Food & Beverage

  • September 30, 2026

    Dropbox Fights Sanctions Bid After Being Cleared In IP Case

    Dropbox is arguing that a licensing company is asking for "completely unprecedented" sanctions over claims that Dropbox submitted new, undisclosed expert opinions at a 2023 trial where a jury cleared the online file-sharing company of infringement allegations.

  • September 30, 2026

    Hemp Interests Say Texas THC Rule Defies Federal Law

    A trio of hemp interests challenging a Texas policy redesignating intoxicating hemp products as Schedule I substances have urged a federal judge to declare that the policy is both preempted by federal law and inconsistent with Texas state law.

  • September 30, 2026

    Icee Scores $23M In Slush Puppie Frozen Drink TM Fight

    Frozen drink company Icee was awarded $23 million in damages against rival Slush Puppie Ltd. by an Ohio federal judge who found that Slush Puppie had tried to divert customers to a product called Slushy Jack's and capitalize on Slush Puppie's brand recognition after selling the trademark rights to it.

  • September 30, 2026

    Smithfield Foods Can't Escape EEOC Age Bias Suit

    Meat processor Smithfield Foods must face a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it fired a senior sales employee because she was approaching 60, after a Georgia federal judge concluded that a jury should sort out the company's shifting explanations for letting her go.

  • September 30, 2026

    Water Co. Escapes Consumer Protection Claim In PFAS Case

    A proposed class of Connecticut Water Co. customers who allege their drinking water was contaminated with toxic forever chemicals cannot bring a claim for unfair trade practices because they are already suing under an exclusive product liability law, a state court judge has ruled.

  • September 30, 2026

    Berkshire Units Face Claims Of Bad Faith Over $36M Verdict

    A pair of Berkshire Hathaway insurers acted in bad faith by refusing to settle a personal injury suit within $3 million limits before a jury trial ended in a $36 million verdict against a property owner and its grocery store tenant, the owner told a New York federal court.

  • September 30, 2026

    Hormel Inks $1B Brakebush Deal In Long-Term Chicken Play

    Hormel Foods said Wednesday it has agreed to purchase a Wisconsin supplier of processed chicken to food-service establishments for more than $1 billion, with Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP advising Hormel and Michael Best & Friedrich LLP representing the seller.

  • September 30, 2026

    'Bikini Barista' Owner Asks Judge To Trim $1.8M Award

    The owner of Beehive Espresso, which operates Seattle-area kiosks known as bikini barista coffee stands, asked a state judge to rethink a $1.86 million judgment for baristas, arguing that the court imposed uniform assumptions about unpaid work and employee cash contributions without showing those figures reliably applied across the class.

  • September 29, 2026

    Commodities Firm Looks To Nix $22M Soybean Award Suits

    A Swiss commodities firm has asked a Florida federal court to toss litigation filed by a U.S. logistics company to enforce a $22 million arbitral award stemming from a soybean meal purchase dispute, calling the suit improper in light of ongoing litigation in England.

  • September 29, 2026

    Monsanto Starts First Roundup Trial Since High Court Ruling

    A Missouri jury heard opening arguments Tuesday in the first Roundup cancer trial since the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on the matter, with a lawyer for three plaintiffs saying Monsanto minimized decades of ominous testing, ghostwrote scientific papers and engineered a dubious EPA approval.

  • September 29, 2026

    Groups Say Calif. Biogas Credits Incentivize More Methane

    Four environmental groups accused California regulators of violating state law by allowing factory farm biogas producers to receive carbon credits — a practice they said is notionally aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions but in reality incentivizes more methane production.

  • September 29, 2026

    EB-5 Visa Fees More Than Double For Individual Investors

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced increased filing fees Tuesday for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program — more than double for individual investors — saying the higher price tag is needed to close a $48.4 million annual funding gap.

  • September 29, 2026

    Cove Soda Can't Nix Suit Over 'No Artificial Sweeteners' Label

    Zero-sugar probiotic soda brand Cove Drinks Inc. can not escape claims it misled consumers into thinking its products contained only natural sweeteners, a California federal judge has ruled, saying it's too early in the litigation to determine if the ingredient at issue is indeed artificial.

  • September 29, 2026

    Aldi Sued Over Online Order Delivery Fees By SNAP Users

    Aldi illegally charges ancillary, nonfood-related delivery, expedited fulfillment and convenience fees to customers who use SNAP-EBT benefits to buy grocery items online through Instacart or Aldi Express, alleges a proposed consumer protection class action filed Monday in California state court. 

  • September 29, 2026

    DEA Judge Pauses Marijuana Rescheduling Over GAO Report

    A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge on Tuesday paused consideration of a pending proposal to reclassify marijuana after opponents of cannabis reform said a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that regulators did not articulate the reasoning behind their recommendation to loosen restrictions on marijuana.

  • September 29, 2026

    Worker Says Pilgrim's Pride Should Face 401(k) Fund Suit

    A Pilgrim's Pride Corp. employee has told a Colorado federal judge that the comparators used to allege the company kept a riskier and worse performing contract within its retirement savings plan are sufficient to survive the company's dismissal bid, according to a response brief.

  • September 29, 2026

    Cleaning Cos. Urge Colo. Judge To Toss EEOC's Bias Suit

    Two commercial cleaning providers accused by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of illegally favoring Latin American applicants urged a Colorado federal judge to toss the agency's lawsuit, contending the commission failed to show the companies refused to hire non-Hispanic workers.

