Ƶ

Retail & E-Commerce

  • June 02, 2025

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    The Federal Trade Commission finally dropped its long-pending challenge of Microsoft's purchase of video game developer Activision Blizzard, as enforcers pushed monopolization cases seeking to break up Google, Meta and Live Nation, while also pursuing several traditional merger cases. Here, Law360 looks at the major merger review developments from May.

  • June 02, 2025

    Amazon Gets Sex Bias Claims Cut From Ex-Worker's Bias Suit

    Amazon escaped part of a former executive assistant's lawsuit alleging he was passed over for promotions and belittled by a supervisor because he's Black and gay, with a Georgia federal judge on Monday adopting a report that found several of his claims were filed too late.

  • June 02, 2025

    Paul Weiss-Led Roark Closes $1B Dave's Hot Chicken Buy

    Paul Weiss said Monday it is representing Roark Capital on its acquisition of Dave's Hot Chicken at an approximately $1 billion value, as the fried chicken chain cashes in after an eight-year journey that was said to have started in a parking lot with some portable fryers. 

  • June 02, 2025

    Allergan Entities Get Booted From Botox Patent Suit In Del.

    A Delaware federal judge has dismissed a pair of Allergan units from a suit alleging two biotechnology companies infringed patents related to Botox products, finding one unit had not shown it was actually the exclusive licensee to the disputed patents, while another agreed to be dismissed.

  • June 02, 2025

    Defamation Litigation Roundup: Cheetos, NASCAR, OpenAI

    In this month's review of ongoing defamation fights, Law360 looks back on developments in a man's case against Frito-Lay Inc. over what he called the company's defamatory statements disputing his role in the invention of a flavor of Cheetos.

  • June 02, 2025

    Ashurst, King & Wood Guide $9.1B Soul Patts Merger Plan

    Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd. and building products maker Brickworks Ltd. plan to merge into a company with a market capitalization of AU$14 billion ($9.1 billion), aiming to eliminate a decades-old cross-shareholding structure and create a unified entity, the Australian investment firm disclosed on Monday.

  • May 30, 2025

    'Not Sure It Fits': Google Judge Challenges DOJ AI Boost Idea

    Generative artificial intelligence may be the future of online search, but a D.C. federal judge cast doubt Friday on the Justice Department's bid to force Google to share and syndicate its search results with companies like OpenAI as he mulls what remedies to impose against Google's search monopoly.

  • May 30, 2025

    'Humongous' Apple Must Face Boosted 186M Antitrust Class

    A California federal judge on Friday granted App Store users' request to amend their class definition in a yearslong antitrust fight against Apple, rejecting Apple's argument that the changes unfairly add millions of new members and noting that the 185.9 million-member class stems from the fact Apple is "humongous."

  • May 30, 2025

    Meta Looks To Nix FTC's Lead Econ Expert After Antitrust Trial

    Meta Platforms asked a D.C. federal judge Friday to strike testimony the Federal Trade Commission's lead economics expert gave during a bench trial in the antitrust case over Meta's purchase of Instagram and WhatsApp, saying the "biased witness" — a New York University School of Law professor — "advocated" for the case.

  • May 30, 2025

    Shopper Wants Class Cert. In Mistranslated Cookie Label Suit

    A shopper has urged a California federal court to certify three classes of consumers accusing a Japanese convenience store chain of selling snacks with dangerously mistranslated English labels that failed to disclose nut allergens, arguing common legal issues predominate because the company used "uniformly mistranslated" labeling across thousands of products.

  • May 30, 2025

    Wholesalers Take Rejected 5-Hour Energy Suit To 9th Circ.

    Family-owned wholesalers want the Ninth Circuit to take a look at a recent ruling that said while they were able to show the maker of 5-Hour Energy committed price discrimination by offering Costco disproportionate promotions, they weren't able to show that discrimination hurt them.

  • May 30, 2025

    TopCo Settles Suit Over Cough Syrup Billed As 'Non-Drowsy'

    The parties in a lawsuit alleging Tussin cough syrup's "non-drowsy" label is deceptive because the syrup makes users sleepy told an Illinois federal judge that they've reached a binding settlement that would end the case.

  • May 30, 2025

    Nicotine Tax Dispute Heads To Texas Supreme Court

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review a dispute over whether a vape company that sells oral nicotine products should be subject to a state tax on tobacco products.

