Food & Beverage

  • August 18, 2026

    Bot Errors Doom Expert's Credibility In Tainted-Supplement Suit

    A Washington federal judge Tuesday disposed of a U.S. Army nurse's lawsuit claiming supplement maker Thesis Nootropics sold products tainted with amphetamines, concluding that a key expert destroyed his credibility by submitting a report containing bot-generated false citations — much like errors for which the plaintiffs' counsel was recently sanctioned.

  • August 18, 2026

    DEA Blasts Marijuana Foes' Objections To Rescheduling

    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Monday told an administrative law judge that federal restrictions should be loosened on marijuana and that opponents of cannabis reform brought a meritless challenge to health regulators' assessment of the drug's medical use.

  • August 18, 2026

    Infant Formula MDL Judge Laments Ongoing 'Trial-By-Video'

    The Illinois federal judge handling multidistrict litigation claiming Mead Johnson or Abbott Laboratories infant formula led to a severe gut illness in premature babies deemed it "disappointing" that testimony in an ongoing bellwether trial largely consists of video depositions, warning she won't conduct another unless most witnesses will take the stand in Chicago.

  • August 17, 2026

    Albertsons Judge Hears $44B Opioid Abatement Plan In Wash.

    Addressing harm caused by prescription opioid abuse in Washington would cost nearly $44.4 billion, an expert testified Monday during a bench trial in the state's case accusing Albertsons and its Safeway subsidiary of exacerbating Washington's overdose crisis by failing to curb the flow of controlled substances.

  • August 17, 2026

    DOI Settles 'Peanuts' Music Infringement Claim For $20K

    The U.S. Department of the Interior has agreed to pay $20,000 to the steward of the "Peanuts" television and film music catalog to put to rest claims that the government used music from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on its social media pages without permission, according to an announcement made Monday.

  • August 17, 2026

    Mead Johnson Pushed Formula Knowing Risks, Jury Told

    Mead Johnson knew its infant formula posed an increased risk of a devastating gut disease to premature babies but "muddied the waters" instead of sounding a clear warning, leaving doctors without crucial information while caring for an infant who ultimately died from the illness, his mother's attorney told an Illinois federal jury Monday.

  • August 17, 2026

    Happy Egg Breaks 'Pasture Raised' False Ad Class At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday threw out class certification of California and New York consumers accusing the company behind the Happy Egg brand of deceptively labeling egg cartons with promises that its hens are "pasture raised on over 8 acres."

  • August 17, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Statute Mandates Central Valley Contract Switch

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday ruled the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had no duty to complete environmental reviews before it converted dozens of water service contracts for the Central Valley Project in California in a process intended to help fund storage improvements.

  • August 17, 2026

    Virginia Hemp Cos. Lose Bid To Halt THC Cap

    A Virginia federal judge has refused to block a state law placing new potency caps on THC products, ruling that the hemp businesses opposing the law are unlikely to succeed with claims that the law constitutes an unconstitutional taking.

  • August 17, 2026

    Companies Underpaid Staffing Agency Workers, Suit Alleges

    A former warehouse worker from a staffing agency has sued Misfits Market and the agency in Maryland federal court, alleging the companies continued paying workers from the agency $15 per hour after Howard County raised its minimum wage to $16 last year, shortchanging at least 70 workers.

  • August 17, 2026

    Papa John's Workers Get Approval For $5M No-Poach Deal

    A Kentucky federal court gave its final approval for a $5 million settlement in a case over Papa John's past use of "no-poach" provisions in its franchise agreements, sweeping aside previous concerns as well as objections raised by a handful of workers.

  • August 17, 2026

    Protein Shake Maker Investors Sue Over Troubled Acquisition

    Consumer packaged health foods company Simply Good Foods has been hit with a class action in New York federal court over its $280 million acquisition of a plant-based protein shake company, whose integration was an "abject failure," resulting in a $200 million impairment on the acquired company's assets and a stock price drop.

