Food & Beverage

  • March 18, 2024

    SEC Fines Supervisor $47K Over Revenue Inflation Claims

    A former finance director of water treatment company Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. will pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $47,000 to resolve claims that he was part of a scheme to inflate the company's revenue by $36 million.

  • March 18, 2024

    Corteva Wants Jury Trial In FTC Pesticides Case

    Corteva has demanded a jury trial for the Federal Trade Commission's case in North Carolina federal court accusing Corteva and Syngenta of blocking competition from generic pesticides through rebate programs.

  • March 18, 2024

    Bayer Beats False-Ad Suit Over 'Honey Lemon Zest' Cold Med

    A New York federal judge on Monday tossed without leave to amend a proposed class action accusing Bayer Healthcare LLC of falsely claiming that its Alka-Seltzer Plus brand over-the-counter severe cold medication contains honey and lemon, saying the product's packaging reflects flavoring and not actual ingredients.

  • March 18, 2024

    Food Industry Group Urges 9th Circ. To Keep GMO Labeling Rule

    A trade group representing corporate giants including Coca-Cola and General Mills has urged the Ninth Circuit to keep a federal labeling rule allowing disclosure of genetic modifications to foods to be done digitally, claiming that upsetting the rule would present "significant disruption for industry and consumers alike."

  • March 18, 2024

    Indian Potato Cos. Can't Get $4.4M Award OK'd In NJ

    A New Jersey federal judge has refused to enforce a $4.4 million arbitral award stemming from an ill-fated joint venture to develop a potato-processing production line, ruling that Indian affiliates of Idaho-based agribusiness J.R. Simplot Co. haven't shown his court has jurisdiction in the dispute.

  • March 18, 2024

    Pabst Gets Calif. Judge To Can 'Olympia Beer' False Ad Suit

    A California federal judge sided with Pabst Brewing Co. on Monday in a consumer's false advertising suit, finding that the label of its now-defunct Olympia Beer was unlikely to mislead a reasonable consumer into thinking the lager was brewed in Washington using Pacific Northwest water.

  • March 18, 2024

    Canada Dry Gets Va. Wage Claim Trimmed From OT Suit In Pa.

    A Pennsylvania federal judge agreed Monday to toss Virginia state wage claims from a Pennsylvania lawsuit accusing Canada Dry of miscalculating overtime wages for eligible workers, saying a 2022 amendment that set overtime pay limits dooms the state wage claims.

  • March 18, 2024

    Subway Franchise Fight Order Can't Be Nixed, Court Hears

    A company that helps to develop and service Subway restaurants in western Canada is urging a New York court not to vacate an arbitrator's order requiring the sub shop's Canadian franchisor to continue making payments on their pact while they arbitrate a contractual feud.

  • March 18, 2024

    Lack Of Permanent Workers Dooms Bid For H-2B Kitchen Staff

    A staffing firm's admission that it doesn't have employees in North Carolina undermined its request to temporarily hire 75 foreign workers to staff a North Carolina restaurant, according to a recent decision from a U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judge.

  • March 18, 2024

    4th Circ. Preview: Airport Mishap, Inmate Pay Launch March

    The Fourth Circuit's spring session will task the court with refereeing a power struggle between Virginia regulators and the authority that runs Washington, D.C.'s airports — stemming from a workplace amputation — and delving into the "honest belief" doctrine's role in a Family Medical Leave Act case.

  • March 18, 2024

    Farmers Seek Quick Win In H-2A Suit Against DOL

    Visa-filing agency USA Farm Labor Inc. and a slew of farms and ranches said the attorney general didn't approve the U.S. Department of Labor's rule regulating wages for foreign H-2A farmworkers, urging a North Carolina federal judge to hand them a win.

  • March 18, 2024

    Justices Won't Review McDonald's No-Poach Case

    A proposed class action targeting McDonald's past use of no-poach provisions in its franchise agreements will move ahead after the Supreme Court on Monday turned down McDonald's petition to review a Seventh Circuit ruling reviving the case.

  • March 15, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Chiquita MDL Experts Aren't Reliable, Parties Say

    A Florida federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation against Chiquita Brands weighed arguments Friday on what evidence should be excluded in two upcoming bellwether trials, with each side insisting the other's experts should be disqualified from testifying about claims that the company funded a deadly right-wing Colombian paramilitary group.

  • March 15, 2024

    Sugar Giants Hit With Antitrust Suit Over Alleged Price-Fixing

    A class action filed in New York federal court Thursday alleges that the biggest players in the domestic sugar industry have been engaged in a price-fixing scheme for years.

  • March 15, 2024

    Agriculture Biz Seeks Probe Into Chinese And Indian Weed Killers

    An agriculture company is calling on U.S. trade agencies to investigate Chinese and Indian herbicide imports, alleging that rivals abroad are using unfair trade practices to get ahead in the U.S. market.

