Retail & E-Commerce

  • January 27, 2025

    Party City Inks Deal To Sell IP, Assets In 2nd Ch. 11

    Bankrupt retailer Party City has reached a stalking horse agreement to sell its brand name, other intellectual property and related operating assets to an affiliate of the pop culture merchandiser Ad Populum LLC, which owns the brand behind Chia Pet and is an owner of the entertainment complex at Elvis Presley's home Graceland.

  • January 27, 2025

    DC, Council Aim To Stop Block On Pot Shop Closures

    The D.C. Council and other city government agencies are urging the D.C. federal court to deny bids from cannabis retailers for injunctions to block enforcement of city cannabis regulations that has resulted in closures of some of the plaintiff stores.

  • January 27, 2025

    Walmart Hit With False Ad Suit Over Instant Mac And Cheese

    Walmart Inc. was hit with a putative false advertising class action in California federal court by customers who say the retail giant falsely markets its Great Value brand of instant macaroni and cheese products as containing no artificial preservatives and flavors, despite citric acid being part of the ingredients list.

  • January 27, 2025

    'Guesswork' Dooms Class Cert. In Meta Privacy Antitrust Suit

    A California federal judge has refused to certify a class of consumers who say Meta would have to pay users for their data if it didn't lie about privacy safeguards, finding that the motion was undone by the opinions of an economist who cannot get from general economics to market reality.

  • January 27, 2025

    Multiple Cannabis Cos. Hit With THC Potency Class Actions

    A single litigant has filed two proposed consumer class actions in Illinois federal court against cannabis companies, alleging that their wares exceeded lawful levels of psychoactive THC.

  • January 27, 2025

    Arrested Atty Can't Sue Sheriff's Office Either, Pa. Judge Says

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Monday dismissed the last of a group of Allegheny County government officials and entities named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by two brothers who claimed they were unlawfully detained when they failed to meet discovery deadlines in a separate case.

  • January 27, 2025

    Fla. Judge Won't Recuse Over 'Adverse Ruling' In CBD Row

    A Florida federal magistrate judge has refused to step down from a case where she recommended sanctioning an attorney representing a franchisee in a contract dispute with CBD American Shaman LLC, saying adverse rulings are not grounds for recusal.

  • January 27, 2025

    California's Oldest Indy Bookstore Gets Ch. 11 Lifeline

    A California bankruptcy judge on Monday gave the Golden State's oldest independent bookstore chain, Books Inc., approval on a raft of first-day motions to ease its navigation through a Chapter 11 case the company launched to address burdensome rent and lower profits in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • January 27, 2025

    Pool Co. To Face Rival's Contempt Bid Over $16M Judgment

    A Chinese pool parts supplier will have to appear for a show cause hearing to address whether it should be held in contempt for allegedly funneling money out of the country to avoid paying a $16 million judgment, a North Carolina federal judge said Monday.

  • January 24, 2025

    Colgate Gets PTAB To Ax Travel Toothbrush Patent Claims

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found that Colgate-Palmolive was able to show that all the challenged claims of a patent on a toothbrush preloaded with toothpaste are invalid as obvious based on earlier inventions.

  • January 24, 2025

    Justices To Clarify Article III Standing For Certified Classes

    The U.S. Supreme Court granted LabCorp's request on Friday to clarify federal law regarding whether district courts can certify class actions when some members of the proposed class may lack a cognizable injury in fact.

  • January 24, 2025

    Justices Urged To Review Souvenir Store's TM Fraud Case

    A Florida souvenir store chain has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider its challenge to a Second Circuit decision foreclosing its arguments that a bankrupt beachwear company fraudulently procured a trademark registration to secure a $3.5 million settlement in yearslong litigation between the competitors.

  • January 24, 2025

    Carvana's $1.5M Deal To End Conn. Consumer Suit Approved

    A Hartford state trial court judge has approved an agreed-upon $1.5 million judgment between Carvana LLC and the State of Connecticut, ending claims that the online car dealer delayed sending title documents to buyers, failed to advance timely payments to sellers and offered poor customer service.

  • January 24, 2025

    Agri Stats Demands Details On DOJ's Info-Sharing Claims

    Agri Stats has accused the U.S. Department of Justice of refusing to identify specific data fields in the company's reports that allegedly allowed chicken, pork and turkey producers to exchange competitively sensitive information, as it readies its defense in the agency's antitrust case.

