Food & Beverage

  • May 13, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Sunken treasure, recycled plastics, questionable denim and dog food all made appearances in Chancery Court dockets last week, along with developments in cases involving Qualcomm, Tesla Inc., and Truth Social. In case you missed it, here's the latest from Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • May 10, 2024

    Bakery To Face Ex-Worker's Finger Scan Suit In State Court

    An Illinois judge has remanded most of a suit accusing Gold Standard Baking Inc. of unlawfully collecting biometric data for timekeeping purposes, finding that claims related to fingerprint scans collected while she was a temporary worker could stand while captures made after she became a company employee were preempted by federal labor-contract law.

  • May 10, 2024

    McDonald's Workers Want Class Cert. In Sex Harassment Suit

    A pair of McDonald's workers claiming that the company has allowed sexual harassment to run rampant in its stores asked an Illinois federal judge to certify classes of thousands of women and girls who've worked at Florida locations, arguing that class treatment is the best way to evaluate whether McDonald's has a pattern of tolerating harassment.

  • May 10, 2024

    Oil Giants Say Tribal Climate Change Row Must Stay Federal

    Several giant oil companies are fighting a bid by two Native American tribes to remand their consolidated case to state court, telling a Washington federal district court that the claims brought by tribes have always been governed by federal law.

  • May 10, 2024

    Farm Gets 2nd Go At H-2A Extension After Worker's Aneurysm

    A U.S. Department of Labor appeals board has revived a farm's request to extend two foreign workers' employment to finish up work that was delayed after a co-worker suffered a brain aneurysm, saying a certifying officer shouldn't have flat-out denied the extension request.

  • May 10, 2024

    2nd Circ. Says Subway Texts Don't Trigger Autodial Law

    A divided Second Circuit panel upheld the dismissal of a suit claiming that the sandwich chain Subway illegally spammed consumers' phones with automated texts, finding that a Connecticut federal judge was right in ruling that the marketing campaign didn't use an autodialer as defined by federal law.

  • May 10, 2024

    Insurers Don't Owe Chiquita Coverage In Terrorism Settlement

    An Ohio state appeals court ruled Friday that Chiquita Brands International Inc. is not owed coverage by a group of insurers for a settlement with families of six Americans killed by a terrorist group Chiquita had paid for protection, saying any errors the trial court made were harmless because it came to the correct conclusion.

  • May 10, 2024

    Dollar Tree Parent Sued Over Alleged Lead In Cinnamon

    Dollar Tree Inc.'s parent company and a New York family-owned food business were hit Thursday with a proposed class action in New York federal court alleging that the chain sold cinnamon that was contaminated with lead, following U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalls of lead-tainted cinnamon.

  • May 10, 2024

    Fox Theatre Let Sex Harassment Go Unchecked, Suit Says

    A former worker at Atlanta's Fox Theatre filed a lawsuit this week accusing the historic venue of allowing sexual harassment to run rampant among its ranks, refusing to discipline employees who made lewd comments — and worse — while retaliating against those who complained.

  • May 10, 2024

    Logan Paul Energy Drinks Have Excess Caffeine, Suit Says

    A proposed class of energy drink buyers is suing YouTube celebrity Logan Paul's Prime Hydration LLC, alleging the drinks contain significantly more than the 200 milligrams of caffeine they advertise.

  • May 10, 2024

    Pepperidge Farm Drivers Not Employees, 3rd Circ. Affirms

    Three delivery drivers for Pepperidge Farm are independent contractors, not employees, and thus cannot sue the company for state wage and hour law violations, a Third Circuit panel ruled Friday, saying the drivers' daily responsibilities make it clear they are self-employed.

  • May 10, 2024

    SEC Targets Fatburger's Parent Co. In $27M Loan Scheme

    The restaurant company that owns Fatburger and Fazoli's made illegal loans to its director and former chief executive, who spent $27 million in company money on himself while skirting taxes and leaving the company struggling, the Securities and Exchange Commission told a California federal court Friday. 

  • May 10, 2024

    NJ Attys Settle Malpractice Suit Over Wawa Injury Claim

    Attorneys at a New Jersey law firm have settled a malpractice lawsuit from a former client who claimed they caused him to lose his chance to sue convenience store chain Wawa over an on-the-job injury, according to a letter submitted Thursday to state court.

  • May 10, 2024

    PF Chang's Allowed To Keep 6K-Worker Wage Deal Concealed

    P.F. Chang's can file settlement papers with dollar amounts shielded from public view as the restaurant chain looks to resolve a 5-year-old suit accusing it of cheating more than 6,000 tipped servers out of wages, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled.

  • May 09, 2024

    Ex-Minor Leaguer Settles With SEC Over Del Taco Deal Tip Off

    A former minor league baseball player has agreed to pay more than $58,000 to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission insider trading allegations involving burger chain Jack in the Box's $575 million acquisition of its fellow chain Del Taco.

  • May 09, 2024

    Chicken Farmers Win Cert. Of 24K Class In No-Poach Suit

    An Oklahoma federal judge has certified a class of more than 24,000 broiler chicken farmers accusing Pilgrim's Pride of conspiring with others to suppress grower compensation through no-poach agreements, noting the plaintiffs provided direct and circumstantial evidence to show the existence of an antitrust conspiracy affecting all farmers.

