Retail & E-Commerce

  • April 27, 2024

    'Woodstock' Weed TM Case Settles Before Jury Selection

    The promoter of the 1969 Woodstock music fair agreed Friday to drop infringement claims against a rival purveyor of "Woodstock" trademarks in the evolving marijuana market, in a last-minute Manhattan federal court deal that avoids a jury trial.

  • April 26, 2024

    Ex-McKinsey Partner Says Firm Made Him Opioids 'Scapegoat'

    A former McKinsey & Co. partner lobbed defamation claims at the consulting firm, claiming Friday that it lied to the government and the public about his purported role in deleting evidence amid government investigations into the firm's work with opioid manufacturers, an alleged scheme designed to make him the "scapegoat."

  • April 26, 2024

    TikTok Ban Reveals Congress' Power In Place Of CFIUS Limits

    The new law calling for TikTok's Chinese parent company to sell the app or get banned in the U.S. reflects the limits of national security reviews and shows how Congress and the president may bolster, or circumvent, them going forward.

  • April 26, 2024

    L'Occitane's Claim Zimmerman Reed Weaponized Law Tossed

    A California federal judge has thrown out L'Occitane's allegations that Zimmerman Reed LLP and thousands of clients conspired to "weaponize" a California wiretapping law against the luxury retailer, while chastising both sides' counsel in a footnote for their "overwrought, unjustified and misguided" arguments during litigation.

  • April 26, 2024

    Wash. Judge Doubts He Can Block Kroger Merger

    A Washington state judge expressed "serious doubts" Friday he could block the $24.6 billion Kroger and Albertsons merger but declined to dismiss the state attorney general's lawsuit seeking to derail the deal, saying that the state still had more narrowly tailored remedies to address its anti-competition concerns.

  • April 26, 2024

    Google Urges Va. Court To End DOJ's Ad Tech Case

    Google urged a Virginia federal court on Friday to toss the U.S. Department of Justice case accusing it of monopolizing key digital advertising technology ahead of trial, saying the government cannot use antitrust law to force a company to help its competitors.

  • April 26, 2024

    Ex-Walmart Worker Files Ill. BIPA Suit Over Fingerprint Scans

    Walmart is violating biometric privacy laws by gathering employees' fingerprint scans when clocking in for shifts and sharing them with various third-party identity service providers without written consent, a former employee alleges in a putative class suit.

  • April 26, 2024

    Cannabis Retailer MedMen Files For Bankruptcy In Canada

    American cannabis retailer MedMen Enterprises Inc. said Friday that it had filed for bankruptcy in Canada, citing CA$561.5 million ($410.4 million) of liabilities months after the company's stock plunged and executives departed despite having sold off assets to raise money.

  • April 26, 2024

    Apple Keeps Win Over Fortnite Player In Calif. Antitrust Suit

    A California state appeals court on Thursday refused to revive a putative class action brought by Fortnite players alleging that Apple's App Store policies violate the state's antitrust and unfair competition laws, saying because the tech giant's conduct is immune from antitrust liability it can't be held to be "unfair."

  • April 26, 2024

    4 Goals For Gov'ts To Pursue In The UN Tax Convention

    The United Nations' framework convention on international tax cooperation should resolve digital taxation, incorporate tax transparency conventions, seek consensus on tax allocation issues but adopt best practices by simple majority, and help fund development goals, officials and experts told Law360 as governments began negotiations Friday.

  • April 26, 2024

    Under Armour Investor Urges 4th Circ. To Revive Suit

    An Under Armour Inc. shareholder has urged the Fourth Circuit to resurrect his lawsuit that alleges company executives artificially inflated Under Armour's share price and cashed out before the stock plummeted, arguing the lower court erred in ruling that it did not have the power to hear the case.

  • April 26, 2024

    CVS Customers Say Colo. Co. 'Eavesdrops' On Web Activity

    Two consumers who used CVS.com to order prescription refills have filed a putative class action against a Colorado software service provider claiming it illegally eavesdrops on visitors' interactions with the website without their knowledge, even gathering information about specific drugs and dosages they purchased.

  • April 26, 2024

    FTC Claims Amazon Execs Destroyed Antitrust Evidence

    The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general urged a Washington federal judge to force Amazon to produce documents detailing its preservation efforts in their high-stakes antitrust fight, arguing that discovery has revealed that ex-CEO Jeff Bezos and other executives used the encrypted app Signal to destroy relevant antitrust evidence.

  • April 26, 2024

    L Catterton Buys Majority Stake In KIKO Milano At $1.5B Value

    Private equity firm L Catterton said Friday it has agreed to buy a majority stake in the Percassi family's beauty brand KIKO Milano, in a deal steered by Italian law firms Bonelli Erede Lombardi Pappalardo and Gatti Pavesi Bianchi Ludovici, respectively, along with several additional consultants and financial advisers. 

  • April 26, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen budget airline Ryanair file a claim against NATS PLC after the air traffic controller's system collapsed, Mastercard and Visa Europe face group claims from Christian Dior and dozens of other beauty retailers, an intellectual property clash between the publisher of The Sun and ITV, and ISC Europe sue a former director for alleged money laundering. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • April 25, 2024

    Conn. Judge Sends Colo. Mass Shooting Cases To State Court

    A Connecticut federal judge sent two lawsuits against gunmaker Sturm Ruger & Co. Inc. back to state court Thursday, finding that the complaints brought by the estates of two Colorado mass shooting victims did not meet a key standard for handling the claims in federal court.

  • April 25, 2024

    Court Brushes Off Door Co.'s Bid To Hasten Duty Refund

    The U.S. Court of International Trade backed U.S. Customs and Border Protection's timeline for unwinding duties on door thresholds from Vietnam after the agency reversed a previous evasion finding, saying CBP's redetermination became final after the court's approval.

