Food & Beverage

  • March 20, 2025

    Soybean Co. Benson Hill Hits Ch. 11 With Plans To Sell

    Benson Hill Inc., a company that develops a high-protein soybean, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court Thursday with $110.7 million in debt and plans to sell its assets through the case.

  • March 19, 2025

    Fla. Judge Mulls Appointing 3rd Party Atty In Chiquita MDL

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday said he is considering appointing a third-party lawyer to advise clients in a multidistrict litigation case on whether they should settle or pursue claims of Chiquita funding a Colombian right-wing paramilitary group that committed war crimes against civilians in Colombia, following arguments from attorneys.

  • March 19, 2025

    Beech-Nut Beats Baby Food Metals Case Revived By 2nd Circ.

    A New York federal judge tossed Wednesday a recently revived consolidated proposed consumer class action alleging Beech-Nut Nutrition Co. sold baby food contaminated with metals, finding that the consumers have not shown they were economically harmed, while rejecting their claims they overpaid for the products or did not receive the benefit of the bargain.

  • March 19, 2025

    Crisco Slips Proposed Class Cert. In Butter False Ad Suit

    A Crisco cooking spray purchaser looking to hold its manufacturer liable for an allegedly deceptive "butter" label cannot pursue those claims on behalf of other consumers because his intended classes aren't solid enough to proceed as one, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday.  

  • March 19, 2025

    DOJ Defends Rejection Of Agri Stats Bid For Data Points

    The U.S. Department of Justice is defending a decision in Minnesota federal court denying a bid from Agri Stats Inc. to make enforcers identify specific data fields in company reports that allegedly allow chicken, pork and turkey producers to share competitively sensitive information.

  • March 19, 2025

    Ill. Justices Probe Wholesalers' Knowledge Of Tainted Cilantro

    Justices on Illinois' top court on Wednesday pressed attorneys in a case over allegedly contaminated cilantro to address when two wholesalers had actual knowledge the product may have made people sick, and what moment triggered a duty by a distributor to give notice for an implied warranty of merchantability claim.

  • March 19, 2025

    Insurers End Dispute Over Pizza Chain Salmonella Coverage

    Two insurers for a "take 'n' bake" pizza chain have settled a dispute over their contributions to a deal reached by their mutual insured in an underlying case over salmonella-tainted cookie dough, with a Washington federal court tossing the suit.

  • March 19, 2025

    Wash. Water Quality Regs Survive Industry Challenge

    A federal judge on Wednesday upheld Washington state water quality standards that were challenged by business groups after they were approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

  • March 19, 2025

    Ohio Opioid Judge Says Texas Court Should Hear Appeal Bid

    An Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict opioid litigation denied Albertsons Cos.' request to appeal its summary judgment loss in the bellwether case brought by a Texas county, saying Wednesday that since pretrial proceedings are now done, the appeal should head to the appellate court for the Lone Star State.

  • March 19, 2025

    Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2025 Editorial Boards

    Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2025 Editorial Advisory Boards.

  • March 18, 2025

    Quaker Oats Beats Pesticide Suit As Judge Cites EPA Limits

    An Illinois federal judge threw out a putative class action Tuesday accusing Quaker Oats Co. of misleadingly marketing its products as healthy despite the presence of pesticides, saying the chemical levels identified in the case are far below the limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

  • March 18, 2025

    Ben & Jerry's Says Unilever Is Forcing Out CEO Over Politics

    Ben & Jerry's parent company Unilever is illegally trying to force out the ice cream company's CEO as punishment for him standing his ground and defending its "social mission" as Unilever attempts to block certain political statements, particularly those that could offend Donald Trump, according to a proposed amended complaint filed Tuesday.

  • March 18, 2025

    Trump Admin Asks 4th Circ. To Halt Employee Rehiring Order

    The Trump administration on Monday evening asked the Fourth Circuit for an emergency stay of a Maryland federal judge's restraining order requiring the reinstatement of probationary employees who were fired from 18 federal agencies, saying the suing states don't have standing to represent the fired workers.

  • March 18, 2025

    Deere & Co. Attacks FTC's Right-To-Repair Suit As 'Vague'

    Farm machinery manufacturer Deere & Co. is asking an Illinois federal court to nix the Federal Trade Commission's right-to-repair suit, arguing that the company doesn't operate in or exclude others from the equipment repair market, and that the FTC lacks the constitutional authority to sue, among other failings.

  • March 18, 2025

    Army Corps' Permit For Offshore Fish Farms Is Voided

    A Washington federal court judge set aside as unlawful a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' nationwide permit intended to speed up offshore aquaculture through the construction of industrial-size facilities in federal ocean waters off the country's eastern and western coasts.

  • March 18, 2025

    United Can't Shred Cheese Co.'s Fraud Suit, Judge Says

    United Healthcare must face a cheese manufacturer's lawsuit claiming the insurer failed to prevent $2.3 million in fraudulent claims from being paid by the dairy company's self-funded employee health plan, a Colorado federal judge ruled, saying United misinterpreted the allegations in its bid to escape the case.