  • September 29, 2026

    Ex-Worker Urges 4th Circ. To Revive Wage, Retaliation Claims

    A former worker at a sports bar in North Carolina urged the Fourth Circuit to revive her wage, retaliation and emotional distress claims, saying that a lower court improperly kept surviving claims from a jury and dismissed another on a ground that she did not have a chance to address.

  • September 29, 2026

    Baker Botts Atty Disputes Inventor's Claim Of Defamation Deal

    A Baker Botts LLP patent attorney is pushing back on an inventor's claim that they reached a settlement agreement in the inventor's defamation suit in Florida federal court.

  • September 29, 2026

    Feds Say Pot Co. CEO Lied About Business To Get PPP Loans

    The federal government is urging a California federal judge not to throw out its suit seeking to recoup $2.5 million in PPP loans from the CEO of a group of cannabis companies, saying she hasn't denied that she sought the loans despite knowing her business was federally illegal.

  • September 29, 2026

    CBP Bars Indonesian Palm Oil With Possible Illicit Labor Ties

    Imported palm oil products from two Indonesian companies will be barred from entering the U.S. because of suspected ties to forced labor, Customs and Border Protection announced Tuesday.

  • September 28, 2026

    6th Circ. Narrows Scope Of Injunction On Ohio Hemp Law

    Ohio officials can enforce much of a state law that reclassified hemp products as marijuana, the Sixth Circuit has ruled, only prohibiting state officials from enforcing on certain companies the parts that put geographical limitations on where cannabis products can be sourced.

  • September 28, 2026

    Mom Blames McDonald's, Franchisee For Shooting Death

    McDonald's and a franchisee's negligence led to the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old worker at one of the fast-food chain's Georgia restaurants, the youth's mother claimed in a lawsuit filed in Gwinnett County State Court.

  • September 28, 2026

    Trader Joe's Ordered To Pay $1.2M Over 401(k) Fees

    Trader Joe's failed to keep its employer-sponsored retirement plan fees in check, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Monday, ordering the company to pay $1.2 million.

  • September 28, 2026

    Coors Urges Colo. Judge To Stop Suppliers' Contract Exits

    Coors Distributing Co. LLC has fired back amid a recent wave of beer brand owners ending contracts with the beer wholesaler, alleging in Colorado state court that two companies violated the state's arbitration laws by terminating their decades-long distribution agreements with the wholesaler without cause.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

  • Opinion

    Shareholder Derivative Litigation Needs A Better Framework

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    Uncoordinated, multiforum shareholder derivative litigation is a growing issue for corporate defendants that have little to no recourse for organizing and consolidating actions, but several commonsense steps should be utilized to preempt such disputes, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • How Justices' TPS Ruling Affects Workforce Planning

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent holding in Mullin v. Doe that courts lack jurisdiction to review temporary protected status determinations greenlights the end of TPS for thousands of Syrian and Haitian nationals, and means employers must reevaluate TPS-designees' employability while avoiding discriminatory document practices, says attorney Richard Herman.

  • How Cos. Can Prep For Ultra-Processed Food Legal Risks

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    A wave of litigation and government scrutiny directed against ultra-processed foods is now gaining momentum, following patterns seen previously in other industries — and food companies that recognize those patterns early will be better positioned to manage the increasing risks, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

  • Roundup

    The Most Talked-About Supreme Court Decisions Of 2026

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    This term, 11 U.S. Supreme Court decisions quickly became hot topics among Law360's guest writers.

  • What Ex-CFPB Head's Calif. Role May Foretell For Oversight

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's selection of former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra to lead a new consumer agency signals tougher state financial services oversight, especially for fintechs, as well as heightened enforcement activity and larger penalties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Immigration Ruling Maps Alternative To Universal Injunctions

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    A Rhode Island federal court's decision in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS vacating policies that froze key immigration adjudications for nationals of 39 countries, and paused asylum applications altogether, suggests how practitioners might press for the Administrative Procedure Act's bad faith exception to record review and seek vacatur as a viable alternative to universal injunctions, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • Lessons From EEOC Suit Over Coca-Cola Women-Only Event

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent lawsuit alleging that Coca-Cola Northeast violated federal law by having a professional development retreat for female employees demonstrates that the EEOC is scrutinizing DEI-related practices with unprecedented intensity, so even the most well-intentioned programs may be challenged, say attorneys at Venable.

  • High Court's FCC Fine Ruling Reframes Agency Enforcement

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T sweeps aside uncertainty about what kinds of regulatory enforcement trigger a Seventh Amendment right, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • After Durnell, Connecting Science And Causation Will Be Key

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's June 25 decision in Monsanto v. Durnell narrowed label-based failure-to-warn claims — meaning that going forward, viable theories will depend even more on whether experts can reliably connect scientific evidence to the causal proposition the law requires, says Alex Smolak at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar.

  • Series

    Choral Singing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Singing in the New York City Bar Chorus — a hobby partly inspired by the late U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who infused my clerkship year with opera music — has improved my legal career by refining my abilities to listen, exude confidence and develop emotional intelligence, says Bonnie Baker at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

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    As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

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    Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

  • Fed. Circ. In May: Being Precise About 'About'

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Enviro Tech v. Safe Foods last month illustrates the danger in attempting to expand claim scope with words of approximation, potentially causing claims to be invalid for lack of definiteness, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

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