Retail & E-Commerce

  • July 31, 2026

    Lowe's Gets OK For Limited Probe In Vendor Contract Clash

    A North Carolina Business Court judge Friday granted Lowe's request to seek more information in its battle with a home accents company over a purchasing agreement that went south, but cautioned it won't be "open season" for its opponent to fish for new depositions and documents.

  • July 31, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Says Sapphire-Backed Watches Must Face Duties

    Imported Richard Mille luxury watches with synthetic sapphire crystal case-backs cannot qualify for duty-free treatment, the Federal Circuit affirmed.

  • July 31, 2026

    Temu Denies Getting Unfair Subsidies, Obstructing EU Probe

    Chinese-owned online retailer Temu is denying allegations from European enforcers that it refused to provide information requested during a foreign subsidies investigation and also denied receiving any unfair subsidies.

  • July 31, 2026

    DHS Adds Over 40 Cos. To Forced Labor Import Ban List

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security added 43 new entities to its blacklist of companies from which goods are banned from entering the U.S. due to their presumed use of forced labor, according to a notice published Friday.

  • July 31, 2026

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    The past week in London has seen George Michael's estate bring an intellectual property claim against the late star's friend over footage shared online, collapsed law firm Axiom Ince sue the U.K. branch of State Bank of India and Ryanair face a group claim from 262 people. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • July 30, 2026

    Split 4th Circ. Says NC Vape Sale Limits Pass Preemption Test

    A divided Fourth Circuit on Thursday refused to block a new North Carolina law that regulates and prohibits the sale of certain e-cigarette or "vape" products, saying a coalition of vape retailers and manufacturers are not likely to prevail on their theory that the statute is preempted by federal law.

  • July 30, 2026

    Valve Scores Quick Appeal In Gamer Arbitration Clause Fight

    A Seattle federal judge on Thursday granted Valve Corp.'s bid for a quick appeal of an order declining to halt antitrust arbitrations brought by hundreds of individual gamers, pausing the litigation for the video game developer to seek the Ninth Circuit's input on whether the arbitrations can proceed under its subscriber terms.  

  • July 30, 2026

    Cannabis Retailer Says Electrician Killed LA Store Buildout

    Cannabis retail chain Velvet Holdings Inc. claims it is out millions of dollars after a contractor abandoned a storefront project, resulting in Los Angeles building officials refusing to certify the location and leading to the loss of its lease and cannabis licenses, according to a California state lawsuit.

  • July 30, 2026

    CBP Outlines Rates, Classifications For Pharma Tariffs

    U.S. pharmaceutical giants aren't expected to face various tariff rates up to 100% on certain imported patented drugs and ingredients beginning Friday, but all importers must begin to classify their goods that will eventually be subject to the duties, according to customs guidance published Thursday.

  • July 30, 2026

    Albertsons Can't Nix 14 Years Of Opioid Claims At Wash. Trial

    Albertsons and Safeway can't dodge 14 years' worth of claims in Washington state's lawsuit accusing the grocery stores' pharmacies of irresponsibly dispensing prescription opioids and fueling the state's overdose crisis, according to a Seattle judge's ruling Wednesday striking the companies' statute-of-limitations defense.

  • July 30, 2026

    8th Circ. Agrees Chartreuse Color Can't Save Hose Maker's TM

    The Eighth Circuit on Thursday declined to revive a trademark that was asserted in a case brought by a water hose manufacturer against a competitor, agreeing with a federal judge who ruled the chartreuse color of the hoses was a functional feature and therefore invalidated the trademark.

  • July 30, 2026

    Split NJ High Court Backs Walmart In Snowy Lot Injury Suit

    The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Walmart didn't create the "unusual circumstances" required to make it liable for injuries suffered by a customer who slipped on a snowy parking lot, drawing a sharp dissent from justices who said the majority's take shunned case law and "bedrock tort principles" and misread case law.

  • July 30, 2026

    Skechers Can't Run From Manufacturer Tax, Mass. Court Says

    Skechers must pay nearly $200,000 in back excise taxes and interest, a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court said Thursday, rejecting the shoe brand's argument that it is not a manufacturer.

  • July 30, 2026

    DOJ Wants Rethink On Apple's Peek Into Feds' Phone-Buying

    The U.S. Department of Justice has asked a special master to rethink his New Jersey federal court mandate giving Apple a look into how the Pentagon, CIA, State Department and other federal agencies purchase smartphones, arguing that the retired federal judge applied the wrong legal standard in the antitrust case.

  • July 30, 2026

    Chubb Seeks Toss Of Costco's Customer Injury Coverage Row

    A Chubb unit urged a Washington federal court to toss Costco's suit seeking coverage for a personal injury action under a home décor brand's policy, saying the retailer failed to state a claim for additional insured coverage because the underlying injuries are not related to the brand's products.

  • July 30, 2026

    Impossible Foods Gets New TM Trial On Punitive Damages

    A California federal judge has ordered a new trial on punitive damages against Impossible Foods in a case over the "Impossible" trademark, ruling that the $1.75 million in punitive damages a jury awarded lifestyle brand Impossible X was against the clear weight of trial evidence.