  • August 17, 2026

    Rebel Creamery Hits Ch. 11 After $24M Loss To Van Leeuwen

    Ice cream company Rebel Creamery has filed for Chapter 11 protection in Utah bankruptcy court with about $24 million in debt, one month after losing a trademark lawsuit brought by rival Van Leeuwen.

  • August 14, 2026

    Smithfield Says It Shouldn't Face Jury In EEOC's Age Bias Suit

    Smithfield Foods challenged a Georgia magistrate judge's report recommending the meat processor face the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's suit claiming it fired a senior sales employee due to her age, arguing Thursday the report cannot try to dictate how the company should've saved costs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

  • August 14, 2026

    Hemp Cos. Ask 6th Circ. To Keep Ohio Law On Pause

    Hemp manufacturers and sellers have asked the Sixth Circuit to uphold a lower court's ruling that paused the enforcement of an Ohio law that reclassified their products as marijuana.

  • August 14, 2026

    Corteva To Pay $3.1M In Ark. AG's Pesticides Antitrust Suit

    Corteva has agreed to pay $3.1 million to settle the Arkansas attorney general's antitrust suit accusing the pesticide maker of using anticompetitive rebates that amount to exclusive agreements to suppress generics competition, according to a preliminary approval motion filed in federal court on Thursday.

  • August 14, 2026

    Utz, Condiment Co. Sued Over Avocado Oil Claims

    Snack food company Utz Brands Inc. and a condiment company whose products are based on avocado oil were hit with two separate proposed class actions this past week in New York and California federal courts alleging that their foods are made with cheaper vegetable oil, citing the same recent study.

  • August 14, 2026

    Cuisinart Sued Over Exploding Pressure Cookers

    Two Connecticut women are suing Cuisinart and its parent company Conair LLC in state court, alleging that they were injured by pressure cookers that had a defect, causing the contents to explode out onto them.

  • August 14, 2026

    Promethean, Emerging Launch $300M Hospitality Tech Fund

    Hospitality investment and operating platform Emerging Fund Management LLC and private equity firm Promethean Investments LLP announced Friday that they are teaming up as equal co-sponsors of a fund focused on technology underlying hospitality and experiential entertainment.

  • August 14, 2026

    Jones Day-Led Saputo Selling UK Dairy Biz For $1.3B

    Jones Day-advised Saputo Inc. said Friday that it has agreed to sell its U.K. dairy business to France's Lactalis at an enterprise value of about £988 million ($1.3 billion), as the Canadian dairy processor said it is looking to streamline global operations and free up capital.

  • August 14, 2026

    First Baby Formula MDL Trial To Kick Off In Chicago

    An Illinois federal jury will soon be asked to decide whether Mead Johnson baby formula causes a serious abdominal condition in premature infants, as the first case to make it to trial in multidistrict litigation is set to begin with the parties' opening statements on Monday.

  • August 13, 2026

    7th Circ. Won't Revive Popcorn Shop Worker's Retaliation Suit

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday refused to resurrect a retaliation suit filed by a former assistant research and development director for Chicago's Garrett Popcorn Shops, finding she failed to back up her argument that a jury erred in siding with her former employer.

  • August 13, 2026

    Albertsons Didn't Flag Suspicious Opioid Orders, Judge Hears

    Albertsons failed to report its pharmacies' unusual opioid orders to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration despite explicit instructions from the agency to do so, the retailer's vice president of pharmacy compliance testified Thursday during a bench trial in Washington's lawsuit accusing the chain of exacerbating the state's opioid epidemic.

  • August 13, 2026

    Baby Food Cos. Near Ax Of Some ADHD, Autism Claims

    A California federal judge indicated on Thursday that she would grant summary judgment to a significant swath of claims in multidistrict litigation alleging lead and arsenic in baby food from Gerber, Beech-Nut, Walmart and others contributed to children's ADHD and autism, which follows her previous ruling that the plaintiffs' causation evidence was too unreliable.

