Retail & E-Commerce

  • October 29, 2024

    US Finalizes Investment Ban On Chinese Emerging Tech

    The Biden administration finalized plans to ban U.S. investors from funding emerging Chinese technology, saying the restrictions are necessary to prevent Beijing from advancing technologies critical to its military modernization campaign. 

  • October 29, 2024

    Epic Urges 9th Circ. Not To Pause Google Play Store Fixes

    Epic Games Inc. has fired back against Google's request the Ninth Circuit issue an emergency stay pausing a lower court's antitrust injunction that would require Google to open up its Play Store to competing app stores, slamming Google's arguments as "scattershot," misleading and legally unfounded.

  • October 29, 2024

    Pet Toy Co. Parent Says Management Rights Fight Isn't Stale

    The parent company for pet toy maker Kong Co. has urged a Colorado state judge not to cast aside a suit seeking a declaration of its management rights in Kong, arguing in a brief that the dispute is alive even if its complaint raises the past.

  • October 29, 2024

    Developer Can't Revive COVID-19 App Suit Against Apple

    A California federal judge declined to revive an antitrust suit against Apple for not distributing a COVID-19 tracking app on its app store, saying a Ninth Circuit denial of the app maker's appeal after the case was dismissed in district court "is the law" of the case.

  • October 29, 2024

    Google Seeks To Toss Yelp's 'Self-Preferencing' Case

    Google urged a California federal court Monday to toss Yelp's case accusing the search giant of giving preference to its own local search offerings over Yelp and others, saying the review site has been "peddling these same claims to antitrust authorities around the world for over a decade."

  • October 29, 2024

    2 Firms Tapped To Lead Five Below Investor Suit

    Berger Montague PC and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP will represent a proposed class of investors in a suit alleging that teen-focused retail chain Five Below overstated its growth prospects, then saw trading prices crater when it announced that its sales expectations fell short.

  • October 29, 2024

    Court Closure Sought Over Taunts By Florida Gun Shop Owner

    The Connecticut Attorney General's Office urged a state judge to protect the identity of its investigator in filings and to close the courtroom during their testimony at trial in a lawsuit alleging a Florida company deceptively sold do-it-yourself gun kits, saying anonymity is needed because of the owner's online taunts.

  • October 29, 2024

    EBay, Ex-Execs Deny Fault For Harassment Of Bloggers

    Online retailer eBay and a group of former executives say a 2019 harassment campaign against a pair of Massachusetts bloggers was solely the work of rogue employees, urging a Massachusetts federal court to rule they're not liable over the episode.

  • October 29, 2024

    Akerman Hires 2 IP Partners From Kilpatrick In NYC

    Akerman LLP announced Monday that two former partners at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP are the latest additions to its intellectual property practice group in New York City.

  • October 29, 2024

    1st Circ. Scraps Securities Fraud Case Against 3D Printing Co.

    The First Circuit has affirmed a ruling throwing out a securities fraud lawsuit against 3D printing business Desktop Metal, finding the investor behind the action abandoned one of her claims and failed to adequately allege the other. 

  • October 28, 2024

    Apple Withholding Docs In Monopoly Row, Epic Says

    Epic Games and Apple continued on in a discovery dispute in Epic's suit accusing Apple of monopolizing the iOS app distribution and in-app payment processing markets, with the video game company saying in a joint letter filed Friday that Apple is withholding "tens of thousands" of responsive documents.

  • October 28, 2024

    Handbag Cos. Turn To 2nd Circ. Over Pause On $8.5B Merger

    The owners of Michael Kors and Coach plan to ask the Second Circuit to review a New York federal judge's order granting the Federal Trade Commission's bid to halt an $8.5 billion merger between the companies while the agency conducts an in-house merger challenge, according to a notice filed Monday.

  • October 28, 2024

    Hermes Wants Antitrust Suit Over Birkins Tossed For Good

    Hermes again urged a California federal judge on Friday to toss a proposed class action accusing the French luxury design house of tying its exclusive Birkin and Kelly bags to the purchase of other items, saying the plaintiffs did not come close to proving antitrust law violations in a complaint now twice amended.

