Food & Beverage

  • May 03, 2024

    Craft Brewer Says Tequila Co. Can't Void Its 'Dragon's Milk' TM

    A Michigan craft brewer filed a trademark action against a Mexican tequila company Thursday for trying to invalidate the brewer's "Dragon's Milk" name for being similar to the defendant's "Casa Dragones" mark, arguing the tequila maker's brand isn't a household name or famous, as defined by the federal Lanham Act.

  • May 03, 2024

    Publix Can't Send Questions To Ga. Justices In Opioid Suit

    A federal judge overseeing national opioid litigation has rejected Publix's bid to ask the Georgia Supreme Court "convoluted and confusing" questions about if the state's public nuisance law applied to allegations the supermarket chain overdistributed painkillers.

  • May 03, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    The past week in London has seen rapper Ivorian Doll hit with a copyright claim, private members club Aspinalls file a claim against a Saudi sheikh, and Motorola Solutions file a claim against the British government on the heels of its dispute over losing a £400 million ($502 million) government contract. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • May 02, 2024

    Chicken Buyers Request $37M More In Price-Fixing Deal Fees

    Direct broiler chicken purchasers who've inked more than $284 million in price-fixing settlements are asking an Illinois federal judge for more than $37 million in what would be a third distribution of fees and reimbursed costs to their co-lead counsel in the massive case.

  • May 02, 2024

    Chiquita Paid Militants To Save Lives, Ex-Ops Chief Testifies

    Chiquita's former head of Colombia operations testified in Florida federal court Thursday on payments he approved to militant groups in the country during a period of intense warfare in the 1990s, saying his company was left with little choice but to make the payments because workers' "lives were at stake."

  • May 02, 2024

    Sysco Unit To Provide Back Pay To End DOL Hiring Bias Probe

    A subsidiary of restaurant food distributor Sysco Corp. will pay over $133,000 in back pay to resolve the U.S. Department of Labor's allegations that it discriminated against women by failing to hire qualified female applicants to fill open warehouse positions in Palmetto, Florida, the agency said Thursday.

  • May 02, 2024

    Email Exchanges Doom Honeywell Bid To Nix $20M GSA Claim

    A contract appeals board wouldn't free Honeywell International Inc. from the General Services Administration's efforts to recoup an alleged $20 million overpayment on an energy deal, finding it unclear whether a 2021 agreement related to the contract barred the claim.

  • May 02, 2024

    Sugar Price-Fixing Suits Combined In NY

    A New York federal judge consolidated six proposed price-fixing class actions against domestic sugar producers, siding with plaintiffs who wanted to try the cases as part of a multidistrict litigation.

  • May 02, 2024

    Kind Keeps Win At 2nd Circ. In MDL Over 'All Natural' Labeling

    The Second Circuit on Thursday affirmed a summary judgment for Kind LLC against a group of buyers who said the company misled consumers by labeling products as "all natural," saying the plaintiffs failed to establish through evidence how a reasonable buyer would understand the term.

  • May 02, 2024

    ADM Investor Says Brass Misled About Growth, SEC Probe

    The current and former top brass of food processing company Archer-Daniels-Midland were hit with a derivative suit in Delaware federal court alleging they provided false information to investors about the company's growth and failed to disclose a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation into its nutrition business.

  • May 02, 2024

    Biden Announces $3B To Fund Lead Pipe Replacement

    The Biden administration is distributing $3 billion to states so they can replace lead water pipes that pose a health risk to those who rely on them for drinking water, as part of the larger goal to remove all lead service lines nationwide.

  • May 02, 2024

    Poultry Cos. To Pay $5.1M Settling OT, Child Labor Violations

    A network of California poultry processors will pay over $5 million to settle a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit in federal court after an agency investigation found the processors employed children to debone poultry and failed to pay over 475 workers overtime.

  • May 02, 2024

    Calif. Justices To Review Gilead's HIV Drug Negligence Fight

    The California Supreme Court has granted Gilead Sciences Inc.'s request to review an appellate court's holding that the drugmaker must face claims it held back a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on an older medication.

  • May 02, 2024

    State Legislators Urge Feds To Change Cannabis' Status

    A coalition of state lawmakers on Thursday urged the heads of the U.S. Department of Justice and its drug enforcement agency to prioritize changing cannabis' status as a highly restricted drug.

  • May 02, 2024

    Dilworth Paxson Attys Disciplined Over NJ Eatery Conflict

    Two Dilworth Paxson LLP partners were sanctioned by the New Jersey Supreme Court this week for investing in a restaurant on the campus of The College of New Jersey at the same time they were legally representing another investment group on the project.

  • May 02, 2024

    Davis Wright Brings On MoFo Appellate Litigator In San Fran

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP has brought on a former Morrison Foerster LLP partner in San Francisco, strengthening its appellate practice with an experienced appellate litigator who clerked for a U.S. Supreme Court justice, a California Supreme Court justice and other judges, the firm announced Thursday.

  • May 02, 2024

    5th Circ. Asks If Facts Matter In Construction Defect Row

    A Fifth Circuit panel weighed the importance of facts versus the law in a dispute over whether an insurer must indemnify a construction company for a $1.3 million arbitration award for construction defects in a Texas farming cooperative's grain silos.