  • January 24, 2025

    Opt-Out Releases Approved In Container Store Ch. 11 Plan

    A Texas bankruptcy judge on Friday approved a prepackaged Chapter 11 plan for The Container Store that includes opt-out releases in favor of nondebtors, saying the provisions don't run afoul of the Supreme Court's recent Purdue ruling or of Fifth Circuit precedent.

  • January 24, 2025

    Louisiana Urges Court To Toss New Challenge To Hemp Law

    Louisiana officials have renewed their push to defeat a federal lawsuit challenging the state's new hemp policy, which they said was not preempted by the federal law that legalized hemp nationwide.

  • January 24, 2025

    FDA's Premium Cigar Regulations Overturned By DC Circ.

    A D.C. Circuit panel ruled on Friday that the Food and Drug Administration acted arbitrarily when subjecting premium, hand-rolled cigars to the same regulations as other tobacco products, saying the agency was wrong to overlook two studies about infrequent premium cigar use.

  • January 24, 2025

    Philip Morris Settles Tobacco Liability Trial After Openings

    Philip Morris and a supermarket chain have reached a settlement with the family of a Massachusetts woman who died of lung cancer in 2022 after decades of smoking the company's Marlboro cigarettes, ending the case a day after trial began.

  • January 24, 2025

    Trump Treads Into Murky Waters With TikTok Gambit

    Nearly five years after he sought to kill the social media platform TikTok, President Donald Trump has opened his second term with a legally questionable bid to save it, cloaking the app's future in the U.S. market in even more uncertainty.

  • January 24, 2025

    Circle K Fails To Pay For Travel Costs, Manager Says

    Convenience store chain Circle K requires store managers to make trips to other locations to pick up out-of-stock items but doesn't reimburse them for the costs associated with this travel, a proposed class action filed in Illinois state court said.

  • January 23, 2025

    'Bad Spaniels' Toy Dilutes, Doesn't Infringe Jack Daniel's TM

    A "Bad Spaniels" dog toy parodying Jack Daniel's iconic whiskey bottle does not infringe trademark rights but does dilute the whiskey maker's trademarks and trade dress, an Arizona federal judge ruled Thursday, following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the First Amendment does not shield the toy's maker.

  • January 23, 2025

    Marlboro Smoker Was Target Of Deception, Jury Hears

    Philip Morris targeted a Massachusetts preteen as a "replacement" customer for others who were dying of lung disease, a Springfield jury heard Thursday, though the company's lawyer said the woman had free will and knew enough to stop smoking.

  • January 23, 2025

    Vape Maker Seeks Exit From Suit Over Delta-9 THC Levels

    An Illinois-based vape maker urged a federal judge to toss a lawsuit accusing it of fraudulently passing off illicit Delta-9 products as legal Delta-8 ones, saying the suit lacks fundamental details, such as which products were purchased and what laboratory tested them.

  • January 23, 2025

    Advanced Auto Parts Gets Brakes Tapped On Investor Suit

    Advanced Auto Parts beat back a proposed class action on Thursday that accused the company and its top brass of misleading investors about the failure of a new pricing strategy and purposefully inflating the impact of price reductions, with a North Carolina federal judge finding that the suit failed to plead knowledge of wrongdoing.

  • January 23, 2025

    Del. Justices Won't Revive Skechers Inc. Aircraft Use Suit

    Delaware's top court on Thursday grounded with scant comment a derivative suit appeal filed on behalf of a stockholder of comfort shoemaker Skechers USA Inc. seeking revival of a dismissed lower court case alleging failure to control top executives' use of corporate aircraft for personal travel.

Expert Analysis

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated

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    In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy

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    Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Anticipating Disputes In Small Biz Partnerships And LLCs

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    In light of persistently high failures of small business partnerships and limited liability companies, mediator Frank Burke discusses proactive strategies for protecting and defining business rights and responsibilities, as well as reactive measures for owners.

  • The Often Overlooked NY Foreclosure Notice Requirements

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    As multifamily real estate defaults mount, New York foreclosing parties should be aware of pitfalls and perils that can await the litigant who is not prepared to ensure adherence with tenant notice requirements under the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, say Christopher Gorman and John Muldoon at Rosenberg & Estis.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Antitrust In Retail: The Meaning Of 'Accessible Luxury'

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    In order for the Federal Trade Commission to block a deal that would put six "accessible luxury" brands, including Coach and Michael Kors, under one roof, the agency will need to prove that this category is distinct from the true luxury or mass-market categories, says David Kully at Holland & Knight.

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