Category: 6th Circuit
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“Whiskey Fungus” Claims Not Preempted
A federal court in Kentucky has determined that distillery neighbors may proceed with state law-based tort claims alleging that the facility’s emissions cause “whiskey fungus” to accumulate on their real and personal property. Merrick v. Diageo Americas Supply, Inc., No. 12-0334 (W.D. Ky., Louisville Div., order entered March 19, 2014). Additional details about the lawsuit…
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Sixth Circuit Upholds Restrictions on Liquor Sales in Kentucky
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that Kentucky has a rational basis for restricting the types of retailers that may be issued licenses to sell liquor and wine, thus ruling that the law does not violate grocers’ equal protection rights. Maxwell’s Pic-Pac, Inc. v. Dehner, Nos. 12-6056, -6057, -6182 (6th Cir., decided January…
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Jack Daniel’s Brings Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against Whiskey Maker
According to a news source, Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. has filed a trademark infringement action against the companies that produce and sell Popcorn Sutton’s® Tennessee white whiskey. Jack Daniels Props., Inc. v. J&M Concepts, LLC, No. 13-1156 (M.D. Tenn., filed October 18, 2013). The whiskey is apparently named after an Appalachian moonshiner who killed himself…
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5-Hour Energy Drink Makers Seek Trade Secret Protection in Tennessee
The companies that make 5-Hour Energy have reportedly expanded a quest to keep their recipe from disclosure by seeking the application of a Tennessee law protecting trade secrets to requests made by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and state attorney general for all of the product’s ingredients and their amounts. Information about the…
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JPML Centralizes Actions Alleging Beer Maker Diluted Product
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has ordered the centralization of six actions claiming that Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC, systematically overstated the alcohol content of its malt beverage products by diluting them with water. In Re: Anheuser-Busch Beer Labeling Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2448 (JPML, decided June 10, 2013). The putative class…
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Shareholder Claims YUM! Directors Knew About Tainted Chicken Sales in China
A YUM! Brands shareholder has brought a derivative action on behalf of the company against its officers and directors in a federal court in Kentucky, alleging they inflated the company’s growth predictions and failed to promptly inform shareholders that the company purchased chicken with allegedly excessive levels of antibiotics and toxic chemicals for sale in…
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Settlement over False Halal Ads for McDonald’s Chicken Approved
According to a news source, a Michigan state court has approved a settlement of claims that a McDonald’s franchisee falsely advertised some of its chicken products as halal, or prepared in accordance with Muslim dietary restrictions. Ahmed v. Finley’s Mgmt. Co., No. 11-014559-CZ (Mich. Cir. Ct., Wayne Cty., settlement approved April 17, 2013). The settlement…
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Halal Fraud Settlement Critic Now Free to Oppose It on Facebook
According to a news source, a Michigan judge has lifted a gag order imposed on an attorney who posted information on his Facebook page critical of a proposed settlement of claims that a McDonald’s Corp. franchisee sold as halal certain chicken products without complying with Islamic standards; the court has also granted his request to…