The Food Court

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A Recipe for Disaster: The Impact of COVID-19 on Food Safety and the Food Industry

By Benjamin Mitchel, Lori Lustrin & Melissa Pallett-Vasquez

March 11, 2020

The rapid spread of COVID-19 (also commonly referred to as “novel coronavirus”) has caused nations and organizations across the world to take emergency action in the interest of public health. Most companies are issuing statements advocating for consistent hygiene (handwashing and minimal face touching) aimed at containing the spread of the virus. Other companies are taking more aggressive action by instituting work from home policies and even travel bans. The food industry is particularly susceptible…

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Class Certification Granted to Kraft Investors Alleging Wheat Market Rigging

By Brianna Sainte & Lori Lustrin

February 26, 2020

U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang in the Northern District of Illinois recently granted certification in a wheat market rigging suit filed against Kraft Foods Group Inc. (“Kraft”). The class, comprised of Chicago Board of Trade (“CBT”) wheat market investors, alleges that Kraft artificially manipulated the wheat commodities market by taking sizable futures positions to influence prices. Specifically, the class of investors alleges that Kraft purchased $90 million (15 million bushels) of December 2011 wheat…

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Atlantic Salmon Producers Netted by DOJ

By Lori Lustrin, Scott N. Wagner & Benjamin Mitchel

November 27, 2019

This month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) opened a criminal investigation into collusive behavior among some of the largest producers of Atlantic salmon. This inquiry follows the DOJ’s June announcement of its separate investigation into the chicken industry. Atlantic salmon producers implicated by the investigation include Grieg Seafood, SalMar, Leroy Seafood Group, and Mowi. The launch of the U.S. inquiry comes on the heels of the European Commission’s (EC) announcement of an investigation into the Atlantic…

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Will the Eleventh Circuit Fall in Line with its Sister Circuits in Interpreting Spokeo’s Standing Requirements in FACTA Cases?

By Ilana Drescher & Lori Lustrin

October 10, 2019

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 crumble it up and drop it into the depths of your bag. However, for more than a decade, printed credit card receipts have been the subject of considerable litigation all over the country. The Fair and…

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District of Oregon Holds that Vineyard’s RICO Suit Against Neighboring Marijuana Grower is More than just Sour Grapes

By Shalia M. Sakona & Lori Lustrin

October 4, 2019

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., No. 3:19-cv-00476-ER (D. Or. Aug. 27, 2019) [Doc. No. 26] (“Order”). The plaintiff in the case is the former operator and current lessor of a biodynamic vineyard in Oregon, whose property abuts the defendant’s marijuana farm. The crux of the…

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StarKist on the Hook for $100M Fine for Tuna Price-Fixing

By Scott N. Wagner & Luis M. Reyes

September 24, 2019

StarKist, the country’s largest producer of canned tuna, was hit with a $100 million fine for its participation in a conspiracy that inflated prices for canned tuna. The judge handed down the sentence for the maximum fine allowed under the law on September 11, 2019. StarKist’s sentence brings to a close the prosecution of the nation’s three largest canned tuna producers for their participation in a wide-ranging conspiracy to fix the price of tuna sold…

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Pork Price-Fixing Complaint Dismissed: Class Plaintiffs Will Amend

By Luis M. Reyes & Lori Lustrin

September 11, 2019

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 producers—alleged a conspiracy beginning in 2009 to inflate artificially the price of pork sold in the United States. While the court was “unwilling to force Defendants into significant and costly discovery without plausible allegations that they engaged in the…

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Trouble in Paradise for Bacardi and Winn-Dixie Over New FDUTPA Class Action

By Shalia M. Sakona & Melissa Pallett-Vasquez

September 6, 2019

Eighty-six years after the repeal of Prohibition, Bacardi USA and Winn-Dixie are facing a putative class action predicated on Florida Statute Section 572.455, a 150 year-old remnant of the temperance movement. In Uri Marrache v. Bacardi USA, Inc., et al., Case No. 2019-023668-CA-01 (Miami-Dade Cir. Ct. Aug. 9, 2019), Plaintiff alleges that Bombay Sapphire gin, a Bacardi product sold at Winn-Dixie, is “adulterated” with grains of paradise in violation of Section 572.455 and Florida’s Deceptive…

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Blockchain Will Likely Make a Meaningful Impact on “Big Food” Litigation

By Lori Lustrin

August 20, 2019

Eager to curb foodborne-illness outbreaks, retail giants like Walmart and Albertsons are turning to blockchain technology [1] to track exactly where their foods are coming from. Blockchain, as compared to the eye-straining, paper-heavy tracking systems before it, allows retailers to trace the supply-chain history for a single food item within seconds. For example, in a test case using IBM’s blockchain technology, Walmart traced the supply chain for two off-the-shelf mangoes randomly taken from one of…

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Speculative Claims Sink Cheerios Glyphosate Suit

By Luis M. Reyes, Lori Lustrin & Melissa Pallett-Vasquez

August 15, 2019

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 awarding billion dollar verdicts. These headline-grabbing results have been subsequently reduced by court on legal grounds. Some advocacy groups are claiming that the chemical’s presence extends beyond weed killers. For example, the Environmental Working Group recently conducted a study that purports to…

The Food Court

Serving up the latest legal developments impacting the Food & Beverage Industry

A Recipe for Disaster: The Impact of COVID-19 on Food Safety and the Food Industry

Class Certification Granted to Kraft Investors Alleging Wheat Market Rigging

Atlantic Salmon Producers Netted by DOJ

Will the Eleventh Circuit Fall in Line with its Sister Circuits in Interpreting Spokeo’s Standing Requirements in FACTA Cases?

District of Oregon Holds that Vineyard’s RICO Suit Against Neighboring Marijuana Grower is More than just Sour Grapes

StarKist on the Hook for $100M Fine for Tuna Price-Fixing

Pork Price-Fixing Complaint Dismissed: Class Plaintiffs Will Amend

Trouble in Paradise for Bacardi and Winn-Dixie Over New FDUTPA Class Action

Blockchain Will Likely Make a Meaningful Impact on “Big Food” Litigation

Speculative Claims Sink Cheerios Glyphosate Suit

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