On Thursday, January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), which enforces antitrust law, proposed a rule that would prohibit employers from imposing non-compete clauses on workers. This proposed rule, which can be...more
1/9/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5
Over the past several years, federal courts have rarely allowed slack-fill class actions to survive beyond the motion to dismiss phase. Whether the plaintiffs allege that the packaging is misleading or that the slack-fill is...more
1/19/2022
/ Breach of Warranty ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Fraud ,
False Advertising ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Product Packaging ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Slack-Fill Suits
In October of this year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals analyzed the issue of federal preemption in the context of poultry product labeling. The plaintiff in Cohen v. ConAgra Brands, Inc., brought a putative class action...more
12/16/2021
/ All Natural ,
ConAgra ,
Department of Agriculture ,
False Advertising ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Online Advertisements ,
Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). ,
Preemption ,
Product Labels ,
Putative Class Actions ,
State Law Claims ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The uptick in product labeling lawsuits has been anything but vanilla in 2021. After the avalanche of lawsuits in 2019 and 2020 targeting products marketed as containing vanilla-flavoring were largely dismissed by federal...more
The U.S. antitrust laws are slow to keep up with technical innovation and changing marketplaces. Nowhere is that more evident than in the tech sector, where companies and other players in the market do not fit neatly into...more
10/28/2021
/ Amazon ,
Anti-Steering Rules ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
App Store ,
Apple ,
Big Tech ,
Competition ,
EPIC ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gaming ,
Google ,
Mobile Apps ,
Monopolization ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Video Games
In April of 2019, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a decision in Muransky v. Godiva Chocolatier Inc. that was widely viewed as swinging open the doors of courts in the circuit...more
On Monday, Northern District of Illinois Judge Virginia M. Kendall denied three motions to dismiss a putative class action alleging that the nation’s leading turkey suppliers—including Butterball, Cargill, House of Raeford,...more
As the Bilzin Sumberg team previously reported in June 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted four executives from Pilgrim’s Pride and Claxton Poultry for their participation in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids...more
10/27/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food Supply ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Retail Market
Earlier this month, the Attorney General’s Office of the State of New York filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court against Hillandale Farms alleging that the company gouged egg prices during the COVID-19 pandemic....more
8/28/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Goods or Services ,
Manufacturers ,
Price Gouging ,
Price Inflation ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Supply Chain ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
White Collar Crimes
In the latest of a series of antitrust lawsuits involving the food industry, a Virginia federal court last week denied a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging a price-fixing conspiracy in the peanut market....more
Work in the restaurant industry is a grind on a good day. Long hours, revolving staff, never-ending customer expectations, seasonality, supply chain issues, and intense competition are just a few of the daily headaches. As...more
5/14/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Florida ,
Infrastructure ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Risk Management ,
Social Distancing ,
Strategic Planning ,
Workplace Safety
On March 19, 2020, Magistrate Judge Goodman recommended certifying a Florida class of purchasers of Prevagen, a memory-enhancement product developed by Quincy Bioscience, LLC....more
If you are a typical shopper, the last thing on your mind at the checkout counter is your printed credit card receipt. As you juggle your grocery store bags, you might absentmindedly fold the receipt into your wallet, or...more
10/10/2019
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
FACTA ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Point of Sale Terminals ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing
When people think about this year’s food industry trends, they may envision app-based grocery delivery services, the Keto diet, and restaurants that serve all locally-sourced ingredients....more
Have you ever taken a sip of your Grande Starbucks latte and thought to yourself with disgust, “I can’t believe that barista topped off my latte with milk foam!” Or polished off an eight-piece bucket of Kentucky Fried...more