  • April 25, 2024

    Joann Fabric Wins Confirmation Of Prepackaged Ch. 11 Plan

    Joann Inc., parent company of retailer Joann Fabric and Crafts, received a Delaware judge's approval of its prepackaged Chapter 11 plan Thursday that will lighten its debt load by $505 million.

  • April 25, 2024

    Dominican Republic, Uzbekistan No Longer On IP Watch List

    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Thursday it has removed the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan from its watch list of countries with poor track records on intellectual property protection, keeping close trade partners Mexico and Canada on the roster.

  • April 25, 2024

    NY Pot Regulator Seeks Dismissal Of Bias Suit

    New York's cannabis regulator on Wednesday asked a federal judge to toss a lawsuit litigated by a conservative legal organization that alleges that the state's social equity licensure program discriminates against white men, saying the plaintiffs lack standing.

  • April 25, 2024

    Split Take On NJ 'Fake' Sale Case Disrupts Biz-Friendly Pattern

    A recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision rejecting "fake discounts" as a source of consumer fraud was a boon for the class action defense bar, but the takes of three dissenting judges and Attorney General Matt Platkin show that the state's largely business-friendly jurisprudence on what qualifies as an ascertainable loss isn't quite settled.

  • April 25, 2024

    Ore. Tax Court Rejects Lowe's Valuation Reduction Arguments

    A Lowe's home improvement store was properly valued by comparing the sales values for occupied big box home improvement stores, the Oregon Tax Court said in a pair of rulings. 

  • April 25, 2024

    Rival Amazon Union Attys Get Warning From Federal Judge

    A Brooklyn federal judge expressed displeasure Thursday with how federal litigation between rival factions inside a nascent Staten Island, New York, union representing Amazon warehouse workers has been conducted, saying it has wasted time and raising the possibility of sanctions.

  • April 25, 2024

    Panel Backs Gas Station's Win In Drunken Driving Death Suit

    An Ohio state appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit over the deaths of two young men in a drunken driving crash, saying the alcohol seller can't be liable under Ohio's Dram Shop Act because the purchaser wasn't the driver.

  • April 24, 2024

    Whole Foods May Have Retaliated In BLM Case, 1st Circ. Says

    Whole Foods hasn't yet proven that its firing of a worker who wore a Black Lives Matter mask to work wasn't retaliatory, the First Circuit said in an opinion unsealed Wednesday, ruling that there is a "genuine dispute" as to whether she was terminated for protected conduct.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • Steps For Companies New To Sanctions Compliance

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    Businesses newly required to implement compliance programs due to the increased breadth of mandatory sanctions and export controls, including 500 additional Russia sanctions announced last Friday, should closely follow the guidance issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and other regulators, say Jennifer Schubert and Megan Church at MoloLamken.

  • Using Arbitration And Class Waivers As Privacy Suit Tools

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    Amid a surge in data breach class actions over the last few years, several federal court decisions indicate that arbitration clauses and class action waiver provisions can be possible alternatives to public court battles and potentially reduce the costs of privacy litigation, say Mark Olthoff and Courtney Klaus at Polsinelli.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Key Lessons After A Rare R&W Insurance Ruling

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    The recent New York state court decision in Novolex Holdings v. Illinois Union Insurance is noteworthy as one of the rare judicial opinions arising in the context of representations and warranties insurance, serving to remind parties entering into R&W insurance policies that they may not be immune from some doctrines unfavorable to insurers, say attorneys at Kramer Levin.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five notable circuit court decisions on topics from property taxes to veteran's rights — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including class representative intervention, wage-and-hour dispute evidence and ascertainability requirements.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • Retailers Must Be Mindful Of Sale Ads As Class Actions Rise

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    A recent uptick in class actions filed against retailers over a breadth of allegedly deceptive pricing practices — including misleading reference prices for sales and discounts offered on a perpetual basis — show no sign of slowing down, indicating that class counsel are laser-focused on challenging advertising strategies, say Louis DiLorenzo and Paavana Kumar at Davis+Gilbert.

  • NY's Revamped Card Surcharge Ban Is Unique Among States

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    Newly revised New York legislation bolsters the state's ban on credit card surcharges, potentially reinvigorating similar laws across the country despite the fact that many of them have been ruled unconstitutional, say Tom Witherspoon and Audrey Carroll at Stinson.

  • Legislative And Litigation Trends In Environmental Advertising

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    Companies that tout their products' environmental benefits can significantly reduce the risk that they will face allegations of greenwashing by staying up to date on related Federal Trade Commission guidance, state requirements and litigation trends, say Raqiyyah Pippins and Kelsie Sicinski at Arnold & Porter.

  • What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement

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    A look at recent attorney general actions, especially in the areas of antitrust and artificial intelligence, can help inform businesses on what they should expect in terms of enforcement trends as 10 attorney general races play out in 2024, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Will Guide Social Media Account Ownership

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision in JLM Couture v. Gutman — which held that ownership of social media accounts must be resolved using traditional property law analysis — will guide employers and employees alike in future cases, and underscores the importance of express agreements in establishing ownership of social media accounts, says Joshua Glasgow at Phillips Lytle.

  • Del. Segway Dismissal Suggests Execs Not Liable For Biz Risk

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    While the debate continues within the Delaware Chancery Court over whether Caremark liability applies to matters of pure business risk, the court's recent rejection of Segway’s suit against the ex-president who oversaw financial difficulties suggests the court is uninterested in undermining the deference the business judgment rule grants corporate fiduciaries, say attorneys at Dechert.

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