  • July 30, 2026

    Ill. Atty Sanctioned For AI Slop In Starbucks Bias Suit

    A unanimous Illinois appeals court sanctioned an attorney representing a former Starbucks employee in a workplace discrimination suit after determining that he submitted briefs using false citations and quotations hallucinated by artificial intelligence software.

  • July 30, 2026

    Permira-Backed Reformation Prices $210.9M IPO

    Private equity-backed womenswear brand Reformation Inc. began trading publicly on Thursday after raising $210.9 million in its initial public offering, hitting the low end of its marketed range.

  • July 30, 2026

    $18.7M Deal In Turkey Price-Fixing Suit Gets Initial OK

    An Illinois federal judge on Thursday granted preliminary approval to an $18.7 million settlement resolving certain buyers' claims against House of Raeford Farms Inc. and Prestage Farms, the latest deal in sprawling antitrust litigation accusing poultry producers of conspiring to fix turkey prices.

  • July 30, 2026

    J&J Pans Talc Claimant's 'Absurd' Bid To Nix $25M Appeal

    In a sharply worded memo, Johnson & Johnson told the Connecticut Appellate Court that it should deny a "nonsensical" dismissal motion from a real estate developer who won a $25 million asbestos-related cancer verdict, defending its appeal of the trial court outcome as timely.

  • July 30, 2026

    Chinese Truck Beds' Covers Face Possible Triple-Digit Duties

    Chinese truck bed covers manufactured by certain exporters could be hit with triple-digit countervailing duties when exported to the U.S. after the U.S. Department of Commerce found Thursday that the products are subsidized.

  • July 29, 2026

    Albertsons Pharmacy Work Was 'House Of Cards,' Judge Told

    Albertsons pharmacists in Washington state repeatedly warned supervisors that busy workloads and limited staffing were making it difficult to review prescriptions before filling them, a state judge in Seattle heard Monday, during a bench trial in Washington's case accusing Albertsons and its Safeway subsidiary of fueling the state's opioid crisis.

  • July 29, 2026

    Trail Cam Co. Says T-Mobile Broke Tech Migration Promises

    T-Mobile is trying to plow forward with a plan to shift Tactacam-branded "trail cameras" that operate on cellular networks to a new technology even though all the tests have failed, which could make millions of cams useless, according to the company that owns those cameras.

  • July 29, 2026

    1st Circ. Mulls Temu's Bid To Reinstate Suit Against IP Atty

    A First Circuit panel seemed torn Wednesday over whether to revive Chinese e-commerce giant Temu's lawsuit accusing an intellectual property attorney of lying to induce the company into settlements with two clients.

  • July 29, 2026

    Patent Co. IP Suit Against Amazon Should Go On, Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge has recommended denying Amazon's motion for a win on standing grounds in a lawsuit asserting software network patents, finding that even though the inventors of those patents worked for different companies when they conceived the intellectual property, Edge Networking Systems LLC could assert them.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

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    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • Series

    Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Evenflo IP Ruling Shows Evidence Is Still Key For Injunctions

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    Notwithstanding renewed policy and doctrinal attention to patent injunctions, the Federal Circuit's December decision in Wonderland v. Evenflo signals that the era of easily obtained patent injunctions has not yet arrived, say attorneys at King & Wood.

  • Lessons From EdTech Provider's Data Breach Settlements

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    Education technology company Illuminate Education's recent settlements with three states and the Federal Trade Commission over state privacy law claims following a student data breach are some of the first of their kind, suggesting a shift in enforcement focus to how companies handle student data and highlighting the potential for coordinated enforcement actions, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

  • Key Sectors, Antitrust Risks In Pricing Algorithm Litigation

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    Algorithmic pricing lawsuits have proliferated in rental housing, hotels, health insurance and equipment rental industries, and companies should consider emerging risk factors when implementing business strategies this year, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

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    My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

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    Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

  • Fed. Circ. Patent Decisions In 2025: An Empirical Review

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    In 2025, the Federal Circuit's increased output was not enough to keep up with its ever-growing patent case load, and patent owners and applicants fared poorly overall as the court's affirmance rate fell, says Dan Bagatell at Perkins Coie.

  • Key False Claims Act Trends From The Last Year

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    The False Claims Act remains a powerful enforcement tool after some record verdicts and settlements in 2025, and while traditional fraud areas remain a priority, new initiatives are raising questions about its expanding application, says Veronica Nannis at Joseph Greenwald.

  • How Payments Law Landscape Will Evolve In 2026

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    After a year of change across the payments landscape, financial services providers should expect more innovation and the pushing of regulatory boundaries, but should stay mindful that state regulators and litigation will continue to challenge the status quo, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Opportunities Amid The Challenges Of Trump's BIS Shake-Up

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    The Trump administration’s continuing overhaul of the Bureau of Industry and Security has created enormous practical challenges for export compliance, but it potentially also offers a once-in-a-generation opening to advocate for simplifying and rationalizing U.S. export controls, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

  • FDA's 2025 Enforcement Scorecard Highlights Data Focus

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's increased enforcement activity in 2025 was driven by artificial intelligence and a focus on foreign manufacturers, necessitating proactive compliance strategies for an environment that is increasingly reliant on data, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

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    Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

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