Retail & E-Commerce

  • November 14, 2024

    Hasbro's Excess Toy Inventory Tanked Stock, Suit Says

    Toy and entertainment company Hasbro Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging it falsely portrayed high inventory levels as a protective measure against supply chain issues despite knowing its inventory far exceeded actual consumer demand.

  • November 14, 2024

    LuLaRoe Hit With $164M Verdict In Contract, Fraud Trial

    Troubled multilevel marketing company LuLaRoe has been saddled with a $164 million jury verdict in California state court for breaching its contract with a clothing supplier and fraudulently hiding assets in real estate ownership entities and a race car company to avoid paying up.

  • November 14, 2024

    Hemp Companies Take NJ Challenge To 3rd Circ.

    A group of companies that manufacture and sell hemp products is urging the Third Circuit to take a second look at an order that blocked part of a New Jersey law that regulates the sale of intoxicating hemp products, despite seemingly scoring a favorable outcome at the trial level.

  • November 14, 2024

    Wash. Justices Seem Split On Cannabis Co. Wage Suit

    The Washington State Supreme Court wrestled Thursday with whether the state labor department jumped the gun on filing an unpaid-wages suit against a marijuana company, with one justice questioning if the department exceeded its powers and another expressing concern that lax enforcement would allow companies to skip payments for years.

  • November 14, 2024

    Takeda Rips Cert. Order's 'Whale Of Assumption' At 9th Circ.

    Takeda Pharmaceutical urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to reverse a ruling certifying a class of third-party payors who allege Takeda and Eli Lilly & Co. hid their anti-diabetes drug's bladder-cancer risks, arguing the lower court erroneously made a "whale of an assumption" that 56.7% of prescriptions wouldn't have been written with disclosures.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools

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    A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.

  • 3 Patent Considerations For America's New Quantum Hub

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    Recent developments signal an incredibly bright future for Chicago as the new home of quantum computing, and it is crucial that these innovators — whose technology has the potential to transform many industries — prioritize intellectual property strategy, says Andrew Velzen at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls

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    Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Companies Are Approaching Insider Trading Policies

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    An analysis of insider trading policies recently disclosed by 49 S&P 500 companies under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule reveals that while specific provisions vary from company to company, certain common themes are emerging, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • 11 Patent Cases To Watch At Fed. Circ. And High Court

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    As we head into fall, there are 11 patent cases to monitor, touching on a range of issues that could affect patent strategy, such as biotech innovation, administrative rulemaking and patent eligibility, say Edward Lanquist and Wesley Barbee at Baker Donelson.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

  • Finding Coverage For Online Retail Privacy Class Actions

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    Following recent court rulings interpreting state invasion of privacy and electronic surveillance statutes triggering a surge in the filing of privacy class actions against online retailers, companies should examine their various insurance policies, including E&O and D&O, for defense coverage of these claims, says Alison Gaske at Gilbert LLP.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Obviousness In Director Reviews

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    Three July decisions from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office favoring petitioners indicate a willingness by the director to review substantive issues, such as obviousness, particularly in cases where the director believes the Patent Trial and Appeal Board provided incorrect or inadequate rationale to support its decisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • How Cos. Can Leverage IP In Corporate Bankruptcy

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    In light of an increase in year-to-date Chapter 11 filings, businesses must understand the importance and value of intellectual property in corporate bankruptcy and restructuring, from contributing to enterprise value, to providing leverage in negotiations and facilitating recovery, says Gregory Campanella at Ocean Tomo.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Opinion

    Portland's Gross Receipts Tax Oversteps City's Authority

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    Recent measures by Portland, Oregon, that expand the voter-approved scope of the Clean Energy Surcharge on certain retail sales eviscerate the common meaning of the word "retail" and exceed the city's chartered authority to levy tax, say Nikki Dobay at Greenberg Traurig and Jeff Newgard at Peak Policy.

  • IP Hot Topic: The Intersection Of Trademark And Antitrust Law

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    Antitrust claims – like those in the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent case against Apple – are increasingly influencing trademark disputes and enforcement practices, demonstrating how antitrust law can dilute the power of a trademark, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

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