Food & Beverage

  • January 26, 2026

    Whole Foods $2M ERISA Deal OK'd, Class Counsel Get $666K

    A Texas federal judge signed off on a $2 million settlement between Austin-based Whole Foods and its employees, resolving a class action in which the company was accused of mismanaging employee 401(k) accounts by failing to negotiate for lower administrative fees.

  • January 26, 2026

    Amazon Accused Of Ignoring Nitrous Oxide Health Hazards

    Amazon and nitrous oxide manufacturer Miami Magic took advantage of a "legal loophole" by selling flavored laughing gas products they claimed were for culinary use rather than recreational inhalation, according to a Seattle federal lawsuit from a Georgia man who alleged that his daily use of nitrous oxide caused him serious harm.

  • January 26, 2026

    Denver Faces Lawsuit Over Flavored Tobacco Ban

    A trade group representing 125 small business owners and manufacturers in Colorado's vaping industry has told a Colorado state court that an ordinance passed by the city banning the sale of flavored tobacco products is unconstitutional.

  • January 26, 2026

    Southern Glazer's Wants To Compare FTC Case To Kroger

    Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits LLC urged a California federal judge Friday to give it key material from the Federal Trade Commission's successful challenge to the Kroger-Albertsons merger, sparring with the FTC on arguments that the agency is contradicting itself in a price discrimination lawsuit.

  • January 26, 2026

    H-2A Truck Drivers Seek Collective Certification In OT Suit

    A Colorado company subjects all its tractor-trailer drivers to the same illegal policy of considering them overtime-exempt under federal law, a group of migrant workers said, urging a Colorado federal court to greenlight a collective.

  • January 26, 2026

    Ill. Judge Trims False Ad Suit Over Abbott Formula

    An Illinois federal judge Friday dismissed several claims in a putative class action alleging Abbott Laboratories falsely advertised its toddler drinks sold under the Similac brand as nutritionally proper for children ages 12 months to 36 months, but largely allowed the parents' complaint to move forward.

  • January 26, 2026

    US Hits Chinese, Vietnamese Green Packaging With Duties

    The U.S. Department of Commerce on Monday levied triple-digit antidumping and countervailing duties against imported biodegradable plates and food packaging from China and Vietnam after the U.S. International Trade Commission found the dumped and subsidized imports were causing material injury to domestic industry.

  • January 26, 2026

    Beyond Meat's $77M Write-Down 'Shocked' Market, Suit Says

    Meat-substitute maker Beyond Meat Inc. is facing a proposed investor class action alleging it concealed its struggles to turn a profit, hurting investors as it eventually acknowledged quarterly losses that included a $77 million write-down.

  • January 26, 2026

    4th Circ. Preview: NCAA Eligibility And E-Cigarette Law

    Notwithstanding the winter storm that slammed several states over the weekend, litigators will clash at the Fourth Circuit this week on whether NCAA eligibility rules violate antitrust law, or federal law preempts North Carolina's ability to regulate e-cigarette sales.

  • January 26, 2026

    Pet Treat Maker Will Pay $975K To End Donning, Doffing Row

    A pet product manufacturer has agreed to pay $975,000 to resolve a proposed class and collective action alleging the company failed to pay its employees for the time they spent putting on and removing personal protective equipment, according to settlement papers filed in Colorado federal court.

  • January 23, 2026

    USDA Defends SNAP Pilot In Colo. Legality Challenge

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture told a federal judge that Colorado's request for an injunction restricting it from enforcing a new pilot project for Supplemental Nutrition Act Program recipients should be rejected because the state has not suffered any actual harm.

  • January 23, 2026

    DC, States Back Flowers Foods Driver In High Court Arb. Case

    Whether a worker qualifies for an arbitration exemption depends on what they do, not on the legal structure of their work, 14 states and the District of Columbia told the U.S. Supreme Court, backing a driver for Flowers Foods seeking to keep his wage suit out of arbitration.

  • January 23, 2026

    Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Can't Block NYC's Delivery Laws

    Two New York federal judges rejected requests by delivery companies Instacart, DoorDash and Uber to halt New York City laws regulating tipping options, minimum wage and disclosure requirements, saying that the companies didn't support their arguments that the laws violate the First Amendment and federal preemption principles.

  • January 23, 2026

    Bipartisan House Bill Would Regulate Hemp-Derived CBD

    Members of Congress on Thursday unveiled a bipartisan bill to legalize and regulate the manufacture and sale of hemp-derived CBD products, while a federal ban on virtually all consumable hemp products is still due to take effect in approximately 10 months.

  • January 23, 2026

    EU To Suspend US Tariff Countermeasures Another 6 Months

    The European Union will suspend tariff countermeasures covering more than €93 billion ($110 billion) of U.S. goods another six months after President Donald Trump backed down from tariff threats this week in reaching a preliminary agreement on U.S. security interests in Greenland, an official said Friday.

  • January 23, 2026

    Vegan Protein Co. Claims Bad-Faith Dilution By Partner

    A vegan protein company has asked the Delaware Chancery Court to block what it describes as a deeply unfair capital call that would dramatically dilute its ownership stake in a mineral-processing venture, accusing its majority partner of engineering a squeeze-out through bad-faith governance and below-market pricing.

  • January 23, 2026

    Delta Lounge Workers Cheated Out Of Wages, Suit Says

    Delta Air Lines and a food service company cheated workers at airport lounges out of wages by not paying them for time spent undergoing security checks and by denying them meal and rest breaks, a worker said in a proposed class action in California state court.