  • October 28, 2024

    Investment Firm's Head Indicted For Alleged Ponzi Scheme

    Federal prosecutors have unsealed an indictment accusing a Utah man of carrying out a Ponzi scheme to embezzle millions of dollars from private investors who believed they were contributing to restaurant ventures.

  • October 28, 2024

    Philip Morris Nicotine Pouch Suit Not About Labels, Court Told

    A lawsuit accusing Philip Morris International of misleading customers of its ZYN nicotine pouches asserts claims under business practices and false advertising statutes, but not the federal labeling law the tobacco giant is invoking in its dismissal bid, the suing consumer told a Connecticut federal court. 

  • October 28, 2024

    $4M Settlement Over NBA-Themed NFTs Gets Final OK

    A New York federal judge on Monday granted final approval to a $4 million settlement between the firm behind NBA-focused non-fungible tokens and a class of purchasers who accused the digital assets company of selling the tokens as unregistered securities, and awarded roughly a third of the settlement fund in attorney fees.

  • October 28, 2024

    Calif. Court OKs $1.2M Award In Polo Club TM Fight

    A California federal judge has said a Santa Barbara County-based polo club is entitled to $1.2 million in fees, costs and interest as part of a trademark dispute over a "Beverly Hills Polo Club" logo following arbitration.

  • October 28, 2024

    FTC, DOJ Tell 9th Circ. Google Wrong On Play Store Fixes

    Federal antitrust enforcers told the Ninth Circuit there should be consequences after a jury found Google monopolized the Android app distribution market, as Google pushes to keep a court order paused in the antitrust case being brought by Epic Games.

  • October 28, 2024

    Amazon, Google Accuse Website Of Selling Fake Reviews

    Amazon and Google filed parallel lawsuits Monday in federal court against the entities behind a website they say facilitates fake product and business reviews, saying in an announcement that the two tech giants teamed up to "take action against bad actors attempting to deceive customers."

  • October 28, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Amazon Auto-Renewal Suit Is Too Late

    The Ninth Circuit said Monday that a proposed class action accusing Amazon of duping Prime subscribers into paying for memberships in its audiobook seller, Audible, was filed after a three-year statute of limitations under New York law had expired.

  • October 28, 2024

    Ind. Tax Board Cuts Target Store's Assessment By $500K

    An Indiana Target's property tax assessment should be lowered by roughly $500,000 for three tax years, the state Board of Tax Review said, finding the retailer's income capitalization approach to the valuation persuasive.

  • October 28, 2024

    J. Crew Asks Court To Ratify Ex-GC's Arbitration Loss

    J. Crew is asking a New York federal judge to confirm an arbitrator's ruling from earlier this month that found it hadn't fired its former legal chief, Maria DiLorenzo, in retaliation for her complaints about colleagues' discriminatory comments about her hearing loss.

  • October 28, 2024

    Attys Seek $48M Fees For Hooking $152M In Tuna Fixing Deals

    Lawyers for a class of consumers that sued three of the largest tuna producers accusing them of conspiring to fix tinned fish prices asked a California federal court to approve nearly $50 million in legal costs after a settlement this summer ended nearly nine years of multidistrict litigation.

  • October 25, 2024

    Alibaba Agrees To $433.5M Deal In Nearly 4-Year Investor Suit

    Alibaba Group has agreed to shell out $433.5 million to resolve a proposed class of investors' allegations it made misstatements about its exclusivity practices and the planned $34 billion initial public offering of a fintech affiliate, the Chinese e-commerce company said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday.

  • October 25, 2024

    Apple-Google Pact Plaintiff Stuck With 9th Circ. Appeal

    A Ninth Circuit panel has refused to let a training school send its case accusing Google of paying Apple to refrain from developing its own search engine back to district court in light of a recent D.C. federal judge's decision that Google monopolizes the search market.

Expert Analysis

  • Roundup

    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 36 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.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • 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.

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