The United States District Court for the District of Oregon recently denied a marijuana grower’s motion to dismiss a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) lawsuit in Momtazi Family, LLC v. Wagner et al.,...more
10/4/2019
/ Adjacent Property Owners ,
Agribusiness ,
Farms ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Loss of Value ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Property Owners ,
Property Valuation ,
Real Estate Market ,
RICO
Chief Judge Tunheim recently dismissed, with leave to amend, the class complaints in In Re Pork Antitrust Litigation. The Pork case— filed in the District of Minnesota against Tyson, Hormel, JBS and other major pork...more
9/12/2019
/ Agribusiness ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Cartels ,
Class Action ,
Collusion ,
Conspiracies ,
Discovery ,
Farm Animals ,
Hormel ,
Leave to Amend ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Price-Fixing ,
Tyson Foods
Eager to curb foodborne-illness outbreaks, retail giants like Walmart and Albertsons are turning to blockchain technology to track exactly where their foods are coming from. Blockchain, as compared to the eye-straining,...more
8/21/2019
/ Beverage Manufacturers ,
Blockchain ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Data Management ,
Food Contamination ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Safety ,
Grocery Stores ,
Retail Market ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain
The active ingredient in popular weed killers, glyphosate, has gotten bad press lately. Thousands of plaintiffs have alleged that exposure to it caused their cancers. Jurors have responded by invoking punitive damages and...more
8/16/2019
/ Article III ,
Cancer ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Public Health ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
What started out as a proposed merger between two of the largest packaged seafood manufacturers spawned a lengthy criminal investigation into antitrust violations in the tuna industry by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and...more
8/2/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Class Certification ,
Competition ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Price-Fixing ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Seafood
Capitalizing on an increasingly health and environmentally conscious era, plant-based meat substitute companies are positioning themselves as the future of protein. On May 2, 2019, Beyond Meat became the first plant-based...more
When it rains, it pours—and for the country’s largest protein producers, the downpour is coming in the form of high-profile antitrust lawsuits. Over the past few years, food giants like Tyson and JBS (majority owner of...more
5/24/2019
/ Agribusiness ,
Cargill ,
Class Action ,
Farm Animals ,
Food Supply ,
Foreign Suppliers ,
Mercantile Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Purchase Price ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Salmon ,
Suppliers ,
Supply Chain ,
Tyson Foods
Price-fixing cases over the past decade have read like a virtual electronics product materials list. Government investigators and civil plaintiffs have pursued actions involving a wide array of electronic parts ranging from...more
5/7/2019
/ Amnesty ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Conspiracies ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Supply ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Price-Fixing ,
Retail Market ,
Seafood
Historically, all forms of cannabis—both hemp and marijuana—have been federally designated as illegal substances. That all changed this past December when the President signed the Agricultural Improvement Act (2018 Farm Bill)...more
4/29/2019
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Emerging Markets ,
Farm Bill ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Safety ,
Food Supply ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Marijuana-Infused Edibles ,
Public Hearing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process
In the Wake of Monsanto, All Eyes are on the Cheerios Glyphosate Case -
Doss v. General Mills, No. 18-cv-61924 (S.D. Fla Aug.17, 2018) -
The Skinny: Last fall, a jury in California awarded $289 million to a plaintiff...more
4/26/2019
/ Beverage Manufacturers ,
Children's Products ,
False Advertising ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Marketing ,
General Mills ,
Monsanto ,
Pesticides ,
Product Labels ,
Standing ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
Malic Acid: Newest Culprit in “Natural” Marketing Case Trend -
Hilsley v. Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., No. 17-cv-2335, 2018 WL 6245894 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 29, 2018) -
The Skinny: Malic acid is a common food ingredient...more
Food and Beverage Deception Cases Still Must Pass the “Are you Serious?” Test -
Becerra v. The Coca-Cola Co., No. 17-cv-05916, 2018 WL 1070823 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 27, 2018) -
The Skinny: It is not Coca-Cola’s fault if you...more
In the Third and Eleventh Circuits, Ascertainability Continues to be a Major Certification Hurdle -
In Re: Tropicana Orange Juice Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., No. 2:11-cv-07382, 2018 WL 497071 (D.N.J. Jan. 22, 2018)....more
The saying goes, knowledge equals power. For plaintiffs asserting claims for injunctive relief on behalf of putative classes, however, the Mott’s Apple Juice case demonstrates just the opposite....more
10/30/2018
/ Article III ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Marketing ,
FRCP 23(b)(2) ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
Mott's ,
Standing ,
Summary Judgment ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
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
On September 26, 2018, the Honorable Judge Robert N. Scola entered an Order denying class certification in a consumer deceptive advertising case. Plaintiffs claimed that the use of the phrase “born in brazil” on containers of...more
10/19/2018
/ Advertising ,
Ascertainable Class ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Dismissals ,
False Advertising ,
Food Labeling ,
FRCP 23 ,
Retail Market ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
At a recent Politico event, Federal Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb signaled the agency’s shift to a new era of more stringent enforcement in the dairy business. Gottlieb did so with an amusing quote:...more
8/17/2018
/ False Advertising ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Marketing ,
Food Supply ,
Misbranding ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Nutrition Facts Labels ,
Plant Based Products ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards
Food and beverage manufacturers are well accustomed to heeding counsel’s advice of dotting their “I’s” and crossing their “T’s” to ensure their product labels comply with applicable governmental regulations....more
You clearly know the difference between the meat and vegetables on your plate, right? As society has redefined its views on meat and protein intake, however, you may not be so sure....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
Certain restaurant owners have less than two months to comply with a new Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) regulation. ...more
With the mortgage crisis almost a decade in the rear-view mirror, some harmed homeowners are just now starting to see reparations for the transgressions of the country’s largest financial institutions.
...more
7/17/2014
/ Bank of America ,
Banks ,
Citigroup ,
Foreclosure ,
Goldman Sachs ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Mortgages ,
OCC ,
Robo-Signing ,
Settlement ,
Wall Street ,
Wells Fargo
Florida recently joined the federal courts and 40 other states in adopting the Daubert standard for admissibility of expert testimony....more