Food & Beverage

  • May 21, 2025

    'Tough Luck' Case Law Cited In Refusal To Stop Summons

    An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday grudgingly declined to issue an injunction to stop an arbitrator from dragging insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. into arbitration stemming from the bankruptcy of Cooks Venture, a startup that specialized in the production and processing of pasture-raised, slow-growth chickens.

  • May 21, 2025

    Insurer Demands Shipper Pay $480K For Spoiled Crabmeat

    An insurer asked a New York federal court on Wednesday to force a Taiwanese shipper to pay over $480,000 for crabmeat that the carrier alleged was spoiled en route from the Philippines to Norfolk, Virginia.

  • May 21, 2025

    Handel's Accused Of Hiding Dyes In Its 'Homemade' Ice Cream

    A Handel's customer filed a false advertising proposed class action in California federal court Wednesday alleging the ice cream retailer claims that its frozen treats are "homemade" using the best quality ingredients with a recipe dating back to 1945, while hiding they contain artificial food dyes and propylene glycol. 

  • May 21, 2025

    Vegan Restaurant Chain Planta To Tap $1.75M In DIP Funding

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday agreed to approve bankrupt vegan restaurant chain Planta's bid to access $1.75 million of its $3.5 million debtor-in-possession financing package, saying it needs funding to continue its efforts toward a sale.

  • May 21, 2025

    Monster Beverage Fails In Bid To Nix Workers' 401(k) Fee Suit

    Monster Beverage can't escape a proposed class action alleging it allowed its employee 401(k) plan to be saddled with unreasonable recordkeeping costs and took excessive amounts from the plan to pad an Employee Retirement Income Security Act benefit account to treat it as a slush fund, a California federal judge has ruled. 

  • May 21, 2025

    Montana Reduces Taxes On Residential, Commercial Property

    Montana will lower taxes on residential and commercial property, provide property tax rebates to homeowners and implement other changes to the state's property tax regime under legislation signed by the governor.

  • May 21, 2025

    Mich. Justices Won't Hear Hotels' Water Rate Appeal

    The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to review a Michigan town's water and sewer rates, rejecting an appeal from a group of hotels and restaurants that alleged a rate hike was an unconstitutional tax.

  • May 21, 2025

    Kraft Heinz Signals M&A Ambitions Amid Berkshire Board Exit

    Kraft Heinz Co. is evaluating potential "strategic transactions" amid a board shakeup, as the food giant lays the groundwork for potential changes to its portfolio.

  • May 21, 2025

    Distiller Says Ex-Partner, Attys Used RICO Suit To Ruin Him

    A Pennsylvania distiller claims his erstwhile partner in Pittsburgh's Kingfly Spirits launched years of litigation against him designed to ruin his reputation and career, saying in a complaint of his own that the ex-collaborator texted him "game on" before beginning his abusive legal campaign.

  • May 21, 2025

    Distributor Can't Duck Revised Crab Price-Fixing Suit

    A California federal magistrate judge added Ocean King Fish Inc. to a list of more than a dozen distributors that must face a proposed class action from crabbers alleging a conspiracy to cap prices paid to fishermen for Dungeness crab in the Pacific Northwest.

  • May 20, 2025

    4th Circ. Says Suit Over Copter Pilot's Death Must Go To Jury

    The Fourth Circuit has reinstated a lawsuit by the widow of a crop-dusting pilot who crashed after his helicopter became tangled in a steel cable stretched over the property, ruling in a published opinion issued Monday that a jury must be the one to decide whether the landlord should have known that the wire posed a danger to the pilot.

  • May 20, 2025

    Keurig Says Google Ruling Doesn't Back Antitrust Claims

    Keurig coffee pod buyers who have accused the company of anticompetitive behavior mischaracterized a recent court ruling in an antitrust case against Google to make their own case look better, the company has told the New York federal court overseeing the long-running litigation.

  • May 20, 2025

    Ga. Craft Brewery Hit With Unpaid Wages Suit

    A Georgia craft brewery and its owner have been sued in federal court by three current employees who allege that they have not been paid proper minimum wages over the last three years.

  • May 20, 2025

    Carnegie Hall Group Targets Hospitality Biz In TM Suit

    The nonprofit behind New York City's famous Carnegie Hall accused a hospitality company in a federal lawsuit Tuesday of infringing the concert venue's trademarks by using them for the company's diners and cafés.

  • May 20, 2025

    Investor Seeks Final OK For $41.5M Pilgrim's Pride Settlement

    A proposed class of investors asked a Colorado federal judge for a final sign-off on a $41.5 million settlement with Pilgrim's Pride Corp. to resolve claims they artificially inflated stock prices with a price-fixing scheme targeted at the broiler chicken market, with $13.7 million of the deal going to attorney fees.

  • May 20, 2025

    China Opposes Canada's Push To Speed Up WTO Food Fight

    China is pushing back against Canada's efforts to expedite its case against Beijing's new agricultural tariffs, according to a World Trade Organization document circulated Tuesday, rejecting claims that the case must be handled urgently simply because it involves food products.

  • May 20, 2025

    Indirect Chicken Buyers' Attys Seek Additional $12M In Fees

    Attorneys for commercial and institutional indirect purchaser plaintiffs in sprawling antitrust litigation against the nation's top poultry producers asked an Illinois federal judge Monday to approve roughly $12 million in additional attorney fees after they secured more than $41 million in additional deals since a prior fee motion.

