Retail & E-Commerce

  • May 02, 2024

    Schumer Reups Call For His Judge Shopping Bill

    U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday that a suit filed in a controversial Texas court challenging a new firearms policy from the Biden administration underscores the need for his bill to restrict so-called "judge shopping."

  • May 02, 2024

    Teen Retailer Rue21 Hits Ch. 11 Again With Plans To Sell

    Retail fashion company rue21, which made a trip through bankruptcy most recently in 2017, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware court Thursday, disclosing $194.4 million in debt and a plan to sell the business.

  • May 01, 2024

    NLRB Dings Amazon CEO Over 'Better Off Not' Unionizing Talk

    Amazon CEO Andy Jassy violated federal labor law by making public predictions that workers looking to unionize would be "better off not doing so," a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Wednesday, but determined Jassy's comments that unionization would change workers' relationship with the company were lawful.

  • May 01, 2024

    NJ, NY Law Firms Dominate Class Action Filings Since 2021

    Class actions have been steadily increasing over the past decade, with two firms from New Jersey and New York filing the most suits over the past three years, according to a new Lex Machina report surveying the class action field.

  • May 01, 2024

    Trader Joe's Must Pay Fees To Union After 'Meritless' TM Suit

    A California federal judge ordered Trader Joe's to pay $112,622 in attorney fees to a union of its employees in a suit alleging the union's logo infringes the grocer's name and trademarks, saying Trader Joe's claim that the suit is unrelated to a labor dispute "cannot be taken seriously."

  • May 01, 2024

    Amazon Can't Sanction Atty In Chinese Seller Award Case

    Amazon can't sanction a Manhattan lawyer for her alleged history of using "frivolous" legal arguments to try to send back to state court litigation to vacate arbitral awards involving Chinese sellers, a New York federal judge ruled Wednesday.

  • May 01, 2024

    Bipartisan Reps. Introduce Bill To Trace Battery Supply Chains

    Environmental advocacy groups including the Sierra Club, Earthworks and SAFE have thrown their support behind a new bill to promote traceability in battery supply chains, a measure aimed at weeding bad labor and environmental practices out of the supply chain.

  • May 01, 2024

    Colorado Asks Judge To Review New Kroger Sales At Trial

    Kroger can't throw a new divestiture plan on the table two months before discovery closes and then ask the court to consider it when deciding whether to hand down a preliminary injunction blocking its $25 billion union with Albertsons from moving forward, the state of Colorado says.

  • May 01, 2024

    Chancery Nixes Amazon.com Investor's Antitrust Docs Probe

    An Amazon.com stockholder on Wednesday lost a Delaware Court of Chancery suit seeking court-ordered access to company records to probe claims that the online retailing giant engages in anti-competitive practices, with a court magistrate finding the evidence insufficient to justify the demand.

  • May 01, 2024

    Sony, PlayStation Users Spar Over Early Antitrust Cert. Denial

    Sony and PlayStation Store users fought before a California federal judge Wednesday over the company's bid to deny class certification to users who claim it overcharged them through a monopoly on downloadable game cards, with the users arguing that Sony waived its arbitration arguments under the Ninth Circuit's recent Hill ruling.

  • May 01, 2024

    Texas 'Gave Away The Game' In ATF Suit, 5th Circ. Judge Says

    A Fifth Circuit judge told Texas it "just gave away the game" by stating that the application for obtaining a firearm suppressor counts as the injury, asking how the state could contend it had experienced such an injury without having applied for a license to own a suppressor during oral arguments Wednesday in a suit challenging federal firearm regulations.

  • May 01, 2024

    Senate Dems Reintroduce Bill To Tax And Regulate Cannabis

    Senate Democrats on Wednesday reintroduced a cannabis legalization bill that would remove the drug entirely from the ambit of the Controlled Substances Act and impose a tax-and-regulate scheme akin to what is currently in place for alcohol and tobacco.

  • May 01, 2024

    Hotel Chains Hit With Algorithmic Pricing Collusion Suit

    A group of hotel-goers has hit six major hotel chains with a proposed class action, alleging that the companies used a shared pricing algorithm to fix and raise hotel prices nationwide.

  • May 01, 2024

    Chipotle Granted Win in Customer Change-Shorting Row

    A Pennsylvania federal judge gave Chipotle Mexican Grill an early win Wednesday in a lawsuit by customers alleging they were stiffed out of change during a coin shortage, finding that because the customers agreed to not receive coin change during their transactions, they can't reasonably argue the fast food giant did anything wrong.

  • May 01, 2024

    Apple Users Defend Web Apps Antitrust Case

    Consumers urged a California federal court not to toss their case accusing Apple of violating antitrust law by preventing iPhones from running web-based apps that don't need to be downloaded, saying Apple used deals with Google and others to protect its dominance.

  • May 01, 2024

    Biden Admin Sanctions Cos. Helping Russia Evade Curbs

    The Biden administration on Wednesday set financial and visa restrictions on nearly 300 individuals and businesses abroad, including those suspected to be helping Russia evade existing sanctions and obtain critical defense materials.

  • May 01, 2024

    Chinese Wood Exporter Calls To Axe Penalty Duties

    A Chinese plywood producer urged the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday to nix penalty duties the U.S. Department of Commerce assigned it based on purported omissions during questioning, arguing that the "missing" information was irrelevant.

