Food & Beverage

  • September 24, 2026

    Hain Investors Seek Final OK For $35M 'Channel-Stuffing' Deal

    Food and personal care company Hain Celestial and a class of investors have reached a $35 million deal to resolve channel-stuffing claims roughly a year after the Second Circuit revived the suit. 

  • September 24, 2026

    ITC Takes On Patents, Trade Secrets In Large Decision Drop

    The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a flood of decisions this week on investigations in which imports are being evaluated to see if they infringe patents or misappropriate secrets, including three cases where it will reconsider holdings from administrative law judges.

  • September 24, 2026

    Kellogg Seeks High Court Review Of 6th Circ. Pension Ruling

    The U.S. Supreme Court should resolve a circuit split on whether actuaries must use up-to-date life expectancies when converting pension benefits from one form to another, Kellogg argued, asking the justices to scrap the Sixth Circuit's answer to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act query.

  • September 24, 2026

    Wash. Winemaker's Spoilage Coverage Claim Capped At $40K

    A Washington winemaker cannot recover more than $40,000 in coverage for its loss of nearly 18,000 bottles of wine due to a faulty air conditioner, a federal court ruled, saying the winemaker's commercial property coverage limits recovery for spoilage caused by mechanical breakdown and temperature fluctuations.

  • September 24, 2026

    Walmart Pays $16M To End Expired Formula Sales Claims

    Walmart has agreed to pay $16 million to resolve claims that it sold expired infant formula and over-the-counter drug products to consumers after their expiration dates, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.

  • September 24, 2026

    Full 5th Circ. Tough On Aetna's Bid To Arbitrate Aramark Suit

    The Fifth Circuit seemed skeptical Thursday of Aetna's bid to force a health plan benefits dispute from food services giant Aramark into arbitration, with judges picking the insurer's arguments apart during an en banc rehearing.

  • September 24, 2026

    Ind. Tax Court Rules Nestle Facility Accurately Assessed

    A Nestle facility in Indiana was correctly assessed from 2018 through 2023 at roughly $50 million, the state tax court said, rejecting the company's claim that the state tax board failed to properly consider its own appraisal.

  • September 23, 2026

    Liquor Distributor's Insurer Fights Coverage Of Worker's Suit

    Employers Mutual Casualty Co. filed suit in Washington federal court Wednesday seeking an order declaring that the insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify policyholder American Northwest Distributors Inc. against an ex-worker's proposed wage-and-hour class action.

  • September 23, 2026

    Nestle Asks Justices To Review 'Sustainable' Cocoa Classes

    Nestle asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a divided Ninth Circuit decision upholding class certification of millions of consumers who bought chocolate labeled "sustainably sourced" in a lawsuit claiming the chocolate is produced through child labor and deforestation.

  • September 23, 2026

    Publix Sued Over Woman's Death From Eating Blueberries

    A Florida man whose wife died after allegedly consuming contaminated frozen blueberries has sued Publix Super Markets Inc. and a food distributor, alleging the companies sold a dangerous food product that caused a fatal infection.

  • September 23, 2026

    Illinois Swipe-Fee Ban Also Blocked For Federal Credit Unions

    An Illinois federal judge expanded an order blocking the state from enforcing its landmark ban on tax-and-tip swipe fees against most banks, ruling that an injunction she granted earlier this year extends to federal credit unions in light of a new federal rule that authorizes them to collect interchange fees.

  • September 23, 2026

    Bush Bros. Says Rival Chili Co. Copies 'Chili Magic' TM

    Bush Brothers has filed a trademark infringement suit in Michigan federal court accusing competitor Magic Man Foods of copying Bush's "Chili Magic" mark and its distinctive trade dress by using a confusingly similar color scheme for similar canned chili bean products.

  • September 23, 2026

    Ex-NY County Top Official's 12-Year Sentence Cut To 10

    A New York federal judge sentenced former Long Island politician Edward Mangano to 10 years for corruption Wednesday, trimming a 12-year term she handed him after the Second Circuit tossed a jury's finding that he committed bribery.

  • September 23, 2026

    Walmart Can't Nix Worker's $300K Retaliation Trial Win

    A Washington federal judge declined Wednesday to scrap a $300,000 trial win for a former Walmart employee who claimed she was fired for reporting that her manager failed to shut down sexual harassment, calling the jury's verdict fair amid evidence of her boss' unfair treatment.

  • September 23, 2026

    Colo. Smoke Shop Chain To Pay $152K Over Kratom Potency

    The Colorado Attorney General's Office reached a $152,000 settlement with two smoke shop owners, ending claims their retail chain sold kratom products exceeding the state's legal potency limit and violated labeling rules.

  • September 23, 2026

    CORRECTION: Commerce Department Clarifies Common Alloy Sheet Orders

    The U.S. Department of Commerce has clarified that countervailing and antidumping duties shouldn't be imposed on aluminum can sheet stock imported from China and Bahrain, according to final results of a changed circumstances review published in a notice filed Wednesday.

  • September 23, 2026

    Gundlach Bundschu Winery Seeks Ch. 11 With $39M Debt

    Gundlach Bundschu Winery, which claims to be California's oldest continuously family-owned winery, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief Wednesday, as it seeks to restructure its more than $39 million in liabilities.

  • September 22, 2026

    'Yikes' Email Sinks BIPA Coverage For Donut, Transport Cos.

    An email stating "Yikes ... no" in response to outside counsel's inquiry regarding a commercial bakery's biometric data collection practices proves the business and a logistics company misrepresented material facts while seeking insurance that could have covered an underlying privacy dispute, an Illinois federal judge said Monday.

