In an opinion Monday, Judge Rochon denied a motion to dismiss a trademark suit brought by Danone, which makes STōK cold brew coffee against Chobani, which makes a “La Colombe”-branded competing product, over the phrase “BRIGHT & MELLOW” used on
The SDNY Blog, published by Steptoe LLP, covers legal developments and court decisions from the Southern District of New York. It reports on a variety of civil litigation topics including corporate disputes, intellectual property cases such as copyright infringement, antitrust and monopoly litigation, and technology-related legal issues like data scraping and AI. The blog also discusses procedural matters such as injunctions, trial management, and attorney fee awards. It highlights judicial reasoning and rulings by district judges on complex commercial and regulatory matters, providing insight into litigation strategies and court practices in one of the nation's key federal districts.
In an opinion Monday, Judge Rochon denied a motion to dismiss a trademark suit brought by Danone, which makes STōK cold brew coffee against Chobani, which makes a “La Colombe”-branded competing product, over the phrase “BRIGHT & MELLOW” used on…
On Friday, Judge Liman granted Blake Lively’s motion for attorneys’ fees and costs, but denied her request for damages (including treble and punitive damages), following the court’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Justin Baldoni and his production company accusing…
In an opinion Friday, Judge Vyskocil exercised her discretion in refusing to adjudicate a declaratory judgment action filed by journalist Michael Wolff in state court (later removed) seeking a declaration that he did not defame Melania Trump. Ms. Trump’s lawyers…
In an opinion filed on Thursday, Judge McMahon granted summary judgment to plaintiffs on their claims that the Government’s April 2025 mass termination of more than 1,400 National Endowment for the Humanities (“NEH”) grants was unconstitutional and ultra vires (see…
In an opinion yesterday, Judge Furman allowed former AUSA Maurene Comey to pursue her wrongful termination claims in federal court, denying DOJ’s argument that the claim belonged exclusively before the MSRB. Comey’s main allegation is that she was fired because…
In a decision Monday, Judge McMahon granted summary judgment in favor of the author of the Crave series of “romantasy” fiction in a suit accusing the author of allegedly lifting major aspects of the books from the plaintiff, an unpublished…
In an opinion today, Judge Engelmayer dismissed all claims brought by retired Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau against the makers of the “30 for 30” documentary about the Jets 1980 defensive line, colloquially known as the “New York Sack Exchange.”…
On Tuesday, Judge Cronan dismissed for the second time plaintiffs’ putative class action alleging that defendant Supergoop’s sunscreen contains a lower SPF than labeled. Both times, the Court found that plaintiffs failed to establish standing by inadequately pleading injury-in-fact.
Rather…
In an opinion filed on Friday, Judge Caproni denied the National Football League’s renewed attempt to compel arbitration in an employment discrimination action brought by a putative class of current and former NFL coaches (the “Coaches”). Initially filed in 2022,…
On Thursday, Judge McMahon granted a motion by a putative class of federal grant recipients to compel the production of certain documents withheld by defendants National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Department of Government Efficiencies (DOGE) as privileged.…