  • January 22, 2026

    Pizzeria Owner Can't Beat 8-Year Sentence For Forced Labor

    The First Circuit on Wednesday refused to vacate a Boston-area pizzeria chain owner's forced labor convictions and an 8½-year prison sentence, finding adequate evidence to back the jury's findings and no error in how the court calculated his sentence.

  • January 22, 2026

    Yale Hospital Wants Infant Death Verdict Reduced By $30M

    Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital on Thursday asked a Connecticut judge to reduce a $32 million infant death verdict to just $2 million, saying damages for the loss of enjoyment of life cannot be awarded in addition to damages for the infant's death itself.

  • January 22, 2026

    Smucker Pet Food Buyers Win Cert. In PFAS Disclosure Fight

    A California federal judge certified Thursday a class of Golden State consumers who accuse The J.M. Smucker Co. of failing to disclose risks of so-called PFAS forever chemicals in certain pet food packaging, rejecting Smucker's arguments, among others, that PFAS exposure is too individualized for classwide resolution.

  • January 22, 2026

    FDA Action Shouldn't Halt Amazon Labeling Suit, Plaintiffs Say

    Shoppers accusing Amazon of failing to make required disclosures on dietary supplement product pages told a Washington federal judge there's no need to pause their proposed class action amid possible rulemaking by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, arguing that the supposed rule change wouldn't negate the suit's claims under California law.

  • January 22, 2026

    Supplement Cos. Challenge FDA Health Claim Denials

    A group of health supplement companies hit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with a suit in D.C. federal court Wednesday alleging regulators wrongly denied them approval to make over 100 distinct claims concerning the health benefits of their products.

  • January 22, 2026

    Bally's Casino Beats Bartenders' Age Bias Suit Appeal

    A New Jersey appellate court on Thursday upheld dismissal of claims accusing Bally's Atlantic City Hotel & Casino of preventing unionized bartenders from working at a new casino bar because of their age, finding that the claims fail to show a discriminatory motive for the bar's hiring decisions.

  • January 22, 2026

    Walmart Broke Grocery Noncompete Promise, Court Told

    The owner of a suburban Pittsburgh grocery store told a Pennsylvania federal judge Thursday that a neighboring Walmart is in violation of a nearly 30-year-old deal not to compete for food sales, blaming a recent remodel for a drop in the grocer's sales.

  • January 22, 2026

    Sentencing Judge Blasts Ex-Mars Exec's 'Entitlement'

    A former Mars Inc. risk executive was sentenced on Thursday to 63 months in prison and ordered to pay the candy company more than $28.4 million in restitution after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion surrounding a decadelong fraud scheme.

Expert Analysis

  • How Fractional GCs Can Manage Risks Of Engagement

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    As more organizations eliminate their in-house legal departments in favor of outsourcing legal work, fractional general counsel roles offer practitioners an engaging and flexible way to practice at a high level, but they can also present legal, ethical and operational risks that must be proactively managed, say attorneys at Boies Schiller.

  • Reviewing 2025's Most Pertinent Wiretap Developments

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    2025 was a remarkable year in the world of web tracking wiretapping litigation, not only for the increased caseload but also because of numerous developing theories of liability, with disputes expected to continue unabated in 2026, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Series

    Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

  • What Defense Teams Must Know About PFAS Testing Methods

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    Whether testing for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances produces results meaningful for litigation depends on the validity of the sampling methodology — so effectively defending these claims requires understanding the scientific and legal implications of different PFAS testing protocols, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practical Problem Solving

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    Issue-spotting skills are well honed in law school, but practicing attorneys must also identify clients’ problems and true goals, and then be able to provide solutions, says Mary Kate Hogan at Quarles & Brady.

  • Opinion

    A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court

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    To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure rules to require litigants to certify they’ve reviewed legal filings for accuracy, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

  • AG Watch: Texas Junk Fee Deal Shows Enforcement Priorities

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    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's recent $9.5 million settlement with online travel agency website Booking Holdings for so-called junk fee practices follows a larger trend of state attorneys general who have taken similar action and demonstrates the significant penalties that can follow such allegations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • Series

    The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Integrating Practice Groups

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    Enacting unified leadership and consistent client service standards ensures law firm practice groups connect and collaborate around shared goals, turning a law firm merger into a platform for growth rather than a period of disruption, says Brian Catlett at Fennemore Craig.

  • Opinion

    Supreme Court Term Limits Would Carry Hidden Risk

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    While proposals for limiting the terms of U.S. Supreme Court justices are popular, a steady stream of relatively young, highly marketable ex-justices with unique knowledge and influence entering the marketplace of law and politics could create new problems, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • Series

    Knitting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Stretching my skills as a knitter makes me a better antitrust attorney by challenging me to recalibrate after wrong turns, not rush outcomes, and trust that I can teach myself the skills to tackle new and difficult projects — even when I don’t have a pattern to work from, says Kara Kuritz at V&E.

  • Prepping For 2026 Shifts In Calif. Workplace Safety Rules

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    California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health is preparing for significant shifts and increased enforcement in 2026, so key safety programs — including injury and illness prevention plans, workplace violence plans, and heat illness prevention procedures — must remain a focus for employers, says Rachel Conn at Conn Maciel.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

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    After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • How MAHA Is Taking Shape At The State Level

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    The national spotlight on the federal government's Make America Healthy Again movement is bolstering state-level actions regarding potential health impacts of certain food ingredients, increasing the difficulty and importance of maintaining effective compliance programs, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

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    Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Series

    The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Getting The Message Across

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    Communications and brand strategy during a law firm merger represent a crucial thread that runs through every stage of a combination and should include clear messaging, leverage modern marketing tools and embrace the chance to evolve, says Ashley Horne at Womble Bond.

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