Food & Beverage

  • March 26, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives Gender Bias Case Against Grocery Chain

    A district court applied too harsh a standard when it dismissed a fired manager's sex bias suit against a supermarket chain, the Second Circuit said Tuesday, in a ruling that sought to "demystify" the test for assessing whether some discrimination claims can move to trial.

  • March 25, 2024

    Merchants Hit AmEx With Antitrust Claims Over Its Fee Rules

    American Express faces a proposed merchant class action alleging it violated federal antitrust law by barring businesses from taking certain measures to keep their credit card swipe costs down.

  • March 25, 2024

    NOAA Allots $60M To Help Columbia River Salmon

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it plans to allocate $60 million of Inflation Reduction Act funding to pay for overdue maintenance and repairs at hatchery facilities in the Columbia River Basin, which will further tribal priorities and help address climate change impacts facing salmon and steelhead populations.

  • March 25, 2024

    Kroger Says Sweetened Merger Deal Will Sink Antitrust Doubts

    Kroger told a Colorado state judge Monday that it plans to "enhance" its $24.6 billion Albertson's merger to satisfy federal and state regulators, a plan it did not yet describe in detail and that Colorado said it has not seen.

  • March 25, 2024

    InBev's Modelo Loses 2nd Circ. Appeal In Hard Seltzer Fight

    The Second Circuit said Monday that a licensing agreement between Anheuser-Busch InBev SA and Constellation Brands was ambiguous about whether hard seltzers are beer, affirming a New York federal judge's order to let jurors decide the question at a trial where Constellation Brands prevailed against claims of trademark infringement.

  • March 25, 2024

    Chiquita MDL Parties Urge Fla. Judge To Ax Trial Testimony

    Parties in the multidistrict litigation against Chiquita Brands urged a Florida federal judge Monday to exclude each other's witnesses ahead of the upcoming bellwether trials, saying they were not timely disclosed and have no direct knowledge of the claims in the case.

  • March 25, 2024

    TreeHouse Shareholders Get New Chance To Sue Execs

    An Illinois appellate panel reversed a Cook County judge Friday and revived a derivative lawsuit demanding that TreeHouse Foods sue three individual executives the shareholders claim materially misled them by falsely stating that two newly acquired companies were being successfully integrated into the food company's operations.

  • March 25, 2024

    Cannabis Bill Roundup: NY Targets Illicit Pot Sellers

    New York lawmakers introduced legislation to punish unlicensed cannabis sellers, Hawaii legislators made modifications to a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana, and a Connecticut bill targeting synthetic cannabinoids was referred to a legislative research office. Here are the major moves in cannabis legislation from the past week.

  • March 25, 2024

    Farmers, Attys Say USDA Bias Payouts Can't Snub Fee Deals

    A pair of law firms from Ohio and Florida and their farmer clients have asked a federal judge to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture from paying out $2.2 billion in assistance directly to minority farmers it discriminated against, claiming the government disregarded contingent-fee agreements between the firms and the farmers.

  • March 22, 2024

    Edible Arrangements' Prior Deal Forecloses IP Row With Rival

    A Georgia federal judge ended Edible Arrangements' trademark suit accusing 1-800-Flowers.com of bidding on and buying keywords related to Edible's products for search engine advertisements, finding the parties' prior settlement releasing 1-800-Flowers from similar conduct challenged by Edible in Connecticut federal court years ago barred its current action.

  • March 22, 2024

    Jones Soda Says Partner Contaminated 'Off-Flavor' Drinks

    A contractor breached a beverage production deal with Seattle's Jones Soda Co. by canning a batch of lemon-coconut drinks that were unfit to sell because of "an indisputable off-flavor," according to a complaint filed by the soda company in Washington federal court.

  • March 22, 2024

    EU Pushes For Steep Tariffs On Russian And Belarusian Grain

    The European Commission said Friday that it's working to constrain Russia's ability to fund its war against Ukraine by increasing tariffs on cereal, oil seed and grain product imports from Russia and its Union State partner, Belarus.

