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Retail & E-Commerce

  • August 15, 2025

    'Alarm Should Ring': Judge Blocks FTC's Media Matters Probe

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge Friday preliminarily blocked the Federal Trade Commission from moving forward with its investigation into the left-leaning Media Matters for America, saying the investigation is likely a retaliatory response to an article reporting that ads on Twitter appeared next to antisemitic posts following Elon Musk's acquisition.

  • August 15, 2025

    Stewart Issues Dozens More Discretionary Denial Decisions

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart denied numerous petitions challenging patents on discretionary grounds this week, while referring a smaller number of cases to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • August 15, 2025

    Ohio Justices Back Landlord In Speedway Store Leases Suit

    The Ohio Supreme Court has sided with a landlord embroiled in a lease renewal dispute with a tenant that subleased 24 properties to major convenience store chain Speedway LLC, ruling that the tenant didn't make a mistake when it negligently failed to renew its leases on time.

  • August 15, 2025

    Amazon Keeps Damages Expert For FTC's Prime Case

    A Washington federal judge refused Friday to nix an Amazon.com expert from the Federal Trade Commission case accusing the retail giant of using "dark patterns" to trick users into Prime subscriptions, allowing the jury to hear arguments that the FTC's accusations under an online shopping protection law are "an unpredictable departure."

  • August 15, 2025

    Post Holdings Sued Over Citric Acid In Pet Food

    A California woman is suing Post Holdings Inc. in federal court, alleging that it uses artificially made citric acid as a preservative in its dog food products despite the labels claiming they contain no preservatives.

  • August 15, 2025

    NY Judge Orders Temu Users To Arbitrate Data Claims

    A New York federal judge ordered a group of plaintiffs accusing online bargain app Temu of privacy violations to arbitrate their claims, saying an arbitration agreement in the company's terms is not unconscionable and that an arbitrator must determine the pact's scope.

  • August 15, 2025

    Epson, Amazon Awarded $7.2M In Counterfeit Ink Suit

    A Washington federal judge has granted Amazon and Seiko Epson default judgment against a group accused of selling counterfeit printer ink, agreeing to the two companies' request for $7.2 million in damages.

  • August 15, 2025

    Kirkland Guides Latest Purchase For PE-Backed Pet Food Co.

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP is advising Inspired Pet Nutrition on another pet food acquisition as the U.K.-based company enters exclusive negotiations to purchase Ultra Premium Direct, a French online pet food retailer, from private equity firm Eurazeo.

  • August 15, 2025

    Vape Cos. Urge 4th Circ. To Halt NC E-Cigarette Law

    A coalition of vaping interests is urging the Fourth Circuit to find that a North Carolina law prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is blocked by federal policy.

  • August 15, 2025

    Google Asks 9th Circ. To Rethink Play Store Antitrust Ruling

    Google urged the Ninth Circuit to reconsider a panel's decision to affirm a jury's findings that it monopolized the Android app market, saying the panel made several missteps when evaluating the claims and contended the injunction issued as a result of the verdict goes too far.

  • August 15, 2025

    LA Judge Upholds $2M Award In Cannabis Investment Battle

    A Los Angeles state court judge upheld a $2.25 million judgment against the manager of a medical marijuana collective accused of defrauding an investor, chastising him for "never even" attempting to bring in key evidence that would allegedly help his case.

  • August 15, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Wachtell, Cooley, Sullivan

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, the NBA signs off on the sale of the Boston Celtics, Gildan Activewear acquires HanesBrands, private equity shop Advent International buys insurance software firm Sapiens, and financial software provider MeridianLink goes private via its acquisition by Centerbridge Partners.

  • August 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive 3M Worker's Noncompete Dispute

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday declined to revive a former 3M Co. employee's lawsuit over a noncompete provision in his employment contract, agreeing with a Washington federal court's finding that the complaint failed to allege 3M actually enforced or leveraged the noncompete in violation of state law.

  • August 14, 2025

    Nursing Home Pharmacy Co. Hits Ch. 11 With $51M Sale Plan

    Partners Pharmacy Services LLC, which provides medications to patients in long-term care facilities across seven U.S. states, has filed for Chapter 11 protection in Texas, with plans for an asset sale to its prepetition lender, who is an existing indirect owner, for a $51 million credit bid.

  • August 14, 2025

    Grubhub, Driver Ink $24.8M Deal To End Decade-Long Dispute

    Grubhub Inc. and a former delivery driver who accused the mobile food delivery platform of misclassifying him as an independent contractor have reached a $24.75 million settlement in his nearly decade-old lawsuit, with the driver deeming the deal an "excellent result" for a proposed settlement class of California drivers.

  • August 14, 2025

    ATF Says Ban On Buying Handguns Out Of State Is Valid

    The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives asked a Texas federal judge to shoot down a bid from a gun store to overturn the federal ban on citizens purchasing handguns outside their state of residence, saying the law has historic backing.

