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Food & Beverage
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October 28, 2024
'Mutual Combat' Halts Revival Of Ga. Eatery Shooting Claims
The mutual combat doctrine dooms a premises liability claim a Georgia man filed against a property owner after he was shot outside an Atlanta-area Ethiopian restaurant by a convicted felon working security, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
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October 28, 2024
Attys Seek $48M Fees For Hooking $152M In Tuna Fixing Deals
Lawyers for a class of consumers that sued three of the largest tuna producers accusing them of conspiring to fix tinned fish prices asked a California federal court to approve nearly $50 million in legal costs after a settlement this summer ended nearly nine years of multidistrict litigation.
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October 28, 2024
Farm Co. Can't Push Worker's Wage Suit To Arbitration
A California appeals court refused to send to arbitration a farm laborer's suit accusing a farm labor contractor of shorting workers on wages, saying the company can't rely on an arbitration pact that one of its clients signed with the workers.
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October 25, 2024
Jury In Formula Trial Told Baby's Condition Likely Genetic
An expert witness for Abbott and Mead Johnson in the first joint trial against the baby formula makers told a St. Louis jury Friday he believes the child at the center of the case has a genetic condition that's responsible for most of his intellectual impairment.
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October 25, 2024
Inari Wins Bid To Kill Plant Gene Patent At PTAB
A Massachusetts-based plant breeding startup was able to show that a patent owned by a unit of a DowDuPont spin-off covering a plant gene resistant to weed killers wasn't patentable, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found.
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October 25, 2024
Vidal Warned Of 'Heightened' Burden, 'Loophole' In Seed Fight
Two new petitions in front of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director say the patent administrative board created "a heightened new standard" in one instance and a trade secrets "loophole" in another in order to protect patents covering purportedly novel corn seeds developed by a unit of DowDuPont spin-off Corteva.
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October 25, 2024
Lemonade Co. Sues Brewers' Affiliate Over Deal Gone Sour
A lemonade and nuts vendor is suing a minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers in Mississippi federal court, alleging that the team caved in to pressure from the Coca-Cola Co. and abruptly terminated an agreement that allowed the merchant to sell his items at home games.
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October 25, 2024
BLM Gives Green Light To Nevada Lithium Mine
The Biden administration has announced that it's approving the proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in southeast Nevada, a decision a conservation group said threatens to push an imperiled wildflower species into extinction.
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October 25, 2024
Bimbo Fired 72-Year-Old 1 Year Before Retirement, Suit Says
A longtime employee of Bimbo Bakeries USA filed a federal age discrimination lawsuit against his former employer Wednesday claiming that the company forced him out of his job just over a year before he was scheduled to retire, over bogus allegations that he stole company time.
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October 25, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen the Competition and Markets Authority take action against a mattress retailer after it was caught pressuring its customers with misleading discounts, Lenovo and Motorola target ZTE Corporation with a patents claim, Lloyds Bank hit by another claim relating to the collapse of Arena Television and U.K. tax authority HMRC sued by the director of an electronics company that evaded millions of pounds in VAT. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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October 24, 2024
Colo. Says Grocers' Execs Get Paid, No Matter The Fallout
Colorado told a state judge Thursday that consumers bear the risk in a proposed $24.6 billion merger between Kroger Co. and Albertsons, arguing grocery executives will still get their multimillion-dollar payouts even if prices go up or stores close.
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October 24, 2024
Calif. Chili's Workers Fight Uphill For Meal Break Class Cert.
A California federal judge considering class certification for nearly 1,300 Chili's employees, who are accusing the owner of their restaurants of not providing meal breaks, said Thursday that individualized questions about whether workers were coerced into asserting they voluntarily skipped their break could doom their bid.
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October 24, 2024
Walmart Sued Over Deceptively Marketed Avocado Oil
A Florida woman filed a proposed class action accusing Walmart Inc. of falsely advertising its avocado oil, deceiving consumers into thinking it was pure when it was actually cut with cheaper oils.
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October 24, 2024
Walmart Hid Patent Evidence, Co.'s Sanctions Bid Claims
Zest Labs wants Walmart sanctioned in a suit claiming the retail giant stole the startup's trade secrets related to shelf-freshness technology, telling an Arkansas federal judge that Walmart hid important evidence about patents it had filed applications for.
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October 24, 2024
Seneca Foods Must Pay Steel Duties On Tin Imports
The country's largest vegetable canner must pay Section 232 tariffs to import tin, after the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the U.S. Department of Commerce justified its belief that the company could source the steel domestically.
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October 24, 2024
McDonald's Customers File First Suits Over E. Coli Outbreak
A Colorado man and Nebraska woman have lodged the first lawsuits against McDonald's Corp. in the wake of the E. coli outbreak tied to its Quarter Pounder hamburgers, according to a pair of complaints filed in Illinois state court on Wednesday and Thursday.
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October 24, 2024
Bayer Hit With False-Ad Suit Over Malic Acid In Vitamins
Bayer is falsely advertising its Flintstones sour gummy vitamins as being free of artificial flavors, a California woman alleged in a proposed class action filed Wednesday in state court, saying the multivitamin supplement meant for children actually gets its sour flavor from synthetic malic acid.
