerously" markets over-the-counter medicine as "non-drowsy" despite containing a substance known to cause drowsiness after a Missouri federal judge on Wednesday refused to toss claims lodged under Missouri and other states' consumer protection laws.

  • November 20, 2024

    Lululemon Execs Hit With Derivative Suit Over DEI Program

    Lululemon leadership was hit with a shareholder derivative suit Wednesday claiming they made false statements related to the company's new "Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action" program that artificially boosted the company's stock price and also concealed problems with the company's inventory allocation.

Expert Analysis

  • Remedy May Be Google's Biggest Hurdle Yet In Antitrust Case

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    There are difficulties ahead in the remedies phase of the antitrust case against Google in District of Columbia federal court, including the search engine giant's scale advantage and the fast-moving nature of the tech industry, setting the stage for the most challenging of the proceedings so far, says Jonathan Rubin at MoginRubin.

  • Opinion

    The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address

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    A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union

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    As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • How Calif. Justices' Prop 22 Ruling Affects The Gig Industry

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    The California Supreme Court's recent upholding of Proposition 22 clarifies that Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other companies in the gig industry can legally classify their drivers as independent contractors, but it falls short of concluding some important regulatory battles in the state, says Mark Spring at CDF Labor.

  • How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act

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    In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.

  • Vendor Rights Lessons From 2 Chapter 11 Cases

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    A Texas federal court’s recent critical vendor order in the Zachry Holdings Chapter 11 filing, as well as a settlement between Rite Aid and McKesson in New Jersey federal court last year, shows why suppliers must object to critical vendor motions that do not recognize creditors' legal rights, says David Conaway at Shumaker.

  • Lessons From Rising Fake Discount Consumer Class Actions

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    Ellen Robbins and Scott Allbright at Akerman discuss the rise of false reference price consumer class actions and outline key strategies to minimize legal risk and protect businesses.

  • Classwide Calculations May Get Price Premium Damages Wrong

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    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.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Reaffirms Short-Swing Claims Have Standing

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    The Second Circuit's recent ruling in Packer v. Raging Capital reversing the dismissal of a shareholder's Section 16(b) derivative suit seeking to recover short-swing profits for lack of constitutional standing settles the uncertainty of the district court's decision, which could have undercut Congress' intent in crafting Section 16(b) in the first place, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?

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    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.

  • Series

    Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Illinois BIPA Reform Offers Welcome Relief To Businesses

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    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.

  • Unpacking The Latest FTC Guidance On Multilevel Marketing

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    Branko Jovanovic and Monica Zhong at Edgeworth Economics discuss the Federal Trade Commission's recent advice for multilevel marketers on how MLMs should approach their income and earnings reports, including participants costs, typical proceeds and distributor gains.

  • 3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture

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    Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.

  • How Courts' Differing Views On Standing Affect PFAS Claims

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    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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