  • May 01, 2024

    Ohio Justices Say Workers' Comp Appeal Didn't Expire

    The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed an injured Whirlpool Corp. worker to continue his appeal of an order denying him additional workers' compensation coverage, saying the state Industrial Commission's five-year limit on jurisdiction doesn't apply to his appeal in state court.

  • May 01, 2024

    AI Is Top Of Mind For Companies — And Securities Regulators

    As references to artificial intelligence in securities filings soar, attorneys say companies must ground their disclosures in fact and be upfront about risks posed by AI in order to avoid the wrath of regulators, who promise to crack down on misleading claims.

  • May 01, 2024

    Vape Wholesaler Can't Escape Suit Over Exploding Battery

    A Washington federal judge has refused to let e-cigarette wholesaler Vapor Beast LLC out of a suit by a man alleging he was injured by an exploding lithium-ion battery, saying there isn't enough evidence for the court to determine whether his claims were filed on time.

  • April 30, 2024

    Berry Dunn McNeil Sued Over Breach Affecting 1M Clients

    Maine-based accounting firm Berry Dunn McNeil & Parker LLC faces a proposed class action Tuesday in federal court alleging it failed to adequately protect its clients' personally identifiable information that was compromised during a data breach last year which affected over a million people.

  • April 30, 2024

    OpenAI Tries To Throw Out Another Copyright Case

    OpenAI is seeking to dismiss a suit in New York federal court from two alternative news websites asserting copyright infringement allegations against the Microsoft Corp.-backed artificial intelligence developer, saying they haven't shown they've been harmed.

  • April 30, 2024

    7th Circ. Backs Costco's Win In Gas Price-Matching Feud

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld Costco's victory against a dozen Wisconsin gas stations that claimed the warehouse giant sold regular unleaded fuel below a statutory minimum markup price that allegedly caused a decline in revenue, finding no evidence showing that Costco's pricing practices caused the stations a single lost sale.

  • April 30, 2024

    Kroger, Albertsons Say FTC Distorts Markets In Merger Case

    Kroger and Albertsons told an Oregon federal court to reject a pending merger challenge by the Federal Trade Commission and a group of states, saying it distorts the competitive landscape for the grocery and labor markets.

  • April 30, 2024

    Wash. Job Applicant's Pay Transparency Suit Tossed For Now

    A Washington federal judge tossed a job applicant's state pay transparency suit against a rent-to-own retailer, ruling the job-seeker didn't prove how the company's failure to include pay information in a job listing negatively affected him.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    FDA And Companies Must Move Quickly On Drug Recalls

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    When a drug doesn't work as promised — whether it causes harm, like eyedrops recalled last month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or is merely useless, like a widely used decongestant ingredient recently acknowledged by the agency to be ineffective — the public must be notified in a timely manner, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

  • Crypto Has Democratized Trading In Bankruptcy Claims

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    Following the pandemic, there has been a wave of cryptocurrency bankruptcies and a related increase in access to information, allowing nontraditional bankruptcy investors to purchase claims and democratizing a once closed segment of alternative investing, says Joseph Sarachek at Strategic Liquidity.

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

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    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • Ohio Voters Legalize Cannabis — What Comes Next?

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    This month, voters approved a citizen-initiated statute that legalizes marijuana for recreational use in Ohio, but the legalization timeline could undergo significant changes at the behest of the state's lawmakers, say Daniel Shortt and David Waxman at McGlinchey Stafford.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 'Trump Too Small' Args Show Justices Inclined To Reverse

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the "Trump Too Small" trademark case Vidal v. Elster — and the tenor of the justices' feedback makes it clear that the refusal to register a mark under the Lanham Act most likely does not violate free speech rights, as opposed to the Federal Circuit's decision last year, says Brian Brookey at Tucker Ellis.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • Sellers Seeking Best Deal Should Focus On Terms And Price

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    Rising interest rates and a decline in the automotive mergers and acquisitions market mean that a failed deal carries greater stakes, and sellers therefore should pursue not only the optimum price but also the optimum terms to safeguard their agreement, says Joseph Aboyoun at Fox Rothschild.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: South Korea

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    Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Opinion

    Civil Litigation Against Gun Businesses Can Reduce Violence

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    With mass shootings skyrocketing, and gun control legislation blocked by powerful interest groups, civil litigation can help obtain justice for victims by targeting parties responsible beyond the immediate perpetrator — including gun manufacturers, dealers and retailers, says Tom D'Amore at D'Amore Law Group.

  • Retailers: Beware Legislator And Regulator Junk Fee Focus

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    In light of the Biden administration’s recent focus on restricting so-called junk fee surcharges across industries, attorneys at Benesch discuss what retailers should know about several evolving developments, including a new California law, a proposed Federal Trade Commission rule, an expanding litigation landscape, and more.

  • Rite Aid's Reasons For Ch. 11 Go Beyond Opioid Suits

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    Despite opioid-related lawsuits being the perceived reason that pushed Rite Aid into bankruptcy, the company's recent Chapter 11 filing reveals its tenuous position in the pharmaceutical retail market, and only time will tell whether bankruptcy will right-size the company, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

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