Retail & E-Commerce

  • August 28, 2024

    Mug Maker Sues Fla. Rival Over Leopard Print Design

    A Denver-based company that makes insulated beverage containers and coolers took a Florida competitor to Colorado federal court for allegedly ripping off a print design for some of its products, which the suit says includes insulated water bottles that compete directly with the Centennial State company's own offerings.

  • August 27, 2024

    Miss. Seafood Co. Pleads Guilty To 'Fish Substitution' Scheme

    The largest seafood wholesaler in the Mississippi Gulf Coast and two of its managers pled guilty Tuesday to scheming with others to market and sell cheap frozen fish imports as premium and locally sourced, federal prosecutors in Mississippi announced.

  • August 27, 2024

    Wells Fargo Says 'Good Faith' Efforts Ax Investors' Bias Suit

    Wells Fargo & Co. urged a California federal judge Tuesday to toss a derivative lawsuit filed by a putative class of shareholders claiming the bank's board of directors failed to address its discriminatory lending and hiring practices, saying there's evidence of "good-faith" efforts to monitor compliance in those areas.

  • August 27, 2024

    Tile, Stalking Victims Asked To Weigh In On Appellate Ruling

    A San Francisco federal judge mulling tracking device manufacturer Tile Inc.'s bid to arbitrate some claims that its Bluetooth trackers are dangerous because they empower stalkers asked the parties at a hearing Tuesday to brief her on the effect of a recent California appellate court decision regarding arbitrability.

  • August 27, 2024

    Walmart Has To Face EEOC Again After Losing Bias Trial

    The Seventh Circuit gave the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission another chance Tuesday to force Walmart to boost its disability accommodation training after a jury found it intentionally discriminated against an employee with Down syndrome, and affirmed what was originally a $125 million jury verdict later reduced to $419,000.

  • August 27, 2024

    Baby Sound Machine Co. Sued Over Shock Hazard Recall

    A parent has launched a proposed class action against Hatch, a California-based manufacturer of sound machines for sleeping, claiming its plugs can shock users.

  • August 27, 2024

    SEC Cites Amazon's FTC Loss In Coinbase Document Dispute

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday told a New York federal judge that a recent ruling denying Amazon's request to review internal documents from the Federal Trade Commission bolsters its own bid to shield internal communications in its enforcement suit against crypto exchange Coinbase.

  • August 27, 2024

    Revlon Says Ex-Workers Stole Britney Spears Fragrance Deal

    Global beauty and cosmetics brand Revlon sued several former fragrance marketing executives and upstart competitor Give Back Beauty in New York federal court, alleging they stole trade secrets and breached contracts when luring Britney Spears' perfume line away from Revlon.

  • August 27, 2024

    Floyd Mayweather Jr., Tyga Swindled Jeweler, Suit Says

    World champion boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and rapper Tyga owe nearly $3.9 million for unpaid merchandise, according to a lawsuit filed by Florida luxury jeweler Lenzo & Co., which claims the pair asked to meet privately and kept the items with promises of payment.

  • August 27, 2024

    No 'Novella' Briefs In Alexa Privacy Suit, Judge Tells Amazon

    Amazon will not be allowed to file a "novella"-length summary judgment motion in a proposed class action by unregistered Alexa users alleging that they were illegally recorded, a Seattle federal judge has ruled, saying his experience has shown that more pages do not always mean a more comprehensive argument.

  • August 27, 2024

    Taco Bell Franchisee Will Pay $2M To End Job-Posting Suits

    A Taco Bell franchisee, Sharp Electronics and DoorDash are among the latest employers to reach class deals in Washington state court to end job seekers' allegations they failed to include salary or wage ranges in job postings, in violation of Evergreen State pay transparency laws.

  • August 27, 2024

    Car-Sharing Co. Turo Accused Of Shirking Own Arb. Terms

    California-based car-sharing company Turo has been hit with a proposed class action in Illinois federal court claiming it violated its own terms of service by refusing to arbitrate consumers' disputes or pay its required portion of the arbitration filing fees.

  • August 27, 2024

    Split 5th Circ. Revives Tesla's Case Over La. Sales Ban

    A split Fifth Circuit panel revived Tesla's case accusing Louisiana car dealers and regulators of illegally excluding the direct-sale automaker from the state, finding Tesla had done enough to survive dismissal by alleging a regulatory board that included competitors is biased against it.

  • August 27, 2024

    No Coverage For Tire Co.'s Unpaid Invoices, Judge Rules

    A tire manufacturer cannot get insurance coverage for millions in unpaid invoices it is owed, a Florida federal court has ruled, finding that the manufacturer made a material misrepresentation in its insurance application concerning the creditworthiness of one of its largest customers.

  • August 27, 2024

    19 New Jersey Stores Cited For Selling Flavored Vapes

    Nineteen New Jersey shops could face fines of $4,500 for selling flavored vapor products, which were outlawed in the Garden State in April 2020, the state attorney general said Tuesday.

  • August 27, 2024

    CPSC Suit 'Makes A Mockery' Of Standing, SG Tells Justices

    The federal government is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to pass on a "highly artificial suit" that seeks to unravel removal protections for commissioners on the Consumer Product Safety Commission, saying the groups behind the suit have no standing to pursue the legal challenge.

  • August 27, 2024

    Deceptive Coppertone Label Suit Tossed From Conn. Court

    Consumers who filed suit against the makers of Coppertone sunscreen have agreed to drop their proposed class action claiming its "Face 50" Sports Mineral sunscreen was deceptively advertised, according to an order issued Monday in Connecticut federal court.

  • August 27, 2024

    Google Wants Out Of IP Suit Over Pirated Books

    Google asked a Manhattan federal judge to dismiss allegations that it allowed advertisements to be shown to users from websites that sell pirated textbooks, claiming it has no ability to supervise those sites and isn't profiting from alleged pirating.

