Retail & E-Commerce

  • July 18, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Deflate Air Mattress Patent Upheld At PTAB

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's conclusion that no claims of a Sun Pleasure Co. air mattress patent are invalid based on the grounds asserted by a Chinese company.

  • July 18, 2024

    Ex-Cop With Illness Spared Prison In EBay Harassment Case

    A federal judge on Thursday agreed to spare a former California police captain and eBay employee from prison for a stalking and harassment campaign against two Massachusetts journalists, citing the defendant's cancer diagnosis and blaming the ordeal on "a warped corporate culture."

  • July 18, 2024

    Urban Outfitters Freed From Class Claims Over 'Spy Pixels'

    A Pennsylvania federal judge said an Arizona woman lacked standing to bring a class action against clothing retailer Urban Outfitters over its alleged use of "spy pixels" to track customer activity because she failed to show a violation of that state's recording laws.

  • July 18, 2024

    Chancery Strains To Unwrap Shareholder's Amazon Order

    A Delaware Chancery Court vice chancellor struggled on Thursday to wrap her head around a shareholder's demand for corporate documents to probe antitrust allegations at Amazon.com Inc. after a magistrate's report found the shareholder had not presented enough evidence to force the retailer to open its books.

  • July 18, 2024

    Avatar-Maker Draws Facial-Scan BIPA Suit

    Avatar company Ready Player Me Inc. has been hit with proposed class claims that it creates Illinois users' digital characters by scanning, storing and using their facial data without first obtaining informed consent.

  • July 18, 2024

    Court Denies Bid To Halt NYC Crackdown On Illicit Pot Shops

    A New York federal judge on Thursday rejected a bid from 27 retailers to halt city officials' enforcement efforts aimed at closing stores that sell cannabis without a license, saying the shops were unlikely to prevail on claims their due process rights were violated.

  • July 18, 2024

    Trade Court Dumps Tile Duties Set After Secretive Meeting

    A U.S. Court of International Trade judge overturned duties on marble-topped tile from China on Thursday, holding that federal officials failed to divulge the specifics of a closed-door meeting with a U.S. tile producer related to their investigation.

  • July 18, 2024

    Most Top US Cos. To Report Tax Under Aussie Bill, Study Says

    Australia's Senate is expected to consider adoption next month of the world's most extensive public country-by-country reporting rules, which would require 51% of large U.S. multinational corporations to disclose tax arrangements retroactively from July 1, according to a study published Thursday.

  • July 18, 2024

    Deals Rumor Mill: Google, StandardAero, Sony

    Google parent Alphabet is nearing a $23 billion Wiz buy, PE firms circle StandardAero at a potential $10 billion price, and Sony backs away from Paramount after the Skydance deal. Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.

  • July 18, 2024

    Pool Co. Wants To Dig Into Rival's Alter Egos For $16M Verdict

    Pool supply company Hayward Industries Inc. is looking to force responses from the alter egos of bankrupt rival Blueworks Corp. regarding their assets, bank accounts and property so that Hayward can collect on its $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment.

  • July 17, 2024

    Commerce Tees Up Dumping Duties On 4 Countries' Melamine

    The U.S. Department of Commerce preliminarily found that foreign producers of a compound used to create plastic dishware, utensils and countertops were receiving government subsidies that gave them an unfair edge in the U.S. market.

  • July 17, 2024

    Wahlburgers-Tied Pickle Co. Settles Rival's Labeling Spat

    A pickle company told a New Jersey federal court that its suit accusing a rival of ripping off recipes to make mislabeled pickles for actor Mark Wahlberg's restaurant business has been settled. 

  • July 17, 2024

    Whirlpool Wants To Wash Away Service Plan Repair Claims

    Whirlpool asked a Washington federal judge to send a proposed consumer class action down the drain, saying the aggrieved customer can't claim she was deceived about the details of an extended repair plan for a dishwasher when the full terms have always been easy to find online.

  • July 17, 2024

    Stitch Fix Unravels Investor Suit Over 'Direct Buy' Biz Line

    A California federal judge has tossed, for now, a shareholder lawsuit brought against Stitch Fix Inc. alleging the personal styling platform's former and current executives misled investors about the impact of a new business line, saying the suit fails to plead any actionable false statements or knowledge of wrongdoing by the defendants.

  • July 17, 2024

    9th Circ. Scrubs Dismissal In Plant-Based Huggies Wipes Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday partially reinstated a suit alleging that Kimberly Clark Corp.'s baby wipes mislead consumers into thinking they're made entirely from plant products, saying the district court wrongly considered the back label when dismissing claims regarding certain products.

  • July 17, 2024

    Steve Madden Raises IP, Libel Claims In Sandal Feud

    Steven Madden Ltd. has filed suit alleging Danish "affordable luxury" brand Ganni A/S falsely claimed two of the U.S. company's shoe designs infringed Ganni's intellectual property.

  • July 17, 2024

    CVS, Job Applicant Report Settlement In AI Lie Detector Suit

    CVS Health Corp. has reached a tentative settlement in a proposed class action accusing the retail pharmacy chain of secretly using artificial intelligence that functions as a lie detector in its online job applications, according to a filing in Massachusetts federal court Wednesday.

