Retail & E-Commerce

  • January 30, 2025

    Drivers' Collective Cert. In Amazon Suit Won't Go To 9th Circ.

    Amazon didn't show how letting the Ninth Circuit mull a collective certification will speed up litigation in an 8-year-old suit accusing the company of misclassifying workers as independent contractors, a Washington federal judge ruled, denying the company's appeal bid.

  • January 29, 2025

    Turkey Producers Say Burford Unit's Suit Is Purely Profit-Led

    Turkey producers fighting consolidated price-fixing claims in Illinois urged a federal judge Tuesday to kick a Burford Capital Investment unit's claims out of the case on summary judgment, arguing the action exists solely because of the litigation funder's drive to profit from a lawsuit.

  • January 29, 2025

    BI Ignored 'Red Flag After Red Flag' On Zantac, Jury Hears

    Counsel for two men retrying their cancer case against Boehringer Ingelheim told an Illinois state court jury Wednesday that the drugmaker stuck its head in the sand and ignored warning signs that taking its over-the-counter Zantac could lead to cancer development.

  • January 29, 2025

    Apple Will Appeal Denial Of Bid To Defend Google Search Deal

    Apple said Wednesday that it will appeal an order refusing to let it intervene in the government's search monopolization case against Google to defend a multibillion-dollar revenue-sharing deal that makes Google the default search engine for the Safari browser.

  • January 29, 2025

    Roomba Maker Escapes Suit Over Scuttled Amazon Merger

    A Massachusetts federal judge has permanently thrown out a shareholder class action accusing iRobot Corp. of misleading investors about expected regulatory opposition that ultimately led to the abandonment of a proposed $1.7 billion merger with Amazon, saying "the pleading process ought not be used as a trial balloon, with repeated bites at the apple."

  • January 29, 2025

    5th Circ. Rejects Outside Bid To Defend CFPB Small-Biz Rule

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday stood by its decision to refuse two advocacy groups' request to help defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's small business lending data rule, a day after the bureau and the suing banking trade groups pushed back and said they are fine to litigate themselves, without intervention.

  • January 29, 2025

    USPTO Backlog 'Unacceptable,' Trump's Commerce Pick Says

    Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said at his confirmation hearing Wednesday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's backlog of unexamined patent applications is "unacceptable," and pledged to work to reduce it so that patents are issued more quickly.

  • January 29, 2025

    CPSC Wants Baby Sleep Co.'s Weighted Blanket Suit Tossed

    The Consumer Product Safety Commission urged a D.C. federal court to toss a suit brought by Dreamland Baby Co., saying it and one of its commissioners acted within their authorities when warning the public against using weighted blankets for infants, like the ones the company makes.

  • January 29, 2025

    5th Circ. Says DOT Must Redo Airline Fees Disclosure Rule

    The Fifth Circuit has ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to reassess its rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, saying the Biden administration failed to properly consider public comments on how costly it would be for airlines to comply with the 2024 mandate.

  • January 29, 2025

    Co.'s Missing Signature Prevents Arbitration In Wage Row

    A former home sales representative for a cosmetics company can keep her wage suit in court, a California state appellate panel ruled, affirming a lower court's ruling that the company failed to show it had a valid arbitration agreement with the worker because it didn't sign the pact.

  • January 29, 2025

    Retailers Back Intel, OpenSky In VLSI IP Fight At Fed. Circ.

    A retail trade association has urged the Federal Circuit to affirm the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision not to throw out a challenge to a VLSI chip patent that ended up being invalidated, saying there was nothing wrong with allowing Intel to join the fight.

  • January 29, 2025

    Texas-Led States Can Sue Google, Ad Tech Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge refused to toss a state enforcer coalition's lawsuit accusing Google of monopolizing the display advertising placement technology market, rejecting Google assertions that the states lack standing to sue on behalf of their citizens in a case where trial now appears likely to be delayed.

  • January 29, 2025

    Amazon Says Docs FTC Wants For Prime Case Are Privileged

    Amazon fired back in a discovery dispute in the Federal Trade Commission's case accusing the e-commerce giant of Prime subscription deception, saying the regulator is not entitled to documents tied to a company meeting because the records reflect legal advice and work product.

