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Food & Beverage
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April 29, 2024
Justices To Weigh RICO Injury Scope In CBD Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a case brought by a trio of CBD companies asking the justices to establish whether a plaintiff can bring a personal injury claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
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April 26, 2024
Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar
In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.
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April 26, 2024
DOL Solidifies H-2A Protections For Foreign Farmworkers
Foreign farmworkers working in the U.S. under the H-2A temporary visa program will now have enhanced protections to advocate for better working conditions without fear of retaliation under a final U.S. Department of Labor rule unveiled Friday.
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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.
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April 26, 2024
New FDA Official Talks Food Safety After Formula Outbreak
James "Jim" Jones, the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration deputy commissioner for human food, was named to the role last year in the wake of an infant formula contamination outbreak. He sat down this week with Law360 to discuss what he's learned from his first months in the position.
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April 26, 2024
Frito-Lay Subcontractors Hit With $72M Factory Death Verdict
A Dallas County jury has awarded a nearly $72 million verdict to the family of a man who plunged to his death at a Frito-Lay facility, finding that his employer and another subcontractor working at the facility were liable for the accident.
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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.
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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.
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April 26, 2024
50 Cent's GC Beats Wiretap Claim In Liquor Feud, For Now
A Manhattan judge on Friday threw out a claim that the general counsel for rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson illegally recorded a former Beam Suntory Inc. sales contractor during an embezzlement investigation, but allowed the consultant to revise his pleading.
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April 26, 2024
TTAB Says Expired 'Zima' TM Ends Cancellation Bid
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has found that a petition to cancel a trademark for the drink Zima was no longer an issue since its owner, Molson Coors, let the registration on the product expire.
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April 25, 2024
Wendy's Beats Negligence Suit Over Drive-Thru Shooting
Wendy's permanently defeated a negligence suit accusing it of failing to prevent the shooting of a man in December 2018 at its drive-through by not having adequate security guards, after an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday the burger chain couldn't have reasonably foreseen that the shooting would occur.
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April 25, 2024
FDA Decision Didn't Prejudice Would-Be Contractor, GAO Says
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has denied a Virginia technology company's protest of the Food and Drug Administration's decision not to amend a digital communications support deal's performance period, saying the company didn't show it was competitively prejudiced by the decision.
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April 25, 2024
DOL Wage Trumps Local Pay Rate For FDA Contract, Board Rules
An appeals board has denied a nonprofit's request for increased payment for janitorial services at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's headquarters following a change to the local county's minimum wage, saying the government was only required to pay the federal prevailing wage.
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April 25, 2024
Judge Questions Equal Payouts In $9M White Castle BIPA Deal
An Illinois federal judge said Thursday he would grant preliminary approval to a $9.4 million settlement resolving a class action targeting White Castle's biometric timekeeping practices but added he wants more information on why all employees are poised to receive the same recovery regardless of how long they worked there.
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April 25, 2024
Deals Rumor Mill: Paramount, Salesforce, ShipBob
Sony and Apollo Global Management may make a joint bid for Paramount Global, Salesforce Inc. has abandoned its effort to potentially buy data-management software company Informatica, and e-commerce fulfillment service provider ShipBob Inc. is readying an IPO. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
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April 25, 2024
Feds' Pacific Sardine Management Plan Lacking, Judge Says
The government's plan to protect Pacific sardines, an important food source for many marine species, fell short in a number of ways, including by failing to prevent overfishing, a California federal judge has ruled.
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April 25, 2024
Former Fuel Co. GC, CEO Must Pay $750K In SEC Fraud Suit
The former general counsel and CEO of an Arizona fuel company accused of conspiring to defraud investors out of $30 million have reached consent orders with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and agreed to pay nearly $750,000 in fines, disgorgement and restitution.
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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.
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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.
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April 24, 2024
NC Biz Court Trims School Food Servicer's Noncompete Suit
The North Carolina Business Court on Wednesday pared a cafeteria food provider's lawsuit alleging a former sales director absconded with confidential information to a rival business, reasoning the Tar Heel State's laws aren't applicable over alleged out-of-state conduct.
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April 24, 2024
DEA's Upcoming Decision On Cannabis Likely To Be Litigated
The potential loosening of federal restrictions on marijuana is likely to be litigated for years, and the pro-legalization camp would do well to pool resources to build the most persuasive evidentiary record it can, a leading cannabis advocate said Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Filipino Workers' $730K Trafficking Deal Gets Judge's Initial OK
An Oklahoma federal court preliminarily approved a $730,000 settlement on Wednesday that would resolve Filipino workers' claims that a local couple tricked them into paying steep immigration and recruitment fees to come work for them in the U.S.
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April 24, 2024
9th Circ. Says NLRB Can Enforce Starbucks Bargaining Order
The Ninth Circuit said Wednesday that Starbucks must recognize its Seattle roastery workers' April 2022 vote to unionize, overruling the coffee giant's contention that ballots should have been cast in person and concluding a National Labor Relations Board manager had discretion to call the mail-in election because of COVID-19 case counts at the time.
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April 24, 2024
Foxtrot, Dom's Kitchen Closures Violate WARN Act, Suit Says
Former employees of Foxtrot Market and Dom's Kitchen & Market hit the stores' parent company with a lawsuit in Illinois federal court Thursday, alleging it failed to give workers 60 days' notice of mass layoffs as required by federal law when all 33 locations abruptly shuttered Tuesday.
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April 24, 2024
Dow Loses Bid To Keep NJ Toxic Water Row In Federal Court
A New Jersey federal judge on Tuesday remanded to state court the attorney general's lawsuit accusing Dow Chemical Co. and other companies of hiding the danger of 1,4-dioxane, a likely cancer-causing compound, and causing "pervasive and widespread" groundwater pollution.
Expert Analysis
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NY Rulings Show Tough Odds For 'Made With' Class Actions
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.
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Practice Tips To Help Keep Patent Reissuance Options Open
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.
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Opinion
Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
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.
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Series
ESG Around The World: Japan
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.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
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.
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New Calif. Hemp, CBD Rules Affect Nationwide Compliance
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.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats
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.
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Assessing D&O Coverage Amid Challenges To DEI Policies
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.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
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.
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Navigating Over-The-Counter Product Ads After FTC Warning
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.
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AGs' Distaste For Food Bill May Signal Other State Issues
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.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
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.
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Cases Linking Baby Food, Autism Pose Causation Challenges
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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What Marijuana Status Change Would Mean For Industry
If the Drug Enforcement Administration accepts the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recent recommendation to change marijuana’s classification under federal law, it would be a significant regulatory shift that could foster many industry benefits — but questions, risks and uncertainties at both the state and federal levels would remain, say attorneys at Neal Gerber.
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6 Lessons From Direct Selling Industry's Win Over FTC
A Texas federal court’s recent decision in favor of a direct selling company in Federal Trade Commission v. Neora offers long-awaited clarity on what constitutes a pyramid scheme, and lessons for companies seeking to prove their sales are consistent with genuine demand, say Monica Zhong and Branko Jovanovic at Edgeworth.