  • August 13, 2026

    Quinoa Product Has Barely Any Quinoa, Suit Says

    Seeds of Change, an organic brand under food giant Mars Inc., is accused of tricking customers into paying inflated prices for an organic quinoa product when the item in question doesn't really have much edible seed in it, in a proposed class action filed Wednesday in California federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    SNAP Rule Confusion Risks A Compliance Crisis

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    Recent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food restriction waivers pose a compliance crisis for legal practitioners advising food retailers, amid higher costs and lack of a coherent national standard, says Tyson-Lord Gray at Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

  • Series

    Trivia Competition Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing trivia taught me to quickly absorb information and recognize when I've learned what I'm expected to know, training me in the crucial skills needed to be a good attorney, and reminding me to be gracious in defeat, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: What Cross-Selling Truly Takes

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    Early-career attorneys may struggle to introduce clients to practitioners in other specialties, but cross-selling becomes easier once they know why it’s vital to their first years of practice, which mistakes to avoid and how to anticipate clients' needs, say attorneys at Moses & Singer.

  • Ariz. Uber Verdict Has Implications Beyond Ride-Hailing Cos.

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    When an Arizona federal jury in Jaylyn Dean v. Uber Technologies recently ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by her driver, their most important finding — that the driver was Uber's agent — could have huge consequences for future litigation involving platform-based businesses, says Michael Epstein at The Epstein Law Firm.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: Practical Use Cases In Chambers

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Goddard in the Southern District of California discusses how she uses generative artificial intelligence tools in chambers to make work more efficient and effective — from editing jury instructions for clarity to summarizing key documents.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four recent rulings from November and December, and identifies practice tips from cases involving the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act and Missouri unjust enrichment claims, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, the Class Action Fairness Act, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

  • Series

    Trail Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Navigating the muddy, root-filled path of trail marathons and ultramarathons provides fertile training ground for my high-stakes fractional general counsel work, teaching me to slow down my mind when the terrain shifts, sharpen my focus and trust my training, says Eric Proos at Next Era Legal.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Monsanto Decision May Fix A Preemption Mistake

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    In Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, the U.S. Supreme Court will address whether federal law preempts states' label-based failure-to-warn claims when federal regulators have not required a warning — and its decision could correct a long-standing misinterpretation of a prior high court ruling, thus ending myriad meritless state law personal injury claims, says Lawrence Ebner at Capital Appellate.

  • What Rescheduling Means For Cannabis Labels, Marketing

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    The proposed reclassification of cannabis is expected to bring heightened scrutiny of labeling, advertising and marketing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, but the brands that tighten evidence, standardize operations and professionalize marketing controls now will see fewer surprises and better outcomes, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Malpractice Claim Assignability Continues To Divide Courts

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    Recent decisions from courts across the country demonstrate how different jurisdictions balance competing policy interests in determining whether legal malpractice claims can be assigned, providing a framework to identify when and how to challenge any attempted assignment, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin & Lodgen.

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • Takeaways From The DOJ Fraud Section's 2025 Year In Review

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    Former acting Principal Deputy Chief Sean Tonolli of the U.S. Department of Justice's Fraud Section, now at Cahill Gordon, analyzes key findings from the section’s annual report — including the changes implemented to adapt to the new administration’s priorities — and lays out what to watch for this year.

  • New State Regs On PFAS In Products Complicate Compliance

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    The new year brought new bans and reporting requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in half a dozen states — in many cases, targeting specific consumer product categories — so manufacturers, distributors and retailers must not only monitor their own supply chains, but also coordinate to ensure compliance, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Congress Should Lead On AI Policy, Not The States

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    There needs to be some limits on how far federal agencies go in regulating artificial intelligence systems, but Congress must not abdicate its responsibility and cede control over this interstate market to state and local officials, say Kevin Frazier at the University of Texas School of Law and Adam Thierer at the R Street Institute.

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