Retail & E-Commerce

  • May 01, 2025

    Home Depot Faces Tool Rental 'Damage Protection' Suit

    Home Depot was hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court Wednesday over allegations that it consistently breaches provisions of its rental contracts by unilaterally applying damage protection without customers opting into the service.

  • May 01, 2025

    Vape Makers, Sellers Aim To Block NC Law On E-Cigarettes

    A vaping trade group and others are aiming to block a North Carolina law to regulate the sale of electronic cigarettes by arguing it is preempted by federal law, in a new suit filed in federal court.

  • May 01, 2025

    E-Commerce Service Provider Digital River Files For Ch. 7

    Digital River Marketing Solutions Inc., an e-commerce services firm based in Minnesota, filed for Chapter 7 on Thursday, citing approximately $45.2 million in secured debt and less than $50,000 in assets.

  • May 01, 2025

    Sony Eyes $49B Semiconductor Unit Sale, Plus More Rumors

    Sony could sell its semiconductor unit for $49 billion, while proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis is considering ending its practice of advising shareholder votes on politically charged topics, and AI startup Nscale plans to raise $2.7 billion in private capital to support the construction of data centers around the world.

  • April 30, 2025

    Apple Defied App Store Injunction For Revenue, Judge Says

    A California federal judge Wednesday agreed with Epic Games that Apple violated her order blocking App Store rules that prevent developers from steering users to alternative payment options, and has now barred Apple from collecting any fees on outside-app purchases and referred the matter to federal prosecutors for possible criminal contempt proceedings.

  • April 30, 2025

    Ex-Levi's Exec Testifies Pregnancy News Blocked Promotion

    A former Levi Strauss executive who claims she was skipped over for a senior marketing director role after announcing her pregnancy told a California federal jury on Wednesday that her boss said the position was given to a colleague because the other woman had more "capacity" to "take on more work."

  • April 30, 2025

    CEO Asked How Rivals Can Possibly Match Google Money

    Google CEO Sundar Pichai testified Wednesday that the Justice Department's proposed monopolization fixes amount to a "de facto divestiture" of the company's entire search intellectual property, only for the D.C. federal judge to wonder how rival search engines could hope to match its financial resources.

  • April 30, 2025

    SuperValu Fights New Trial Bid In Whistleblower Drug Case

    SuperValu urged an Illinois federal judge Tuesday not to overturn its defense win on whistleblower claims of systematic prescription overbilling, saying the whistleblowers are now making "kitchen sink arguments" with little basis.

  • April 30, 2025

    FCC Could Ban Foreign Adversaries' Testing Labs

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote in May on whether to ban U.S. operations of telecom equipment test labs owned by foreign adversaries.

  • April 30, 2025

    Joe Rogan-Backed 'Alpha Brain' False Ad Suit Dropped In NY

    A consumer is asking a New York federal judge to dismiss his proposed class action accusing Onnit Labs Inc. of falsely advertising its "Alpha Brain" cognitive supplement, which were previously promoted by podcaster Joe Rogan, as clinically proven to boost memory.

  • April 30, 2025

    SC Judge Tosses Suit In Bed Trademark Dispute

    A South Carolina federal judge has thrown out a suit from American Serleep seeking a declaration that it never infringed any trademark of rival Purple Innovation, saying the Palmetto State isn't the right place for the case.

  • April 30, 2025

    Agri Stats Gets Say In DOJ's Poultry Worker Wage-Fixing Case

    A Maryland federal court allowed Agri Stats Inc. to intervene Wednesday in the U.S. Department of Justice's case accusing Wayne-Sanderson Farms and George's Inc. of suppressing wages, after the government said the poultry companies need to stop using the agricultural data firm.

  • April 30, 2025

    Amazon's Suit Over Soured Solar Deals Survives Dismissal

    Amazon can sue a California-based private equity company and firms tied to a pair of Golden State solar energy developments for allegedly trying to sabotage the projects after signing long-term power purchase deals, a Washington state judge has ruled, rejecting jurisdictional arguments from the defendants.

  • April 30, 2025

    Activant Unit Seeks $7.5M Fee After $37M Bolt Suit Win

    An Activant Capital Group fund has petitioned Delaware's Court of Chancery to approve a $7.5 million company-paid corporate benefit fee, citing a successful battle for cancellation of more than $37 million in Bolt Financial Group shares held by a controller who defaulted on a more-than $30 million company-guaranteed loan.

  • April 30, 2025

    TikTok Exec Calls Facebook, Instagram 'Complements'

    A TikTok executive said Wednesday that his company views Facebook and Instagram as "complements" to the Chinese-owned short-form video platform rather than direct competitors playing in the same market, in testimony that largely supported the Federal Trade Commission's claim that Meta dominates personal social networking services.

  • April 30, 2025

    Lego Says Toy Co.'s Tiny Figurines Are Big IP Infringement

    Lego sued Veux Toys LLC in Connecticut federal court Tuesday, seeking to block the California-based toy retailer from selling figurines that are "substantially similar" to its copyrighted products, such as Spider-Man toy men.

  • April 30, 2025

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    Enforcers opened high stakes court proceedings against Meta Platforms and Google for monopolization claims that could force the tech giants to sell pieces of the companies, while also moving ahead with several challenges and reviews of pending deals in other industries. Here, Law360 looks at the major merger review developments from April.