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October 24, 2024
Fenway Food Safety Czar Fired For Flagging Rats, Suit Says
A former Aramark food safety manager said in a suit filed Thursday that he was fired because he raised concerns about unsanitary conditions at Fenway Park, a Boston music hall, and the spring training ballpark of the Boston Red Sox.
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October 24, 2024
Cleary-Led Keurig Buying Ghost Energy For $1B-Plus
Cleary Gottlieb-led Keurig Dr Pepper said Thursday it has agreed to purchase Winston & Strawn LLP-advised energy drink purveyor Ghost in a two-part transaction that will include the upfront purchase of a 60% stake in Ghost for $990 million, followed by the purchase of the remaining 40% stake in 2028.
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October 24, 2024
Cigna, Frontier Renew Stalled Merger Bids, Plus Other Rumors
Cigna Group and Frontier Airlines have both restarted once-stalled bids to acquire smaller rivals, rekindling merger rumors spanning the healthcare and airlines industries, while Sports Illustrated's secondary ticket platform wants to borrow up to $50 million to acquire competitor Anytickets. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
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October 24, 2024
DOL Says H-2A Farmworker Protections Must Remain
The U.S. Department of Labor urged a Georgia federal court to uphold its new protections for foreign H-2A farmworkers, arguing that conservative-led states' bid to block its rule should fail because safeguarding foreign workers is key to ensuring better pay and conditions for American-born farmworkers.
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October 23, 2024
'Where's The Puff?' Judge Asks In Little Caesars IP Battle
An Illinois federal judge asked Little Caesars Wednesday what was so puffy about its recent "Crazy Puffs" products, as a Chicago-based company that makes "Pizza Puffs" argued the chain is infringing trademarks it has held for nearly half a century.
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October 23, 2024
Stop & Shop Parent Co. Sued Over Orange Soda Ingredient
The parent company of grocery stores Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and others was hit with a proposed class action Tuesday in North Carolina federal court alleging that the company's orange soda contained an oil additive that allegedly can cause neurological damage.
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October 23, 2024
Hibachi Restaurant Reaches $500K Wage Deal With Workers
A New Jersey hibachi restaurant struck a $500,000 settlement with five former servers to resolve their lawsuit alleging the company did not pay them any wages and deducted money from their tips, which was their only source of income, according to a filing in federal court.
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October 23, 2024
DOJ Bolsters Defense In Pork Price-Fixing Case, Cos. Say
Hormel, Tyson, JBS and other pork producers told a Minnesota federal court that a Justice Department intervention into a private price-fixing litigation actually backs their defense, even though the government took no position on the merits of the case.
Expert Analysis
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'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG
A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.
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Co-Tenancy Clause Pointers For Shopping Center Landlords
Large retail tenants often require co-tenancy provisions in their leases, entitling them to remedies if a shopping center's occupancy drops in certain ways, but landlords must draft these provisions carefully to avoid giving tenants too much control, says Gary Glick at Cox Castle.
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Complying With FTC's Final Rule On Sham Online Reviews
The Federal Trade Commission's final rule on deceptive acts and practices in online reviews and testimonials is effective Oct. 21, and some practice tips can help businesses avert noncompliance risks, say Airina Rodrigues and Jonathan Sandler at Brownstein Hyatt.
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Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address
The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.
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3 Patent Considerations For America's New Quantum Hub
Recent developments signal an incredibly bright future for Chicago as the new home of quantum computing, and it is crucial that these innovators — whose technology has the potential to transform many industries — prioritize intellectual property strategy, says Andrew Velzen at McDonnell Boehnen.
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Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls
Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Fed. Circ. Ruling Creates New Rule For Certification Marks
The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment is significant in that it establishes a new standard for assessing evidence of third-party uses of a certification mark in deciding whether the mark is famous, say Samantha Katze and Lisa Rosaya at Manatt.
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Series
After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges
The Bureau of Land Management's interpretation of land "use" in its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is contrary to the agency's past practice and other Federal Land Policy and Management Act provisions, leaving the rule exposed in four legal challenges that may carry greater force in the wake of Loper Bright, say Stacey Bosshardt and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.
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A Preview Of AI Priorities Under The Next President
For the first time in a presidential election, both of the leading candidates and their parties have been vocal about artificial intelligence policy, offering clues on the future of regulation as AI continues to advance and congressional action continues to stall, say attorneys at Mintz.
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How Companies Are Approaching Insider Trading Policies
An analysis of insider trading policies recently disclosed by 49 S&P 500 companies under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule reveals that while specific provisions vary from company to company, certain common themes are emerging, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.
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The Fed. Circ. In August: Secret Sales And Public Disclosures
Two recent Federal Circuit rulings — Sanho v. Kaijet and Celanese International v. ITC — highlight that inventors should publicly and promptly disclose their inventions, as a secret sale will not suffice as a disclosure, and file their patent applications within a year of public disclosure, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.
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Employer Arbitration Lessons From Calif. Consumer Ruling
Although a California state appeals court’s recent arbitration ruling in Mahram v. Kroger involved a consumer transaction, the finding that the arbitration agreement at issue did not apply to a third-party beneficiary could influence how employment arbitration agreements are interpreted, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor Law.
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Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles
Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.
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Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.