  • July 17, 2024

    Target Hit With Suit After Texas Infant Died In Baby Lounger

    Target and the makers of an infant lounger have been hit with a product liability lawsuit from a Texas couple who allege their 7-month-old daughter died after falling out of the device.

  • July 17, 2024

    Md. Justices Say Amazon Insurer Can Pursue Subrogation

    An insurer for Amazon can continue to pursue subrogation against subcontractors for a Baltimore warehouse construction project, the Maryland Supreme Court unanimously ruled, after the insurer said it covered Amazon for over $50 million worth of damage caused by severe weather.

  • July 17, 2024

    Chamber Of Commerce Urges Justices To Limit RICO's Reach

    Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to extend the scope of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to include personal injury-related claims in civil suits, in a case over alleged false advertisement of hemp-derived CBD products.

  • July 16, 2024

    Green Dot Brass Hid Declining Biz And Fed Action, Suit Says

    The top brass at prepaid debit card company Green Dot Corp. has been hit with a derivative shareholder suit, alleging they concealed the company's faltering core business and a proposed consent order from the Federal Reserve Board over internal controls while board members sold millions of dollars worth of shares at inflated prices.

  • July 16, 2024

    Squishmallows' Build-A-Bear IP Suit Not Just Fluff, Court Says

    The Build-A-Bear Workshop toy company can't escape claims that its Skoosherz stuffed toys infringe the trade dress and copyright of Kelly Toys' popular Squishmallows, a California federal judge ruled, saying the complaint plausibly alleges substantial similarities between the two plushie brands.

  • July 16, 2024

    Skechers Targets LL Bean's Slip-On Shoes In IP Suit

    Privately held Maine retailer and lifestyle brand L.L. Bean Inc. is facing a lawsuit that accuses it of selling slip-on shoes that infringe heel design patents owned by footwear multinational Skechers USA Inc.

  • July 16, 2024

    FTC's In-House Kroger Case Delayed Until After Fed Suit

    Kroger and Albertsons are getting a limited respite from the Federal Trade Commission's looming in-house merger challenge after an agency administrative law judge agreed to delay the case, but only until immediately after an Oregon federal court fight plays out.

  • July 16, 2024

    Tesla Says Chinese Co. Sells 'Dangerous' Charging Adapter

    Tesla said on Monday that a Chinese company sells a "dangerous" charging adapter that lets owners of non-Tesla electric vehicles charge at its network, saying in a suit filed in California federal court that the device could injure consumers and damage the power infrastructure.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ.'s Nine West Ruling Clarifies Safe Harbor Confusion

    Author Photo

    The Second Circuit’s recent ruling in Nine West’s Chapter 11 suit clarifies that courts in the circuit will apply a transfer-by-transfer analysis to determine the applicability of Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code, and that to be safe harbored, a financial institution must act as an agent with respect to the specific transfer at issue, says Leonardo Trivigno at Carter Ledyard.

  • Enforcement Risk Amid Increased Consumer Data Use

    Author Photo

    While no state has introduced a private right of action for noncompliance with a comprehensive consumer privacy law — except for the California Consumer Privacy Act's data breach provision — organizations and retailers face risk from enforcement actions by state attorneys general and privacy regulators, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

    Author Photo

    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Opinion

    The Problems In Calif. Draft Behavioral Ad Privacy Regs

    Author Photo

    The California Privacy Protection Agency has an opportunity with its automated decision-making technology and profiling rulemaking to harmonize California's regulation of data-driven advertising, but this will be a failure unless several things are changed in its proposed treatment of behavioral advertising, say Alan Friel and Kyle Fath at Squire Patton.

  • A New Push To Clear Up Marijuana's Foggy Legal Status

    Author Photo

    A recently publicized U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommendation to reschedule marijuana has reignited discourse over the drug's federal legal status — and although rescheduling would mitigate the legal risks for the industry and drastically increase the resources available for industry participants, the path forward will not be clear cut, say Joseph Cioffi and Louis DiLorenzo at Davis+Gilbert.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

    Author Photo

    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • The Corporate Transparency Act Isn't Dead Yet

    Author Photo

    After an Alabama federal court's ruling last week rendering the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, changes to the law may ultimately be required, but ongoing compliance is still the best course of action for most, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

  • New FinCEN Guide Provides Useful BOI Context For Banks

    Author Photo

    Financial institutions should review a new Financial Crimes Enforcement Network compliance guide for helpful details about how the agency's beneficial ownership information database should be used, though questions remain about the access rule and whether it will truly streamline bank borrowers' Corporate Transparency Act due diligence, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

    Author Photo

    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

    Author Photo

    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • 2 Emerging Defenses For Website Tracking Class Actions

    Author Photo

    Putative class actions premised on state wiretapping statutes that bar website activity tracking continue to be on the rise, but they are increasingly being dismissed on two procedural grounds, says Sheri Pan at ZwillGen.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power

    Author Photo

    In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council

    Author Photo

    The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the early stages of ESG policy implementation, but recent commitments by both states and corporations — including increases in sustainable finance transactions, environmental commitments, female representation on boards and human rights enforcement — show continuing progress toward broader ESG goals, say attorneys at Cleary.

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!