A California federal judge has ordered two attorneys from a Santa Monica-based law firm to pay Walmart $623,000 in attorney fees as a sanction in their client's decertified class action that accused Walmart of falsely labeling its avocado oil as containing only avocado oil despite allegedly containing other oils.
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Walmart Gets $623K As Sanction Award In Avocado Oil Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge has ordered two attorneys from a Santa Monica-based law firm to pay Walmart $623,000 in attorney fees as a sanction in their client's decertified class action that accused Walmart of falsely labeling its avocado oil as containing only avocado oil despite allegedly containing other oils.

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Trump Admin Beats Chamber Suit Over $100K H-1B Visa Fee

By Rae Ann Varona

A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Tuesday refused to block the Trump administration's new $100,000 H-1B visa fee, ruling in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's lawsuit challenging the fee that President Donald Trump has "broad authority" to restrict noncitizens' entry.

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Farm To Pay $1M To Settle Claims It Favored Foreign Workers

By Ben Adlin

Washington state apple and hops producer Cornerstone Ranches and associated companies will pay $1 million to resolve claims by Attorney General Nick Brown that the farm fired local agricultural workers in favor of hiring temporary, foreign employees, according to a consent decree announced by the attorney general's office on Tuesday.

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SEC, FAT Brands Near Deal In Suit On CEO's $27M Loan Scam

By Dorothy Atkins

Restaurant franchiser FAT Brands, its former CEO and other executives told a California federal judge on Tuesday that they reached a deal to resolve the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's civil claims that they ran an illegal $27 million personal-loan scheme to fuel the former CEO's lavish lifestyle as the public company floundered.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Alaska Fights Feds, Tribes In High Court Fishing Regs Row

By Crystal Owens

Alaska is fighting opposition to its Supreme Court bid to reverse a Ninth Circuit order that barred it from opening part of the Kuskokwim River to all fishers, telling the justices that the U.S. and tribal associations are urging them to "just look the other way."

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LITIGATION

Arby's, Dunkin' Owner Dodges Web Cookie Suit, For Now

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge dismissed a proposed class action Monday against Arby's, Jimmy John's, Dunkin', Baskin-Robbins and their parent company alleging their websites contained cookie banners falsely promising to remove trackers, finding the plaintiffs failed to meet heightened pleading standards required when the claims are based in fraud allegations.

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Red Robin Cheated Managers Out Of Wages, Court Told

By Irene Spezzamonte

Restaurant chain Red Robin required salaried managers to perform nonexempt work so it could save millions of dollars every year, eight workers said in a proposed class and collective action in Colorado federal court.

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BANKRUPTCY

Razzoo's $18M Ch. 11 Sale OK'd, With 11 Sites To Stay Open

By Ben Zigterman

A Texas bankruptcy judge approved the $18 million sale of Cajun chain Razzoo's Inc.'s assets to a subsidiary of a Dallas-based restaurant developer, which plans to keep operating 11 of Razzoo's 20 remaining locations.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

3 Key Trends For The Legal Industry In 2025

By Tracey Read

Executive orders, updated office attendance policies and private equity interests were three top issues that shaped the industry this year.

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ITC Atty's 1st Kids' Book Imagines A Santa-Less Christmas

By Dani Kass

Michelle Klancnik, assistant general counsel at the U.S. International Trade Commission, spends her days looking into when imports should be banned for violating intellectual property rights, but outside work, she​'s focused on one big question: What would happen if Santa took a year off?

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Ex-Oura CEO Pushes To DQ Quinn Emanuel In Firing Suit

By Emily Sawicki

The onetime CEO of fitness tracker company Oura Health is pushing to disqualify Quinn Emanuel from representing the smart ring maker in his compensation suit, telling a San Francisco federal judge that he shared confidential information when he consulted with the firm about his claims prior to filing suit.

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NYC Bar Issues Opinion On AI Use For Recording Client Calls

By Tracey Read

The New York City Bar Association's Professional Ethics Committee has issued an opinion addressing how the New York Rules of Professional Conduct impacts the use of artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and create summaries of conversations in audio and video calls between attorneys and their clients.

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Ex-DOJ Employees Fight Gov't Bid To Toss Their Firing Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

An ex-assistant U.S. attorney and two other former Justice Department employees urged a Washington, D.C., federal court on Tuesday to deny the government's motion to dismiss their lawsuit claiming they were unlawfully fired, arguing an internal government employment board isn't appropriate for their cases and is controlled by President Donald Trump.

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Top Delaware Chancery Cases Of 2025: A Year-End Report

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court closed out 2025 amid a period of institutional uncertainty, as landmark cases addressing fiduciary duty, executive compensation, board oversight and the limits of equitable power unfolded against the backdrop of sweeping legislative changes to the Delaware General Corporation Law.

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Hub Hires: Cooley, Morgan Lewis, Nixon Peabody

By Chris Villani

The end of the year marked the beginning of new chapters for plenty of Boston attorneys, as Cooley added more than 30 professionals to its life sciences team, Morgan Lewis snagged an intellectual property partner, and Nixon Peabody beefed up its cybersecurity practice.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Activision Blizzard Inc.

Ahtna Inc.

Association of American Universities Inc.

Association of Village Council Presidents

BNP Paribas SA

Baskin-Robbins Inc.

FAT Brands Inc.

George Washington University

Horizon Bank

Inspire Brands Inc.

Jimmy John's Franchise LLC

Microsoft Corp.

Native American Rights Fund Inc.

New York City Bar Association

Nike Inc.

Northwest Justice Project

Razzoo's Inc.

Stanford University

Tesla Inc.

The Boeing Co.

The Trade Desk Inc.

TripAdvisor Inc.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

University of California Davis

Walmart Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Arnall Golden

Baker & Hostetler

Burakiewicz & DePriest

Byrne & Nixon

Cashion Gilmore

Consovoy McCarthy

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

Davis Wright Tremaine

Dechert LLP

Dovel & Luner

Duane Morris

Dynamis LLP

Foley & Lardner

Gibson Dunn

Goodwin Procter

Gutride Safier

Hargrove Firm

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Knight

Hueston Hennigan

Iversen Proctor

Jenner & Block

Kirkland & Ellis

Landye Bennett

Latham & Watkins

Lowell & Associates

Mark S. Zaid PC

McDermott Will & Schulte

Milbank LLP

Morgan Lewis

Munsch Hardt

Nixon Peabody

Okin Adams

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Quinn Emanuel

Shipman & Goodwin

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Skadden Arps

Sonosky Chambers

Stokes Lawrence

Susman Godfrey

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

Wise Law LLC

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Alaska Department of Law

Delaware Court of Chancery

Delaware General Assembly

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Executive Office of the President

International Trade Commission

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado