Agriculture & Food

34 ABA Journal Agriculture & Food articles.

‘Gruyere’ is generic description of cheese that isn’t eligible for certification mark, appeals court says

The term “gruyere” is a generic description of cheese and can’t be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a certification mark denoting the region where the cheese is produced, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Mar 9, 2023 8:59 AM CST

8th Circuit upholds food-safety law in suit by pastor who gave bologna sandwiches to homeless people

A pastor and his assistant who were ticketed but not prosecuted for handing out bologna sandwiches to homeless people have lost their First Amendment lawsuit against the city of St. Louis.

Oct 19, 2022 9:05 AM CDT

Lawyer pleads guilty in scheme to defraud program intended to benefit farmers subjected to discrimination

A lawyer in Little Rock, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud Thursday for his involvement in a scheme to file false claims of discrimination in a program intended to benefit farmers.

Aug 8, 2022 8:40 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Bannon convicted for contempt of Congress; suit targets Skittles ingredient

Steve Bannon convicted for contempt of Congress Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before convicting Steve Bannon, a former adviser for former President Donald Trump, on two counts of contempt of Congress on Friday. He was prosecuted for defying a subpoena from the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6,…

Jul 22, 2022 3:28 PM CDT

Overturning precedent, top Iowa court limits nuisance suits against hog farms

The Iowa Supreme Court has made it more difficult for landowners to sue neighboring hog farms for nuisances created by pollution and odor.

Jul 5, 2022 2:31 PM CDT

Food Fight: Do lawsuits challenging product labels benefit consumers?

Legal actions against food and beverage companies over the wording on their labels have exploded in recent years, from just 19 class action lawsuits in 2008 to a record 325 cases filed last year. And lawsuits over whether a “foot-long” sandwich is really 12 inches or whether the unfilled space in a food package is cheating consumers have also grabbed headlines over the years.

Jun 1, 2022 12:00 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: McDonald’s, Wendy’s sued over burger ads; ICE is ‘a domestic surveillance agency,’ report says

Ads exaggerate size of McDonald’s, Wendy’s burgers, suit says Food stylists for McDonald’s and Wendy’s undercook hamburger patties portrayed in advertising to make them appear 15% to 20% larger than the food sold by the fast-food restaurants, a May 17 lawsuit alleges. The would-be class action suit, filed in Brooklyn,…

May 20, 2022 2:12 PM CDT

Darryl Wilson shares love of cooking with others during COVID-19 pandemic

Darryl Wilson, an in-house attorney at Tyson Foods in Springdale, Arkansas, has used cooking as a form of therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic. He launched his own Instagram account, where he regularly posts photos of his dishes, and taught two virtual cooking classes to members of the ABA Young Lawyers Division. “We always have to find things that make us happy and that are fulfilling or rewarding to us,” he says. “Mine just happens to be cooking.”

Jan 20, 2022 9:22 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: ‘Copyright troll’ lawyer is suspended; law grad who married Japanese princess fails bar

‘Copyright troll’ lawyer is suspended in NY A New York appeals court has suspended a lawyer once deemed a “copyright troll” because of the large number of copyright complaints that he filed on behalf of photographers. The Appellate Division’s Second Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court suspended lawyer…

Nov 5, 2021 3:16 PM CDT

Was your turkey raised by ‘independent family farmers’? Activists increasingly target food claims

An increasing number of class action lawsuits are being filed against the food and beverage industry as activists challenge corporate claims about their humane and sustainable practices.

Sep 7, 2021 1:17 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Crowell merger announced; judge reverses himself on juror vaccinations

Crowell & Moring will merge with IP firm Crowell & Moring is merging with Chicago-based Brinks Gilson & Lione, a 61-lawyer intellectual property law firm. Crowell will have more than 625 lawyers after the merger, with new offices in Chicago and Indianapolis. Crowell has also begun a process with the…

Jun 24, 2021 4:37 PM CDT

Lawyer has filed nearly 100 consumer lawsuits over vanilla labeling

Long Island, New York, lawyer Spencer Sheehan wants consumers to know that they are sometimes being deceived by the "vanilla" label on the products that they buy.

Dec 23, 2020 1:19 PM CST

Years of service: Mark Daniel Maloney reflects on journey with Rotary International

“It is an opportunity to connect while you are doing good in the world,” says Mark Daniel Maloney, a member of Blackburn, Maloney and Schuppert and now the immediate past president of Rotary International. “It is wonderful to be a volunteer, but you go in and you perform the service, and you leave.”

Nov 24, 2020 9:02 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Trump campaign eschews conspiracy-minded lawyer; New Jersey law protects judges’ privacy

Trump campaign distances from lawyer Sidney Powell The Trump campaign has distanced itself from lawyer Sidney Powell after she made unsupported claims that voting machines had been rigged and Republican officials in Georgia were part of the scam. “Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own,” the campaign said in…

Nov 23, 2020 4:30 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Jim Bakker warned about COVID-19 claims; Reed Smith widow loses in 7th Circuit

Televangelist told to stop peddling COVID-19 elixir Two state attorneys general and two federal agencies are trying to stop televangelist Jim Bakker from peddling a supplement called Silver Solution as a possible treatment for the COVID-19. The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S Food and Drug administration have sent warning…

Mar 10, 2020 4:35 PM CDT

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