  • March 22, 2024

    Commerce Lifts Block On Transnational Subsidy Probes

    The U.S. Department of Commerce erased a nearly 40-year-old regulation on Friday so it can impose countervailing duties on subsidies China provides its trade partners, despite opposition from foreign governments that the move would conflict with World Trade Organization obligations.

  • March 22, 2024

    Top Dutch Court Blocks Russia's Last Bid For Vodka TMs

    Former Yukos Oil Co. shareholders said Friday that the Netherlands' top court has thrown out Russia's final bid to stop their seizure of over a dozen renowned Russian vodka trademarks in an effort to enforce $50 billion in arbitral awards.

  • March 22, 2024

    Del. Courts Examining 'Colonoscopy'-Like Bylaw Rules

    Invasive advance-notice bylaws that some observers say make shareholder board nominations as intrusive as a "colonoscopy" are reviving old questions in Delaware courts about how far boards can go to protect themselves against shareholder activism.

  • March 21, 2024

    Burford, Sysco Get OK To Swap Bid In Price-Fixing Cases

    An Illinois federal judge on Thursday agreed to allow an affiliate of legal investment firm Burford Capital to substitute for food giant Sysco in price-fixing litigation against broiler chicken producers, a ruling that comes a month after a Minnesota federal judge refused to allow the same Burford unit to substitute for Sysco in similar pork and beef price-fixing litigation.

  • March 21, 2024

    UN Cautiously Optimistic For Trade 'Rebound' This Year

    Global trade in both goods and services was up in the first quarter of 2024, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development reported Thursday, forecasting a "rebound" this year after a difficult 2023.

  • March 21, 2024

    AGs Urge Congress To Address Hemp Intoxicants In Farm Bill

    A bipartisan coalition of 21 attorneys general is urging Congress to address what the state officials call a public health and safety crisis by amending federal hemp policy to clarify that intoxicating products derived from hemp extracts are not legal under federal law.

  • March 21, 2024

    6th Circ. Revives McKee's Network Plan Fight With Thrifty Med

    The Sixth Circuit reinstated on Thursday McKee Foods Corp.'s suit against Thrifty MedPlus Pharmacy alleging Tennessee law requiring pharmacy benefit managers to let "any willing pharmacies" participate in a network was preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, finding that amendments made to the statute didn't render McKee's claims moot.

  • March 21, 2024

    Ex-CEO Says Social Media Profiles Are Tied To His Personality

    The former CEO of the company that makes Bang Energy drinks argued Thursday in a Florida federal court that a bankruptcy judge wrongly took away ownership of three social media accounts he created for the brand, saying his persona used in them was instrumental in successfully marketing its products.

  • March 21, 2024

    Calif. Panel Revives Diner's COVID Sanitization Coverage Bid

    A California state appeals court revived a diner's bid for property insurance coverage of COVID-19 losses after it determined the restaurant credibly alleged direct physical losses and that the policy's language covering losses attributable to a virus applied to COVID-19 sanitization efforts.

  • March 21, 2024

    Canadian Supplement Co. Seeks US Bankruptcy Recognition

    A nutritional supplement supplier based in Montreal told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Thursday it needs the U.S. court to recognize its Canadian insolvency proceedings, reasoning that an eviction threat may cut off access to assets in California the debtor needs for its sale plans.

  • March 21, 2024

    Food Service Co. Settles Ex-Recruiter's Suit Over DEI Initiative

    A corporate food service company has agreed to end a former recruiter's lawsuit alleging she was unlawfully fired after speaking up against a diversity program that discriminated against white men, according to a Thursday filing in California federal court.