  • March 18, 2025

    Split 7th Circ. Says Texts For Free Services Don't Violate TCPA

    A divided Seventh Circuit panel on Monday refused to revive a putative Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action over a company's texts and calls offering free nutritional services through the lead plaintiff's state and Medicaid funded healthcare plan, finding the messages weren't telephone solicitations because he wasn't being encouraged to purchase anything.

  • March 18, 2025

    Curaleaf Cos. Say Illegal Contract Nixes Farm's $32M Verdict

    Curaleaf units that lost a $31.8 million trial in January are urging a Michigan federal court to wipe out the verdict, saying the contract at issue violates federal law, warranting either a judgment as a matter of law or a new trial.

  • March 18, 2025

    NLRB Judge Won't Issue Bargaining Order At Mo. Starbucks

    Starbucks violated the National Labor Relations Act once during Workers United's organizing drive at a Missouri store, but the violation wasn't severe enough to have caused the union's loss in a representation election, a National Labor Relations Board judge said, rejecting board prosecutors' request for a bargaining order.

  • March 18, 2025

    Bank Groups Push For Permanent Block On Ill. Swipe Fee Law

    Banking industry groups moved late Monday to deliver a final blow to an Illinois state law that bans swipe fees on tax and tip portions of payment card transactions, asking a Chicago federal judge to go ahead and finish off the ban before it takes effect this summer.

  • March 18, 2025

    Greenberg Traurig Boosts Litigation Team With 4 Denver Attys

    A team of four litigators have joined Greenberg Traurig LLP's growing Denver office, including a shareholder who was tapped to lead the office's litigation practice. 

  • March 18, 2025

    Whistleblower Says Perdue Farms' DOL Battle Is Premature

    A whistleblower pursuing retaliation claims against Perdue Farms Inc. at the U.S. Department of Labor over the company allegedly sending him unhealthy chickens to raise after he raised concerns about the company's sanitation standards urged a North Carolina federal judge to throw out the poultry producer's case, arguing the court lacks jurisdiction.

  • March 18, 2025

    Carnival Co. Must Face H-2B Visa Workers' Wage Suit

    A traveling carnival business and its president cannot avoid a proposed class action alleging they forced workers employed through the H-2B visa program to work long hours without overtime pay, a Virginia federal judge ruled, saying there's not enough evidence to warrant a pretrial win.

  • March 17, 2025

    Poppi Buyers Ink $8.9M Deal Over 'Gut Healthy' Soda Claims

    A group of Poppi-brand soda consumers asked a California federal judge Friday to greenlight an $8.9 million proposed settlement that would resolve consolidated false advertising claims alleging the beverage company misleadingly touted its products as "prebiotics for a healthy gut."

  • March 17, 2025

    Kroger Shakes Calif. Suit Over Interception Of Website Chats

    A California federal judge has refused to hold The Kroger Co. liable for a third party's allegedly unlawful eavesdropping on Kroger website users' chats, in a ruling that the grocery chain's counsel predicted could have a "wide impact" on the crush of state wiretapping litigation currently flooding the courts.

Expert Analysis

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

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    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Opinion

    Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

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    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • What To Make Of Dueling Corporate Transparency Act Rulings

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    Although challenges to the Corporate Transparency Act abound — as highlighted by recent federal court decisions from Alabama and Oregon taking opposite positions on its constitutionality — the act is still law, so companies should comply with their filing requirements or face the potential consequences, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

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    Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

  • How Biden Admin Has Used Antitrust Tools, And What's Next

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    The last four years have been marked by an aggressive whole-of-government approach to antitrust enforcement using a broad range of tools, and may result in lasting change regardless of the upcoming presidential election result, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits

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    Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • Challenge To Ill. Card Fee Law Explores Compliance Hurdles

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    A recent federal lawsuit challenging an Illinois law that will soon forbid electronic payment networks from charging fees for processing the tax and tip portions of card transactions, fleshes out the glaring compliance challenges and exposure risks financial institutions must be ready to face next summer, says Martin Kiernan at Amundsen Davis.

  • Harris Unlikely To Shelve Biden Admin's Food Antitrust Stance

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    A look at Vice President Kamala Harris' past record, including her actions as California attorney general, shows why practitioners should prepare for continued aggressive antitrust enforcement, particularly in the food and grocery industries, if Harris wins the presidential election, says Steve Vieux at Bartko.

  • Opinion

    This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process

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    In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Complex Challenges Facing Sustainable Food Packaging

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    More and more states are requiring recycled content to be used in product packaging, creating complex technological and regulatory considerations for manufacturers who must also comply with federal food safety requirements, say Peter Coneski and Natalie Rainer at K&L Gates.

  • Series

    Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.

  • 5th Circ. Shows Admin Rules Can Survive Court Post-Chevron

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    The Fifth Circuit's textual analysis of the Fair Labor Standards Act, contributing to its recent affirming of the U.S. Department of Labor’s authority to set an overtime exemption salary threshold, suggests administrative laws can survive post-Chevron challenges, say Jessi Thaller-Moran and Erin Barker at Brooks Pierce.

  • How Patent Litigation Is Changing Amid Decline In Filings

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    Marked by a notable decline in case filings and preferred venue shifts, patent litigation has undergone significant changes over the last decade and litigation hot spots have shifted, encouraging a more strategic approach to patent disputes, says Saishruti Mutneja at Winston & Strawn.

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