  • May 20, 2025

    2 More Countries Sign WTO Fishing Trade Pact

    Two more countries, Georgia and Lesotho, have signed on to a World Trade Organization agreement to improve regulations around fishing industry subsidies. 

  • May 19, 2025

    Liberty Mutual Unit Can't Dodge Spoiled Wine Coverage Suit

    A Liberty Mutual unit can't escape a vineyard's suit seeking indemnification for a settlement reached with another winery over 320,000 damaged cases of wine, a Washington federal court ruled Monday, saying none of the exclusions cited by the insurer clearly apply.

  • May 19, 2025

    Spirits Maker Haunted By Inventory Woes, Investor Suit Says

    The top brass of alcoholic beverage company MGP Ingredients Inc. has been hit with a shareholder derivative suit alleging they misled investors about how well the company was managing its inventory levels, only to reveal that excess inventory following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was impacting the business. 

  • May 19, 2025

    Cheesesteak Shop Owner's Sentence For Tax Scheme Vacated

    A Philadelphia cheesesteak shop owner sentenced to almost two years in prison for a conspiracy to pay employees under the table could get a lighter sentence after the Third Circuit ruled he was wrongly given extra time for swaying workers who were actually in on the tax scheme.

  • May 19, 2025

    Insurer Says Pizza Chain Only Gets $250K For Cyberattack

    A cyber insurer for Cicis Pizza told a Texas federal court that it's already paid the full amount of coverage the restaurant chain is owed for a May 2022 ransomware incident, arguing that only a $250,000 sublimit under a ransomware endorsement applies.

  • May 19, 2025

    Tyson Says Feed Ingredient Co.'s Suppliers Chose It Fairly

    Tyson Foods asked a Georgia federal judge to nix a poultry rendering company's antitrust lawsuit, arguing the evidence shows that contracts it inked with the company's raw materials suppliers were won out of competition, not conspiracy to force the rendering firm into an underpriced $865.8 million buyout.

  • May 19, 2025

    Heineken Unit Settles Palm Trees Beer Logo Dispute

    A Heineken unit's beer brand with Cuban origins and its holding company have settled their trademark infringement suit accusing a rival brewery of infringing their palm trees logo, according to a Monday notice filed in Florida federal court.

  • May 19, 2025

    Takeout Owner Gets Suspended Sentence For VAT Tax Dodge

    The former owner of a Chinese takeout restaurant in the U.K. received a one-year prison sentence, which was suspended, for fraudulently disposing property after filing for bankruptcy instead of paying his bill of over £43,000 ($57,000) in value-added tax, the U.K.'s Insolvency Service announced Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Expect From 'Make America Healthy Again' Actions

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    The Make America Healthy Again Commission recently established by President Donald Trump and chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will potentially bring energy and attention to important public health topics, and stakeholders should be aware of pathways for sharing their input and proactively informing proceedings, says Nicholas Manetto at Faegre Drinker.

  • How Law Firms Can Counteract The Loneliness Epidemic

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    The legal industry is facing an urgent epidemic of loneliness, affecting lawyer well-being, productivity, retention and profitability, and law firm leaders should take concrete steps to encourage the development of genuine workplace connections, says Michelle Gomez at Littler and Gwen Mellor Romans at Herald Talent.

  • 5 Keys To Building Stronger Attorney-Client Relationships

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    Attorneys are often focused on being seen as the expert, but bonding with clients and prospects by sharing a few key personal details provides the basis for a caring, trusted and profoundly deeper business relationship, says Deb Feder at Feder Development.

  • Series

    Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

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    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Reading The Tea Leaves On Mexico, Canada And China Tariffs

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    It's still unclear whether the delay in the imposition of U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports will result in negotiated resolutions or a full-on trade war, but the outcome may hinge on continuing negotiations and the Trump administration's possible plans for tariff revenues, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

  • Series

    Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.

  • NC COVID Ruling May Have Greater Coverage Implications

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    While the North Carolina Supreme Court's recent finding in favor of policyholders in a suit for business interruption coverage due to COVID-19 comes too late for most insureds to benefit, it should nonetheless have coverage implications far beyond COVID-19 claims, say attorneys at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • Opinion

    DOJ's Visa Suit Shows Pitfalls Of Regulating Innovative Tech

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    A policy of allowing free-market mechanisms to operate without undue interference remains the most effective way to foster innovation, and the U.S. Department of Justice's 2024 case against Visa illustrates the drawbacks of regulating innovative technology, says attorney Thomas Willcox.

  • Nippon Order Tests Gov't Control Over Foreign Investments

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    The U.S. government is primarily interested in restraining foreign transactions involving countries of concern, but former President Joe Biden’s January order blocking the merger of Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel shows that all foreign direct investments are under the federal government’s microscope, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Opinion

    Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice

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    A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.

  • In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

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    Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

  • What's Next For State Regulation Of Hemp Cannabinoids

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    Based on two recent federal court cases that indisputably fortify broad state authority to regulate intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products, 2025 will feature continued aggressive state regulation of such products as industry stakeholders wait for Congress to release its plans for the next five-year Farm Bill, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

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