  • September 22, 2026

    Yardbird Can Tap $5.4M Ch. 11 Loan To Pursue Asset Sale

    Casual Southern dining chain Yardbird on Tuesday received a Delaware bankruptcy judge's interim approval to get a taste of its $5.4 million in Chapter 11 financing as the debtor prepares to run a sale process for its restaurant operations.

  • September 22, 2026

    Wendy's Says 314-Store Franchisee Lost Rights Before Ch. 11

    Wendy's Co. told a Michigan bankruptcy court that one of its largest U.S. franchisees lost the right to operate 314 restaurants before filing for Chapter 11 protection, arguing that the franchise agreements had been validly terminated and are no longer part of the debtor's bankruptcy estate.

  • September 22, 2026

    Dispensary's Tax Deduction Properly Nixed, IRS Tells 9th Circ.

    The U.S. Tax Court correctly ruled that a San Francisco marijuana dispensary's expenses found to be tied to trafficking in controlled substances aren't deductible, the IRS told the Ninth Circuit, saying such a deduction shouldn't be allowed in determining an amount to settle the business's $3 million tax debt.

  • September 22, 2026

    DoorDash To Pay $131.5M To Settle NYC Delivery Pay Probe

    DoorDash will pay $131.5 million to settle a New York City investigation that found it underpaid workers, paid some late and excluded certain trip and waiting time from minimum-pay calculations, with more than 200,000 workers set to receive payments, the city announced Tuesday.

  • September 22, 2026

    EU, Philippines Reach Preliminary Free Trade Deal

    The European Union and the Philippines have reached a "substantial agreement" on a free trade deal that would mutually reduce or remove tariffs on 97% of trade between them, the bloc announced Tuesday.

  • September 22, 2026

    USTR Sets More Country Tariff Quotas For Raw Cane Sugar

    Almost 12,000 additional metric tons of Dominican raw cane sugar can be imported into the U.S. at a discount under tariff rate quotas for fiscal year 2027, according to a notice published Tuesday by the U.S. Trade Representative.

  • September 21, 2026

    Teddy's Says Buc-ee's TM Campaign Violates Antitrust Law

    Teddy's Market has escalated its counterclaims against Buc-ee's in Georgia federal court with allegations of antitrust violations, claiming the travel-center chain uses trademark infringement lawsuits to unlawfully expand its control over cartoon-animal branding in the convenience store industry.

Expert Analysis

  • How Cos. Can Prep For Ultra-Processed Food Legal Risks

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    A wave of litigation and government scrutiny directed against ultra-processed foods is now gaining momentum, following patterns seen previously in other industries — and food companies that recognize those patterns early will be better positioned to manage the increasing risks, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

  • Roundup

    The Most Talked-About Supreme Court Decisions Of 2026

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    This term, 11 U.S. Supreme Court decisions quickly became hot topics among Law360's guest writers.

  • What Ex-CFPB Head's Calif. Role May Foretell For Oversight

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's selection of former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra to lead a new consumer agency signals tougher state financial services oversight, especially for fintechs, as well as heightened enforcement activity and larger penalties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Immigration Ruling Maps Alternative To Universal Injunctions

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    A Rhode Island federal court's decision in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS vacating policies that froze key immigration adjudications for nationals of 39 countries, and paused asylum applications altogether, suggests how practitioners might press for the Administrative Procedure Act's bad faith exception to record review and seek vacatur as a viable alternative to universal injunctions, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • Lessons From EEOC Suit Over Coca-Cola Women-Only Event

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent lawsuit alleging that Coca-Cola Northeast violated federal law by having a professional development retreat for female employees demonstrates that the EEOC is scrutinizing DEI-related practices with unprecedented intensity, so even the most well-intentioned programs may be challenged, say attorneys at Venable.

  • High Court's FCC Fine Ruling Reframes Agency Enforcement

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T sweeps aside uncertainty about what kinds of regulatory enforcement trigger a Seventh Amendment right, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • After Durnell, Connecting Science And Causation Will Be Key

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's June 25 decision in Monsanto v. Durnell narrowed label-based failure-to-warn claims — meaning that going forward, viable theories will depend even more on whether experts can reliably connect scientific evidence to the causal proposition the law requires, says Alex Smolak at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar.

  • Series

    Choral Singing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Singing in the New York City Bar Chorus — a hobby partly inspired by the late U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who infused my clerkship year with opera music — has improved my legal career by refining my abilities to listen, exude confidence and develop emotional intelligence, says Bonnie Baker at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

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    As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

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    Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

  • Fed. Circ. In May: Being Precise About 'About'

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Enviro Tech v. Safe Foods last month illustrates the danger in attempting to expand claim scope with words of approximation, potentially causing claims to be invalid for lack of definiteness, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Ill. Law Firm MSO Bill Clashes With Court Power, Ethics Rules

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    An Illinois bill prohibiting law firms from certain business arrangements with management service organizations, sent to the governor for signature last week, encroaches upon the courts' constitutional powers and goes beyond the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct in regulating investment in law-related services, says Matthew O’Hara at Smith Gambrell.

  • Opinion

    State Courts Must Be Gatekeepers Of Expert Testimony

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    Based on my experience in the state judiciary, emulating federal courts' role as gatekeepers of expert witness testimony would help state court judges maintain the appearance of impartiality and assist juries, thus enhancing the overall confidence people have in their justice system, says Lorie Gildea at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Series

    Moshing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Entering a mosh pit is much like entering the practice of law — it is difficult, you have to know both the written and unwritten rules, and conduct yourself according to the expectations of each community, says Christopher Deubert at Constangy Brooks.

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