  • March 15, 2024

    Mexico Protests New USDA Label Rule For Made-In-USA Meat

    Mexico's Ministry of Economy said the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new rule limiting a "Product of U.S.A." label to meat derived from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. will prove costly to both Mexican producers and U.S. consumers.

  • March 15, 2024

    Judge Asks Colo. Why Grocery Merger Case Can't Wait

    A state judge in Denver has asked Colorado enforcers why they need to have a hearing on their bid to block Kroger's planned $24.6 billion purchase of fellow grocery store giant Albertsons before other hearings in challenges from federal enforcers and Washington state.

  • March 15, 2024

    Perdue Beats Back Chicken Farmers' OT Collective Cert. Bid

    A Georgia federal judge refused to certify a proposed collective action of broiler chicken farmers claiming Perdue Foods LLC misclassified them as independent contractors to avoid paying overtime, saying one single opt-in after six months of discovery is insufficient to show that other farmers are interested in joining the suit.

  • March 15, 2024

    Dram Shop Law Clarified By Fla. Justices' Negligence Ruling

    The Florida Supreme Court's recent decision not to reinstate a nearly $31 million jury award against a bar that served alcohol to an underage person who later crashed into a pedestrian was the right call, experts said, and provided much needed clarity on the state's dram shop statute.

  • March 15, 2024

    Harris Urges DOJ To Wrap Pot Review 'As Quickly As Possible'

    Vice President Kamala Harris urged the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday to complete its review of marijuana's control status "as quickly as possible," saying it was "absurd" and "patently unfair" to keep the drug in the same highly restrictive tier as heroin.

  • March 15, 2024

    Sanderson Beats Chicken Buyers' Antitrust Retrial Attempt

    Direct chicken purchasers who lost a price-fixing trial against Sanderson Farms cannot have another shot at bringing their case to a jury because their first trial was fair, and their circumstantial evidence couldn't defeat the company's competing proof, an Illinois federal judge has ruled.

  • March 15, 2024

    Enfamil Maker Hit With $60M Jury Verdict In Infant Death Suit

    An Illinois jury has awarded $60 million to the mother of an infant who died after using Mead Johnson's Enfamil formula, a loss for the company in the first of hundreds of suits to go to trial alleging certain cow's milk-based formulas cause a fatal illness in premature infants. 

  • March 15, 2024

    DOL Fights Fishery's Bid To Unveil Migrant Worker Identities

    The U.S. Department of Labor is fighting an attempt by a Mississippi fishery to uncover the identities of temporary foreign workers who claim they were retaliated against during a wage investigation, urging a federal judge to prohibit their disclosure.

  • March 15, 2024

    Texas Tamale Beats Cross-State Rival In Trademark Fight

    Over three years of legal delays and a tortured case that was "actually arguing mere descriptiveness under the guise of genericness" somehow failed to persuade a judge in Houston to unseat a trademark owned by a small company on the phrase "Texas Tamale."

  • March 15, 2024

    Snack Co. Workers Get Cert. In Ohio Wage Suit

    An Ohio federal judge preliminarily certified a collective of food distribution workers on claims that they had to perform work before clocking in and during breaks without pay, saying they proved that the company's policies were applied universally.

Expert Analysis

  • CSA Case Could Shift Intrastate Commercial Cannabis

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    In Canna Provisions v. Merrick Garland, cannabis companies argue that the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to intrastate commercial cannabis activity; the Massachusetts federal court's eventual decision will be important to the cannabis industry for several reasons, including that the threat of federal enforcement would disappear overnight, says Hilary Bricken at Husch Blackwell.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies

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    As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.

  • Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims

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    Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    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.

  • The Challenges Of Measuring Harm In Slack-Fill Cases

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    A recent California federal court partial class certification ruling was a rare victory for plaintiffs in a case over slack-fill empty space in packaged products, indicating that damages arguments may be important at the certification stage, say Sushrut Jain and Valentina Bernasconi at Edgeworth Economics.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    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.

  • Bracing Cos. For Calif. Privacy Agency's Restored Authority

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    A recent California state appeals court decision greenlights the California Privacy Protection Agency's enforcement of certain consumer privacy regulations, which may speed up compliance requirements, so businesses considering use of artificial intelligence, for instance, may want to reassess their handling of privacy notices and opt-out requests, say Kevin Angle and Matthew Cin at Ropes & Gray.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    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.

  • 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.

  • Mitigating Whistleblower Risks After High Court UBS Ruling

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    While it is always good practice for companies to periodically review whistleblower trainings, policies and procedures, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent whistleblower-friendly ruling in Murray v. UBS Securities helps demonstrate their importance in reducing litigation risk, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • 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.

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