  • January 29, 2025

    Japanese Candy Biz Loses Trademark Fight With Rival Seller

    A Japanese candy exporter failed Wednesday to sway Federal Circuit judges to overturn a trademark board ruling as part of its fight with a rival company over who can use the Japanese word for "feudal lord" in order to sell candy.

  • January 29, 2025

    Curaleaf To Pay $31.8M In Pot Farm Contract Row

    A Michigan federal jury on Wednesday found that a pair of Curaleaf affiliates breached their contract with a cannabis farm, awarding the farm nearly $32 million in damages, while rejecting Curaleaf's counterclaims.

  • January 29, 2025

    Ga. Judge Cuts Atty Fees In Home Depot Class Settlement

    A Georgia federal judge has granted final approval to a settlement between Home Depot Corp., Reliance Worldwide Corp. and a class suing over allegedly faulty water heater connector hoses but awarded class counsel $1.9 million in fees instead of the $2.1 million initially requested.

  • January 29, 2025

    Shopper Says Costco Adds Hidden Fees To Online Deliveries

    Costco is the target of a proposed consumer class action alleging the membership retailer is reneging on promises to waive online delivery fees by adding hidden charges that make products bought through the company's e-commerce site more expensive than the same products sold in stores.

  • January 29, 2025

    Trump's Commerce Nominee Backs Maximalist Tariff Approach

    President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Commerce voiced support for an expansive use of tariffs Wednesday, repeatedly telling lawmakers that new levies should be imposed to correct the "disrespect" U.S. businesses face in overseas markets.

  • January 28, 2025

    Trade Groups Dial Up Push For Congress To Pass Privacy Law

    A broad coalition of business trade groups on Tuesday called on the newly installed Congress to enact a national data privacy framework that would preempt state laws, arguing that the move was necessary to promote competition and boost consumer confidence in the current age of rapid technological innovation.

  • January 28, 2025

    Staples Settles Out Of Visa, Mastercard Swipe Fee Battle

    Staples on Tuesday settled out of an over decade-long antitrust battle lodged against Visa and Mastercard for allegedly overcharging merchants via swipe fees, leaving the payment card companies with one less retailer to face in trial this year over their alleged anticompetitive fee scheme.

  • January 28, 2025

    Amazon Says Too Late For Mass. Court's Expense Suit Take

    Amazon said a delivery driver missed his chance to seek clarity on whether Massachusetts state wage law requires employers to compensate employees for work-related expenses, urging a Washington federal judge to pass on asking the Bay State's top court to weigh in.

  • January 28, 2025

    CFPB, Bank Orgs Rebuff Intervention Bid In Data Rule Fight

    In a moment of agreement, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a group of banking trade groups pushed back on Tuesday against a bid to intervene by two advocacy groups in a suit over the CFPB's small business lending data rule. 

  • January 28, 2025

    Capri Investors Sue Over Scrapped $8.5B Tapestry Merger

    Fashion brand giants Capri Holdings Ltd. and Tapestry Inc. misled investors about potential antitrust regulatory issues associated with their planned $8.5 billion merger that ultimately led to the deal's failure and investor losses, according to a proposed securities class action filed Tuesday in Delaware federal court.

  • January 28, 2025

    19 Republican State AGs Press Costco To End DEI Policies

    A group of nearly 20 Republican attorneys general is urging Costco to end its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the wake of President Donald Trump's recent executive order encouraging companies to end them, criticizing the initiatives as "discriminatory" and saying they fly in the face of recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • January 28, 2025

    Dolce & Gabbana Wants 'Worthless' NFT Outfit Suit Tossed

    The U.S. division of Italian luxury fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana has urged a New York federal judge to toss a proposed investor class action accusing it of abandoning a nonfungible tokens project while retaining the more than $25 million that was used to fund it, arguing that the U.S. arm of the company was not at all involved in the project.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    'Trump Too Small' Ruling Overlooks TM Registration Issues

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Vidal v. Elster, which concluded that “Trump Too Small” cannot be a registered trademark as it violates a federal prohibition, fails to consider modern-day, real-world implications for trademark owners who are denied access to federal registration, say Tiffany Gehrke and Alexa Spitz at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Retail & E-Commerce archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!