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Retail & E-Commerce

  • June 17, 2025

    Hemp Interests Urge Court To Halt Md. Licensing Policy

    A group of Maryland hemp interests is urging a federal court to halt enforcement of a state policy which would require retailers to obtain recreational cannabis licenses to buy and sell hemp products, which they say is impossible to do.

  • June 17, 2025

    Sunglass Suit Tossed After 11th Circ. Nixes $40M Deal

    A Florida federal judge on Tuesday threw out a proposed class action alleging Costa Del Mar Inc. misled buyers about its sunglasses' lifetime warranty, saying the court doesn't have subject matter jurisdiction over the claims.

  • June 17, 2025

    Firms Fight To Rep End Users In PVC Pipe Antitrust Row

    Several law firms are duking it out for a lead counsel appointment representing a new class of end-user plaintiffs in consolidated litigation accusing PVC pipe companies of using a commodity pricing service to exchange information and illegally fix prices, with Pearson Warshaw LLP, Kirby McInerney LLP, Fegan Scott LLC and Levin Sedran & Berman LLP making bids.

  • June 17, 2025

    Meta Can't Nix FTC's Lead Econ Expert From Antitrust Trial

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday refused to exclude testimony by the Federal Trade Commission's lead economics expert during an antitrust trial over Meta's acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, finding Meta already had the chance to question if he was biased and that it wouldn't improperly influence a jury since it's a bench trial.

  • June 17, 2025

    Hyundai Dealership Sues Snell & Wilmer Over 'Botched' Filing

    A Los Angeles Hyundai dealership has hit Snell & Wilmer with a professional negligence lawsuit in California state court, accusing the firm and three attorneys of lying about an allegedly obviously "botched" arbitration motion in underlying litigation and then pursuing a meritless appeal costing Hyundai over $725,000 in unwarranted fees.

  • June 17, 2025

    Burford Blasts Interference Claim In Chicken Price-Fix Case

    The Illinois federal judge handling consolidated price-fixing litigation against the nation's largest chicken producers should throw out the settlement interference counterclaim Tyson lodged alongside its answer in the case because it is no more than a speculation-based "fishing expedition," litigation funder Burford Capital argued.

  • June 17, 2025

    School's Out: 8 Summer Reading Picks For IP Attorneys

    For busy intellectual property attorneys, summer can present the perfect opportunity to catch up on some reading, whether it's a treatise on contracts in the entertainment sector or a vivid work of science fiction that has the potential to bring new perspective to one's personal and professional lives.

  • June 17, 2025

    Nationwide Mutual Unit Didn't Pay For Time Spent Booting Up

    Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance failed to pay remote workers for the time they spent booting up and logging into their computers before their scheduled shifts, a proposed class action in California state court claims.

  • June 17, 2025

    Sam's Club $310M Tobacco Tax Bill OK'd By Ill. Appeals Panel

    A Sam's Club outlet in Illinois was correctly assessed $310 million for its failure to pay county tobacco taxes on cigarettes it sold to out-of-county retailers, a state appeals panel said in a judgment, reversing a circuit court decision.

  • June 17, 2025

    PepsiCo Makes Workers Undercount Hours, PAGA Suit Says

    PepsiCo instructs hourly paid employees to only document their scheduled hours and not the time they actually spend working, causing workers to lose out on overtime wages and not receive pay for skipped meal breaks, a Private Attorneys General Act suit filed in California state court said.

  • June 17, 2025

    Chicago Smoke Shop Fights License Ban Near Midway Airport

    A Chicago smoke shop on Monday sued the city over a new ordinance banning the sale of and possession of cannabinoid hemp products, saying an additional clause blocking tobacco licenses in a neighborhood near the Chicago Midway International Airport goes too far.

  • June 16, 2025

    Ex-Gree Execs Get 3 Yrs. In Landmark Product Safety Case

    Two former Gree USA Inc. executives were sentenced to approximately three years in prison each by a California federal judge on Monday, after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission by failing to report defective humidifiers in landmark criminal convictions under the Consumer Product Safety Act.

  • June 16, 2025

    Smoke Shop Fights 2nd Shutdown By NY Cannabis Agency

    A western New York smoke shop, shut down for allegedly selling cannabis without a license, is urging a state court to override a decision by the Office of Cannabis Management to close the shop months after it was allowed to reopen, arguing that the agency violated state law by not giving the business a chance to challenge the second closure.

  • June 16, 2025

    Bank Groups Will Join In On Fed's Debit-Card Swipe Fee Fight

    Two banking industry groups received a North Dakota federal judge's permission Monday to present the perspective of banks when he holds a key hearing next month to mull a retailer-backed legal challenge to the Federal Reserve's limits on debit-card swipe fees.

  • June 16, 2025

    MyPillow CEO Hit With $2.3M Verdict In Colo. Defamation Trial

    A Colorado federal jury on Monday found MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and one of his companies liable for more than $2 million in damages in a defamation case accusing him of amplifying false claims that a former Dominion Voting Systems executive rigged the 2020 election against Donald Trump.

  • June 16, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's Court of Chancery this past week sought answers in the high-stakes battle over the constitutionality of newly enacted Delaware corporation law amendments, which will hitch a ride to the state's Supreme Court via a suit contesting a $117 million acquisition of Clearway Energy Inc. by its majority shareholder.

  • June 16, 2025

    Judge's Halt On Counterfeit Suits Has Brands Scrambling

    A Chicago federal judge has halted proceedings in dozens of lawsuits that group numerous online sellers in single complaints alleging counterfeiting, highlighting a widening skepticism over the litigation strategy in the judicial district where most of the so-called Schedule A cases are filed in the U.S.