  • May 09, 2024

    Award Increased to $13.4M In Pabst Asbestos Death Suit

    A Wisconsin appeals court has increased a mesothelioma wrongful death award against Pabst Brewing Co. to $13.4 million, rejecting the beer company's argument that the jury shouldn't have found fault at all, while finding that the trial court wrongly applied the state's punitive damages statute.

  • May 09, 2024

    EPA Defends Factory Farm Water Pollution Regs At 9th Circ.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday urged the Ninth Circuit to toss green groups' lawsuit seeking to revive their petition for new, stronger Clean Water Act regulations for large animal feeding facilities.

  • May 09, 2024

    4th Circ. Mulls Scope Of Farm Bill In Virginia Hemp Fight

    A Fourth Circuit panel on Thursday pushed attorneys for the state of Virginia and a group of hemp companies and customers to define precisely how much power states have to restrict the production and sale of intoxicating products derived from federally legal hemp.

  • May 08, 2024

    Kroger Must Keep Fighting Metal-Tainted Baby Food Claims

    An Ohio federal judge Wednesday refused to throw out a proposed class action accusing the Kroger Co. and its subsidiaries of selling baby food tainted with toxic metals, ruling that the mothers who sued have plausibly alleged that they wouldn't have purchased the product had they known the truth.

  • May 08, 2024

    Vietnam's Labor Issues Mar Bid For Market Economy Status

    Representatives from U.S. industry, organized labor, and human rights advocacy urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to reject Vietnam's bid for market economy status Wednesday, denouncing its track record on labor rights.

  • May 08, 2024

    In Final Memo, Blumenauer Eyes Path Forward For Cannabis

    Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., a longtime champion of cannabis reform in Congress who plans to retire this year, is calling marijuana reform a "winning issue" for policymakers and outlined numerous actions both legislators and federal agencies can take to move the issue forward.

  • May 08, 2024

    Blue Bottle Coffee Loses Suit Over 'Blue Brew' TM

    A California federal judge has handed a loss to Blue Bottle Coffee LLC in its trademark infringement case against a company selling coffee gear and accessories using the phrase "Blue Brew," saying there wasn't any evidence that customers would be confused.

  • May 08, 2024

    CBD Retailer Wants To Avoid Privacy Suit

    CBD retailer Charlotte's Web Inc. has urged a California federal judge to toss a woman's suit accusing it of secretly recording conversations of those who visit its website, saying the lead plaintiff didn't even use the allegedly wiretapped chat functions and therefore can't have been harmed.

  • May 08, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Farmworkers Union Says DOL's 2022 Rules Keep Wages Low

    A farmworkers union in Washington state is challenging rules the U.S. Department of Labor introduced in 2022 that the union said are depressing farmworkers' wages.

Expert Analysis

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • The Corporate Disclosure Tug-Of-War's Free Speech Issues

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    The continuing conflict over corporate disclosure requirements — highlighted by a lawsuit against Missouri's anti-ESG rules — has important implications not just for investors and regulated entities but also for broader questions about the scope of the First Amendment, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

  • A Refresher On Alcohol Sponsorships Before The Super Bowl

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    As millions of people will see in Super Bowl commercials Sunday, celebrity sponsorships continue to be a valuable tool for alcohol beverage marketers — and those looking to better target audiences must understand how regulation of the alcohol industry affects these deals, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    Food Safety Bill Needed To Protect Kids From Heavy Metals

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    The recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that hundreds of children may have been exposed to unsafe lead levels in applesauce highlights the continuing failure by Congress to pass legislation that would require baby food manufacturers to ensure safer levels of heavy metals in their products, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

  • What Brands Must Know For Calif. Recycle Label Compliance

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    A brand that stamps nonrecyclable packaging with the chasing arrows symbol could face liability under California's new law on labeling recyclable material, so brand owners should keep an eye on the state's pending survey process to identify which materials meet the criteria before requirements go into effect, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

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    While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Zimbabwe Ruling Bolsters UK's Draw As Arbitration Enforcer

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    An English court's recent decision in Border Timbers v. Zimbabwe, finding that state immunity was irrelevant to registering an arbitration award, emphasizes the U.K.'s reputation as a creditor-friendly destination for award enforcement, say Jon Felce and Tulsi Bhatia at Cooke Young.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Brazil

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    Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.

  • Vagueness In Calif. Climate Law Makes Compliance Tricky

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    California's recently enacted Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act requires companies making claims of carbon neutrality, or significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions, to disclose information supporting those claims — but vague and conflicting language in the statute poses multiple problems for businesses, say John Rousakis and Chris Bowman at O'Melveny.

  • Series

    Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.

  • Harmonizing Agricultural And Clean Energy Goals

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    Congress' extension of the Farm Bill offers a chance to more thoroughly consider innovation and investments that could transform the competition between farmers and solar developers into synergistic agrivoltaic systems, which use land for both agriculture and solar energy generation, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • What's At Stake In High Court NLRB Injunction Case

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    William Baker at Wigdor examines the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to hear Starbucks v. McKinney — where it will consider a long-standing circuit split over the standard for evaluating National Labor Relations Board injunction bids — and explains why the justices’ eventual decision, either way, is unlikely to be a significant blow to labor.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

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    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

  • 5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money

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    As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.

  • Series

    Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.

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