  • April 30, 2025

    NJ Panel Orders New Trial in Home Depot Slip Case

    A New Jersey state trial court erred in allowing trial evidence of a woman's medical history, prior falls and a handicapped placard in a slip-and-fall case against Home Depot U.S.A. Inc., a state appellate panel ruled Wednesday in vacating a jury verdict in favor of the retailer.

  • April 30, 2025

    Kirkland, Latham Lead Chinese Online Insurer's $30M US IPO

    Shares of Chinese online insurance distributor Yuanbao Inc. rallied in debut trading Wednesday after it priced a $30 million initial public offering at the top of its range, represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP, as more companies test a shaky U.S. IPO market.

  • April 30, 2025

    Amazon Can't Claw Back 'Inadvertent' Discovery Docs

    A Seattle federal judge has ruled that documents Amazon.com Inc. produced as part of three proposed antitrust class actions may not be clawed back, finding that despite the online retailer's claims that they were produced "inadvertently," there was no indication the document-sharing was a mistake.

  • April 30, 2025

    Kratom Cos. Get False Ad, Addiction Suit Tossed

    A California federal judge has dismissed a proposed class action alleging Thang Botanicals and FTLS Holdings LLC mislead consumers about addictive qualities of their kratom products after the plaintiffs failed to file an amended complaint on time.

  • April 29, 2025

    Ex-Levi's Exec Loses Bid To Call Therapist At Bias Trial

    A California federal judge on Tuesday rejected a renewed bid from an ex-Levi Strauss executive suing for sex discrimination to have her therapist testify in the trial's liability phase about work-related stress, saying comments from a former Levi's colleague about the plaintiff's home struggles didn't open the door for his testimony.

  • April 29, 2025

    Omnicare Hit With $136M Jury Verdict For Bilking Feds

    A New York federal jury on Tuesday returned a verdict finding that CVS Health Corp. subsidiary Omnicare illegally billed the federal government to the tune of $135.6 million, one of the largest jury verdicts in a False Claims Act case, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • April 29, 2025

    Justices Wary Of Issuing 'Advisory' Ruling In Class Cert. Row

    The U.S. Supreme Court's latest attempt to address a pressing question about class certification standards may be doomed by a procedural hiccup, with a majority of justices expressing concern Tuesday that they didn't have the authority to wade into a dispute over approval of a class that contains uninjured members.

  • April 29, 2025

    Amazon Can't Shake Return Policy Suit, Wash. Judge Rules

    A Washington federal judge refused Tuesday to dismiss claims accusing Amazon of unlawfully recharging consumers under its "advanced refund" return policy, ruling that the e-commerce giant could face tort and quasi-contract liability alongside breach of contract allegations.

Expert Analysis

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • Fed. Circ. In Feb.: Lessons On Cases With Many Patent Claims

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Kroy IP v. Groupon last month establishes that inter partes review petitioners cannot rely on collateral estoppel to invalidate patent claims after challenging a smaller subset, highlighting the benefit that patent owners may gain from seeking patents with many claims, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • How Calif. Algorithmic Pricing Bills Could Affect Consumers

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    California's legislative efforts to regulate algorithmic pricing may address antitrust and fairness concerns, but could stop retailers from providing consumer discounts, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How Importers Can Minimize FCA Risks Of Tariff Mitigation

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    False Claims Act risks are inherent in many tariff mitigation strategies, making it important for importers to implement best practices to identify and report potential violations of import regulations before they escalate, says Samuel Finkelstein at LMD Trade Law.

  • State Securities Enforcers May Fill A Federal Enforcement Gap

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appears poised to take a lighter touch under the new administration, but state enforcement efforts are likely to continue unabated, and potentially even increase, particularly with regard to digital assets and ESG disclosures, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Firms Still Have Lateral Market Advantage, But Risks Persist

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that we’re in a new, stable era of lateral hiring where firms have the edge, but leaders should proceed cautiously, looking beyond expected revenue and compensation analyses for potential risks, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Opinion

    We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

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    As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

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    In this month's review of class actions appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses three federal appellate court decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving antitrust allegations against coupon processing services, consumer fraud and class action settlements.

  • The PFAS Causation Question Is Far From Settled

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    In litigation over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the general causation question — whether the type of PFAS concerned is actually capable of causing disease — often receives little attention, but the scientific evidence around this issue is far from conclusive, and is a point worth raising by defense counsel, says John Gardella at CMBG3 Law.

  • Series

    Performing Stand-Up Comedy Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Whether I’m delivering a punchline on stage or a closing argument in court, balancing stand-up comedy performances and my legal career has demonstrated that the keys to success in both endeavors include reading the room, landing the right timing and making an impact, says attorney Rebecca Palmer.

  • 3 Del. Bankruptcy Cases Highlight US Trustee Objections

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    As three recent Delaware bankruptcy cases show, debtors who seek approval of a stalking horse bid protections agreement should be prepared for the U.S. Trustee Office's objections, including if the proposed classification for the bid protections is a superpriority administrative expense claim, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From SEC To BigLaw

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    As I adjusted to the multifaceted workflow of a BigLaw firm after leaving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, working side by side with new colleagues on complex matters proved the fastest way to build a deep rapport and demonstrate my value, says Jennifer Lee at Jenner & Block.

  • How Fed. Circ. Ruling Complicates Patent Infringement Cases

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Kroy IP Holdings v. Groupon may make defending patent infringement claims more challenging, time-consuming and expensive — but it has also complicated similar patent infringement proceedings involving the same patents and their appeals, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

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