  • June 16, 2025

    Apple Can't Duck Renewed ICloud Monopoly Suit

    A California federal judge refused Monday to dismiss a proposed class action accusing Apple of maintaining a monopoly by keeping "full-service" cloud storage functionality limited to its own iCloud service while barring third-party cloud storage from accessing all files on iPhones and iPads.

  • June 16, 2025

    Cannabis Regulators Association Names New Board Members

    The Cannabis Regulators Association, an international organization of government officials who oversee marijuana and hemp policy, on Monday announced its new executive board.

  • June 16, 2025

    Lowe's Faces Worker Class Claims Over Tobacco Surcharge

    Lowe's overcharges its employees for health insurance if they are tobacco users in violation of federal benefits law, according to a proposed class action filed Monday in North Carolina federal court.

  • June 16, 2025

    Brewer, Tequila Co. Settle 'Dragon's Milk' TM Fight

    A Michigan federal judge on Monday dismissed a trademark dispute between a brewing company and a tequila company that the brewer had sued over its "Dragon's Milk" name, after the parties reached a settlement.

  • June 16, 2025

    Joann Seeks Ch. 11 Block For Vendors' Ohio Suit

    Bankrupt fabric retailer Joann Inc. has asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to block an Ohio state suit filed against seven top company officials by vendors who claim they were deceived into extending credit to the 80-year-old fabric retailer between its first and second retreat into Chapter 11.

  • June 16, 2025

    Hemp Farm Says $3.9M Seizure Suit Wasn't Filed Too Late

    A California hemp farm is urging a Tennessee federal court not to throw out its suit as untimely against a Tennessee sheriff's office over $3.9 million in hemp flower the farm claimed was wrongly seized and then destroyed, saying it only learned that the hemp was illegally seized at a hearing for the hemp deliveryman months afterward.

  • June 16, 2025

    Water Filter Co. Seeks Help Getting Clorox's Deleted Emails

    A water filtration company accusing Clorox Co. and its Brita brand of a "patent ambush" to corner the market on home water filters has told a Pennsylvania federal court it needs assistance obtaining emails Clorox purportedly admitted to getting rid of through an auto-delete policy.

  • June 16, 2025

    Weil Guides PE-Backed 365 Retail On $848M Cantaloupe Buy

    Michigan-based 365 Retail Markets, a provider of self-checkout retail technology and a portfolio company of Providence Equity Partners LLC, announced Monday it will acquire Pennsylvania-based Cantaloupe Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at about $848 million.

Expert Analysis

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Del. Supreme Court TripAdvisor Ruling May Limit 'MFW Creep'

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent Maffei v. Palkon ruling regarding TripAdvisor's proposed reincorporation to Nevada potentially signals a turning point in the trend of expanding the protections from Kahn v. M&F Worldwide to other types of transactions, says Andrew J. Haile at Elon University.

  • Antitrust In Retail: Rude Awakening For FTC In Tempur Sealy

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    A Texas federal court's recent denial of a Federal Trade Commision order to stop a giant mattress merger because of lack of evidence on market segments shows that such definitions are only a viable path for regulating vertical mergers if antitrust agencies provide adequate documentation, says David Kully at Holland & Knight.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

  • Compliance Pointers For DOJ's Sweeping Data Security Rule

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    A new Justice Department rule broadly restricts many common data transactions with the goal of preventing access by countries of concern, and with an effective date of April 8, U.S. companies must quickly assess practices related to employee, customer and vendor data, says Sam Castic at Hintze Law.

  • Series

    Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.

  • NC COVID Ruling May Have Greater Coverage Implications

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    While the North Carolina Supreme Court's recent finding in favor of policyholders in a suit for business interruption coverage due to COVID-19 comes too late for most insureds to benefit, it should nonetheless have coverage implications far beyond COVID-19 claims, say attorneys at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • How Southern Calif. Fires Can Affect National, Local Pricing

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    The fire-related California state of emergency declared last month in Los Angeles and Ventura counties triggered laws around price-gouging and pricing restrictions that affect not just individuals and businesses in the state, but also nationwide, meaning sellers should be mindful of how price changes are discussed and rolled out, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Opinion

    DOJ's Visa Suit Shows Pitfalls Of Regulating Innovative Tech

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    A policy of allowing free-market mechanisms to operate without undue interference remains the most effective way to foster innovation, and the U.S. Department of Justice's 2024 case against Visa illustrates the drawbacks of regulating innovative technology, says attorney Thomas Willcox.

  • Opinion

    Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice

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    A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.

  • In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

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    Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

  • 6 Tips For Cos. To Comply With Influencer Gifting Rules

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    A January decision in a National Advertising Division case concerning Revolve Group provides new insights on how the NAD expects companies to manage certain influencer campaigns, including preapproving posts before they go live and considering how they present the disclosure instructions to influencers, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

  • Ƶ's Message To States Takes On New Weight Under Trump

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's January guidance to state enforcers has fresh significance as the Trump administration moves to freeze the bureau's work, and industry should expect states to use this series of recommendations as an enforcement road map, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • What's Next For State Regulation Of Hemp Cannabinoids

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    Based on two recent federal court cases that indisputably fortify broad state authority to regulate intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products, 2025 will feature continued aggressive state regulation of such products as industry stakeholders wait for Congress to release its plans for the next five-year Farm Bill, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • National Bank Act Rulings Facilitate More Preemption Analysis

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    Two recent National Bank Act preemption decisions from an Illinois federal court and the Ninth Circuit provide the first applications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May ruling in Cantero v. Bank of America, opening the potential for several circuit courts to address the issue this year, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

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