  • March 21, 2024

    Chicago Restaurant Biz Sanctioned For Missing Discovery

    A Cook County judge on Wednesday sanctioned the former management group behind celebrated Chicago eatery Maple & Ash and two associated entities for discovery violations, ordering them to pay attorney fees and costs spent seeking their compliance to information requests and warning that escalating penalties could be imposed if violations continue.

  • March 21, 2024

    Manhattan Pizzeria Owner Indicted On Wage Theft Charges

    The owner and a manager of a well-known Manhattan pizzeria were indicted in New York state court Thursday on charges of stealing more than $30,000 in wages from seven employees.

Expert Analysis

  • Lessons On Arbitration Carveouts From Diddy-Diageo Suit

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    After Sean "Diddy" Combs brought a racial discrimination suit in New York state court against Diageo, the company has been unable to compel arbitration under its distribution agreement with Combs, underscoring the importance of narrowly tailoring arbitration carveouts for injunctive relief, says Rosanne Felicello at Felicello Law.

  • Calif. GHG Disclosure Law Will Affect Companies Worldwide

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    California's Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, which will require comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions disclosures from large companies operating in the state, will mean compliance challenges for a wide range of industries, nationally and globally, as the law's requirements will ultimately trickle out and down, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • NY Rulings Show Tough Odds For 'Made With' Class Actions

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    Two recent dismissals of proposed class actions — over alleged misrepresentations of food product ingredients — in New York federal courts suggest a growing skepticism of challenges to "made with"-type claims, but companies that decide to make such claims should still consider options to mitigate litigation risk, say Ashley Simonsen and Kaixin Fan at Covington.

  • Practice Tips To Help Keep Patent Reissuance Options Open

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    The Federal Circuit's recent denial of Float'N'Grill's reissue application for a floating grill patent shows that certain best practices, including a clear description of alternative structures and a patentability search, allow for a possible widening of a future patent's scope in a broadening reissue, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Opinion

    Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform

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    The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Japan

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    Japan is witnessing rapid developments in environmental, social and corporate governance policies by making efforts to adopt a soft law approach, which has been effective in encouraging companies to embrace ESG practices and address the diversity of boards of directors, say Akira Karasawa and Landry Guesdon at Iwata Godo.

  • How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing

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    Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • New Calif. Hemp, CBD Rules Affect Nationwide Compliance

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    Because of its huge market share, it is imperative that operators in every state understand the nuances of California's hemp and CBD regulatory regime, including policies refined over the past year and pending legislation that would allow cannabis licensees to sell, manufacture and distribute hemp and CBD products, say Alexis Lazzeri and Meital Manzuri at Manzuri Law.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats

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    Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.

  • Assessing D&O Coverage Amid Challenges To DEI Policies

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    As the recent backlash against corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies leads to shareholder litigation and other legal challenges, companies bolstering their DEI efforts should ensure that their directors and officers and employment practices' liability insurance policies provide sufficient coverage for potential claims, say Peter Gillon and Patrick Blood at Pillsbury.

  • How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies

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    Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.

  • Navigating Over-The-Counter Product Ads After FTC Warning

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    Attorneys at Hunton examine advertising substantiation requirements under both the Federal Trade Commission Act and Lanham Act, following recent FTC letters informing hundreds of companies that over-the-counter product marketing claims must be corroborated by scientific evidence.

  • AGs' Distaste For Food Bill May Signal Other State Issues

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    States' recent opposition to a proposed federal law that would block them from regulating out-of-state agricultural production could affect issues beyond this narrow debate, such as the balance of state and federal regulatory power, reproductive rights post-Dobbs, and energy production and water use, say Christopher Allen and Stephen Cobb at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial

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    Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.

  • Cases Linking Baby Food, Autism Pose Causation Challenges

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    Major baby food producers are now in the crosshairs of regulators, consumer advocates and plaintiffs attorneys over allegations their products contain heavy metals that harm children's development — but it will be difficult for plaintiffs to establish causation, as shown by the lengthy court battles over tobacco and talc, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

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