  • May 30, 2025

    Google Must Turn Over Docs About Potential Ad Tech Breakup

    A Virginia federal court granted a request from government agencies on Friday for internal Google LLC reports analyzing a potential breakup of its ad tech business, as the sides ready for a September trial to determine what remedies to impose on Google for monopolizing key ad tech markets.

  • May 30, 2025

    Peet's Coffee, AddShoppers Beat Cert. Bid In Privacy Suit

    A California federal judge refused to certify a proposed class action alleging AddShoppers and Peet's Coffee illegally tracked visitors' browsing activities to send targeted advertising emails, ruling Thursday that the named plaintiffs' claims are not typical of the groups they want to represent, since they did not receive emails about any products.

  • May 30, 2025

    Woman's $56M Slow Cooker Burn Verdict Reduced To $8.8M

    A Colorado federal judge has reduced a nearly $56 million verdict in favor of a woman who suffered burns after her slow cooker exploded while in use, awarding her $8.8 million after applying the state's statutory caps on noneconomic and exemplary damages.

  • May 30, 2025

    NJ Pot Shop Fails To Prove Urgency In $273K Fund Dispute

    A New Jersey federal judge on Friday declined to unfreeze $273,820 of a dispensary's funding frozen in an account between a payment processor and a Florida bank, saying the dispensary hasn't shown it is at risk of insolvency without the money.

  • May 30, 2025

    Giant Eagle Worker Seeks Initial OK For $669K ERISA Deal

    A proposed class of employees at Pennsylvania-based gas and grocery chain Giant Eagle asked a federal court for preliminary approval of an almost $669,000 settlement of their claims that the company overspent their retirement savings on administrative fees.

  • May 30, 2025

    Bass Pro Reels In Final Approval For $5M Tobacco Suit Deal

    A Missouri federal judge has granted final approval to a $4.95 million settlement in a lawsuit that accused Bass Pro Shops of failing to tell employees who used tobacco how they could avoid incurring an extra $2,000-per-year charge for health insurance.

  • May 30, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Cravath, Latham

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, WiseTech completes a $2.1 billion merger with E2open, Acrisure buys a payroll management company for $1.1 billion and Hailey Bieber sells her Rhode skincare and makeup company to e.l.f. beauty for $1 billion.

  • May 29, 2025

    Eyemart Shakes Suit Over Sharing Of Health Data With Meta

    A Texas federal judge has tossed a proposed class action accusing Eyemart Express LLC of unlawfully sharing information about website visitors with Meta Platforms Inc., finding that the plaintiffs had failed to allege that any of their private health data had been sent to the social media platform. 

  • May 29, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Says Spa's Rule On Certain Trans Women Biased

    A divided Ninth Circuit refused to reinstate a Korean spa's constitutional challenge against the Washington State Human Rights Commission and ordered it to rescind its policy denying admission to trans women without gender-affirming surgery, noting Thursday the policy violated state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

  • May 29, 2025

    FTC Seeks To Push Amazon Antitrust Trial To 2027

    The Federal Trade Commission and Amazon on Wednesday fought over the agency's proposal to push back an antitrust trial into 2027 to account for the e-commerce giant's alleged efforts to obstruct discovery, with Amazon telling a Washington federal judge that it was the FTC that insisted on a burdensome discovery.

  • May 29, 2025

    Amazon Says Class Too Complex To Certify In Antitrust Suit

    Amazon has told a Washington federal judge in a newly unsealed filing that a proposed class of nearly 300 million customers would be far too unwieldy for certification and defining the market in a suit accusing the company of inflating prices of items sold on its platform.

  • May 29, 2025

    Columbia Sportswear Gets Mixed Trade Secrets Ruling

    An Oregon federal judge has partially sided with motions by Columbia Sportswear Co. and a former employee in a case alleging the worker took trade secrets with him when he left the company, but denied the bulk of the requests from all parties seeking to end the suit in their favor.

Expert Analysis

  • What's At Stake In High Court's Class Member Standing Case

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s eventual decision in Labcorp v. Davis could significantly alter how parties prosecute and defend class actions in federal court, particularly if the court determines some proof of member standing is required before a class may be certified, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • 5 Keys To Building Stronger Attorney-Client Relationships

    Author Photo

    Attorneys are often focused on being seen as the expert, but bonding with clients and prospects by sharing a few key personal details provides the basis for a caring, trusted and profoundly deeper business relationship, says Deb Feder at Feder Development.

  • Series

    Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

    Author Photo

    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

    Author Photo

    “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'

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Retail & E-Commerce archive.