  • August 14, 2025

    PTAB Axes Most Claims In Signify Lighting Patent

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has found that most of the claims in a Signify Holdings BV lighting patent challenged by Luminex International Co. Ltd. and home improvement chain Menard Inc. were invalid.

  • August 14, 2025

    Rumble's Ad Boycott Suit Tossed For Now

    A Texas federal court tossed Rumble's antitrust case against the World Federation of Advertisers and others after finding the claims about a boycott of the video-sharing site, after it refused to follow safety standards, have no connection to the state.

  • August 14, 2025

    Wilcox Case Dims Amazon NLRB Injunction Hopes At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared unlikely Thursday to block the National Labor Relations Board from pressing a case against Amazon, as judges noted the company appears to already have the prize its suit seeks: an end to the bar on the president removing NLRB members.

  • August 14, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Upholds Hoverboard Co.'s Design Patent Loss

    An Illinois federal judge properly followed the Federal Circuit's orders when throwing out an infringement suit over hoverboard designs, the appeals court affirmed Thursday.

  • August 14, 2025

    Ex-Market Basket Execs Banned From Co. Sites Amid Feud

    A Massachusetts judge on Thursday barred two former Market Basket executives from returning to any of its stores or headquarters amid a fight for control over the regional supermarket chain, three days after the company went to court to enforce no-trespassing orders.

  • August 14, 2025

    Beef Consumers Settle With Cargill In Price-Fixing MDL

    Beef consumers have disclosed a new settlement in a consolidated Minnesota federal court litigation accusing major beef producers of price-fixing, resolving their piece of the case against Cargill.

  • August 14, 2025

    Cargill's $4M Deal Advances In Turkey Price-Fix Case

    An Illinois federal judge on Thursday granted his initial approval to a $4 million deal Cargill has reached with commercial and institutional indirect purchaser plaintiffs in antitrust litigation accusing poultry producers of conspiring to pad the price of the bird, saying the amount provides "tangible and substantial" relief to the class.

  • August 14, 2025

    Bob's Discount Furniture Could Go Public, And Other Rumors

    Bob's Discount Furniture may boast about its "Oh My Bob" low prices in TV ads, but the retailer's quirky marketing and expanding e-commerce have helped boost sales to roughly $2 billion last year — a performance that a Wall Street Journal report said could support a $1 billion IPO.

  • August 14, 2025

    Insurer Avoids Bad Faith Claims In $2M Vandalism Case

    A California state court dismissed a property owner's claims that its insurer refused in bad faith to cover nearly $2 million in vandalism losses after its tenant, a cannabis cultivator, ended its lease, but found the owner's breach of contract claim can still proceed to trial.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ'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.

  • Series

    Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.

  • Emphasize Social Spaces During RE Project Public Review

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    As Boston continues to work through revisions to its public review process for real estate projects, developers attempting to balance impact mitigation and community improvements may benefit from emphasizing the ways in which development plans can facilitate open social exchange, says David Linhart at Goulston & Storrs.

  • Preparing For Stricter Anti-Boycott Enforcement Under Trump

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    Given the complexity of U.S. anti-boycott regulations and the likelihood of stepped-up enforcement under the new administration, companies should consider adopting risk-based anti-boycott compliance programs that include training employees to recognize and assess potential boycott requests, and to report them expeditiously when necessary, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Complying With Calif. Price-Gouging Law After LA Fires

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    The recent tragic Los Angeles fires have brought attention to the state's sometimes controversial price-gouging protections, and every California business should keep the law's requirements in mind, despite the debate over whether these statutes help consumers, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Opinion

    Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay

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    Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.

  • Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

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    Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

  • A Compliance Update For Credit Card Reward Partnerships

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    While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's interest in credit card rewards programs could fade under the new administration, a recent circular focusing on both issuers and their merchant partners means that co-brand credit card partnerships with banks could be subject to increased scrutiny ahead, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Will 4th Time Be A Charm For NY's 21st Century Antitrust Act?

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    New York's recently introduced 21st Century Antitrust Act would change the landscape of antitrust enforcement in the state and probably result in a sharp increase in claims — but first, the bill needs to gain traction after three aborted attempts, says Tyler Ross at Shinder Cantor.

  • Perspectives

    Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

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    KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Foreign Trade Zones Can Help Cos. With Tariff Exposure

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    Companies navigating shifts in global trade — like the Trump administration’s newly levied tariffs on Chinese goods — should consider whether the U.S. Department of Commerce's poorly understood foreign trade zone program could help reduce their import costs, says James Grogan at FTI Consulting.

  • Critical Steps For Navigating Intensified OFAC Enforcement

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    The largely overlooked SkyGeek settlement from the end of 2024 heralds the arrival of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's long anticipated enhanced enforcement posture and clearly demonstrates the sanctions-compliance benefits of immediately responding to blocked payments, says Jeremy Paner at Hughes Hubbard.

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