  • August 27, 2024

    NBA Star Can't Sidestep TM Dispute Over Signature Shoe

    NBA player LaMelo Ball, his family and Puma North America Inc. must face a trademark infringement suit brought against them over the athlete's signature shoes, a California federal judge has ruled, finding that there are factual disputes to resolve and that California federal court does have jurisdiction.

  • August 27, 2024

    Va. Ad Tech Judge Warns Google Over Chat Deletion

    Google's defense of its advertising technology could get a little harder after a Virginia federal judge on Tuesday kept the door open to assuming that deleted internal chats hid evidence that would support U.S. Department of Justice monopolization claims bound for a bench trial next month.

  • August 26, 2024

    Albertsons Paints Picture Of Dire Future Without Kroger Deal

    Albertsons told an Oregon federal judge Monday that if the Federal Trade Commission is able to block a proposed merger with Kroger, it could lead to layoffs and shuttered stores, because a go-it-alone Albertsons doesn't have the wholesale buying power to compete with Walmart and Costco on prices.

  • August 26, 2024

    'Roller Lash' and 'Lash 'N Roll' Mascaras Face Off In TM Trial

    Benefit Cosmetics told a San Francisco federal judge at the start of a trademark and trade dress infringement bench trial Monday that rival e.l.f. Cosmetics sought the "holy grail" when it created a "Lash 'N Roll" mascara that ripped off Benefit's $300 million-blockbuster "Roller Lash" product.

  • August 26, 2024

    Pool Co. Secures $1.1M In Fees For False Ad Trial Win

    A North Carolina federal judge has granted $1.1 million in fees for attorneys from McCarter & English LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson who represented a swimming pool salt system supplier in a trial against a competitor, finding the case qualifies as exceptional since the opposing company acted "unreasonably."

  • August 26, 2024

    Care.com To Pay $8.5M To Settle FTC's Deception Claims

    Caregiver job website Care.com has agreed to shell out $8.5 million in refunds to put to rest allegations it misled caregivers about wages and job availability and also made it difficult for families to cancel paid memberships, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced Monday.

  • August 26, 2024

    Estate Says Circle K Hid Inspector's Name In Death Suit

    The family of a woman who died at a Circle K gas pump asked a Florida judge to sanction the company for allegedly failing to disclose the name of the contractor that inspected the gas station before the statute of limitations for wrongful death claims had run out.

Expert Analysis

  • ITC Ruling Has Serious IP Implications For Foreign Imports

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    While a recent U.S. International Trade Commission decision is a win for trade secret owners who can show injury to a U.S. domestic industry, the decision also means that companies operating in foreign jurisdictions will be subject to the requirements of U.S. trade secret law, say Paul Ainsworth and Cristen Corry at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • TTAB Ruling Raises Foreign-Language Mark Questions

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    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's recent decision to cancel the Veuve Olivier registration due to its similarity to Veuve Clicquot brings new focus to the treatment of foreign terms and the doctrine of foreign equivalents, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Best Practices To Accommodate Workplace Service Animals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Since the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently pledged to enforce accommodations for people with intellectual, developmental and mental health-related disabilities, companies should use an interactive process to properly respond when employees ask about bringing service animals into the workplace, say Samuel Lillard and Jantzen Mace at Ogletree.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • Opinion

    State-Regulated Cannabis Can Thrive Without Section 280E

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    Marijauna's reclassification as a Schedule III-controlled substance comes at a critical juncture, as removing marijuana from being subjected to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code is the only path forward for the state-regulated cannabis industry to survive and thrive, say Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie and Sammy Markland at FTI Consulting.

  • 4 Sectors Will Likely Bear Initial Brunt Of FTC 'Junk Fees' Rule

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    If the Federal Trade Commission adopts its comprehensive proposed rule to ban unfair or deceptive fees across the U.S. economy, many businesses — including those in the lodging, event ticketing, dining and transportation sectors — will need to reexamine the way they market and price their products and services, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • 8 Legal Issues Influencing Investors In The Creator Economy

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    The rapidly expanding digital creator economy — funding for which more than doubled in the U.S. in the first quarter — comes with its own set of unique legal issues investors must carefully consider before diving in, say Louis Lehot and Alan Pate at Foley & Lardner.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

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    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • CFPB Reality Check: Video Game Cash Is Still Money

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent report examining payments within online video games indicates that financial services offered within the game marketplace are quickly evolving to the point where they are indistinguishable from traditional financial services subject to regulation, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Is The Digital Accessibility Storm Almost Over?

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    Though private businesses have faced a decadelong deluge of digital accessibility complaints in the absence of clear regulations or uniformity among the courts, attorneys at Epstein Becker address how recent federal courts’ pushback against serial Americans with Disabilities Act plaintiffs and the U.S. Department of Justice’s proposed government accessibility standards may presage a break in the downpour.

  • PE In The Crosshairs Of Public And Private Antitrust Enforcers

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    A series of decisions from a California federal court in the recently settled Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, as well as heightened scrutiny from federal agencies, serve as a reminder that private equity firms may be exposed to liability for alleged anti-competitive conduct by their portfolio companies, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

  • 2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Brinkmann v. Town of Southold, finding that a pretextual taking does not violate the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, gives municipalities a powerful tool with which to block unwanted development projects, even in bad faith, say James O'Connor and Benjamin Sugarman at Phillips Lytle.

  • What 100 Federal Cases Suggest About Changes To Chevron

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn or narrow its 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference, a review of 100 recent federal district court decisions confirm that changes to the Chevron framework will have broad ramifications — but the magnitude of the impact will depend on the details of the high court's ruling, say Kali Schellenberg and Jon Cochran at LeVan Stapleton.

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