  • May 02, 2024

    Deals Rumor Mill: Coca-Cola, General Mills, MLB's Giants

    Coca-Cola is preparing an IPO for its African bottling division, cereals giant General Mills is exploring selling its North America yogurt business, and a 5% stake in the San Francisco Giants is up for sale at a price that could value the club at $4 billion. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.

  • May 01, 2024

    3 Takeaways From The DOJ's Cannabis Recommendation

    The marijuana advocacy and business world responded with guarded optimism after the U.S. Department of Justice's announcement this week that it recommended relaxing restrictions on marijuana for the first time in more than 50 years.

  • May 01, 2024

    Senate Dems Reintroduce Bill To Tax And Regulate Cannabis

    Senate Democrats on Wednesday reintroduced a cannabis legalization bill that would remove the drug entirely from the ambit of the Controlled Substances Act and impose a tax-and-regulate scheme akin to what is currently in place for alcohol and tobacco.

  • May 01, 2024

    Judge Finds Engineering Co. Had No Duty In Goya Death Case

    A Texas federal judge has thrown out claims against Zachry Engineering Inc. in a suit by the family of a Goya Foods Inc. worker who died when his forklift hit a pipe and caused him to be sprayed with nearly boiling beans, saying the engineering company had no say in the height of the pipe and was not responsible for making sure it wasn't a hazard.

  • May 01, 2024

    Settlement Ends Texas Man's Injury Suit Against Ga. Winery

    A Texas man and Georgia winery have reached a settlement ending the man's suit alleging he was injured during a 2021 visit when a patio umbrella came out of its stand, fell on him and injured his hands, fingers, thumb and chest.

  • May 01, 2024

    DOL Announces $6.5M For Seasonal Farmworker Housing

    The U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday said it will make $6.5 million in grants available to organizations working to improve housing conditions for seasonal and migrant farmworkers and their dependents.

  • May 01, 2024

    Chipotle Granted Win in Customer Change-Shorting Row

    A Pennsylvania federal judge gave Chipotle Mexican Grill an early win Wednesday in a lawsuit by customers alleging they were stiffed out of change during a coin shortage, finding that because the customers agreed to not receive coin change during their transactions, they can't reasonably argue the fast food giant did anything wrong.

  • May 01, 2024

    Carnival Fails To Ditch 'Far From Perfect' Hot-Soup Suit

    Carnival Cruise Lines can't escape a lawsuit seeking to hold it liable for second- and third-degree burns that a passenger suffered when hot soup spilled on her legs, a Florida federal judge has ruled, saying the complaint — "while not perfect" — gets the job done and can survive at this stage of litigation.

Expert Analysis

  • What Cos. Should Know About FTC's Proposed Junk Fee Rule

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a notice of proposed rulemaking targeting junk fees and how businesses may advertise prices to consumers — and since it would give the agency powers to seek monetary penalties against businesses that do not comply, companies should look to get ahead now, say Phyllis Marcus and Nicole Johnson at Hunton Andrews.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: South Korea

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    Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.

  • Employer Takeaways From 2nd Circ. Equal Pay Ruling

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    The Second Circuit 's recent decision in Eisenhauer v. Culinary Institute of America reversed a long-held understanding of the Equal Pay Act, ultimately making it easier for employers to defend against equal pay claims brought under federal law, but it is not a clear escape hatch for employers, say Thelma Akpan and Katelyn McCombs at Littler.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Rite Aid's Reasons For Ch. 11 Go Beyond Opioid Suits

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    Despite opioid-related lawsuits being the perceived reason that pushed Rite Aid into bankruptcy, the company's recent Chapter 11 filing reveals its tenuous position in the pharmaceutical retail market, and only time will tell whether bankruptcy will right-size the company, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • How Fla. Bankruptcy Ruling May Affect Equity Owners

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    A Florida bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Vital Pharmaceuticals — which rejected the Third Circuit’s Majestic Star decision that determined a bankrupt corporation’s flow-through status was not protected by the automatic stay — may significantly affect how equity owners can mitigate the impact of flow-through structures in bankruptcy, say Eric Behl-Remijan and Natasha Hwangpo at Ropes & Gray.

  • M&A Ruling Buoys Loss Calculation Method, R&W Insurance

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    The recent Southern District of New York decision in Taylor Precision Products v. Larimer affirms the use of EBITDA as a basis to quantify loss, highlighting the potential shortcomings of a traditional seller indemnity compared to representation and warranty insurance, say Mark Schwartz at Lockton, and William O’Neil and Gretchen Scavo at Winston & Strawn.

  • How Consumer Complaints Can Help Companies

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    As seen most recently in Zoom's terms of service controversy, consumer complaints — despite initially seeming troubling for companies — can offer businesses the opportunity to identify, tackle and resolve budding challenges before those challenges escalate into larger issues, say Meghan Stoppel and Hannah Cornett at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Opinion

    Life Sciences Regulators Must Write Cloud-Specific Guidance

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    As cloud services continue to revolutionize the life sciences industry's ability to conduct regulated activities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulators should update their data management policies to clearly support and encourage use of cloud technology, say Nate Brown and Marlee Gallant at Akin.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Analyzing The Legal Ripples Of The EPA's PFAS Regulation

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    As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency makes major moves on its pledge to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the developing body of PFAS regulation will lead to an increase in litigation, and personal injury and product liability claims, say attorneys at Gordon & Rees.

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