Tag: Illinois
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Court Clears Way for Chicago SSB Tax, Dismissing Retailers’ Lawsuit
A sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax will go into effect in Chicago and surrounding suburbs following a Cook County court’s dissolution of a temporary restraining order and dismissal of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association’s lawsuit alleging the tax violated the state’s constitution. Illinois Retail Merchs. Ass’n v. Cook Cty. Dep’t of Revenue, No. 2017L050596 (Ill. Cir. Ct.,…
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Appeals Court Upholds Pause on Chicago SSB Tax
The Illinois Appellate Court has upheld a temporary restraining order that stopped a proposed one-cent per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) from going into effect in Cook County on July 1, 2017. Illinois Retail Merchs. Ass’n v. Cook Cty. Dep’t of Revenue, No. 2017L050596 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook Cty., filed June 27, 2017). The Illinois Retail…
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Putative Class Action Claims Slack-Fill Violations in Chocolate Packaging
Candy maker Fannie May faces a proposed class action alleging the confectioner underfilled some of its 7-ounce chocolate boxes by as much as 50 percent. Benson v. Fannie May, No. 17-3519 (N.D. Ill., filed May 10, 2017). The allegations involve boxes of Hot Fudge Truffles, Mint Meltaways , Peanut Butter Buckeyes, milk and dark Sea…
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Soft Drink Taxes Gain Nationwide Traction
Four cities and one county have reportedly passed taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), joining Berkeley, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in adopting measures purportedly designed to curb sugary-drink consumption. According to media sources, voters in Boulder, Colorado, passed a 2-cent-per-ounce excise tax on SSB distributors, while those in San Francisco, Oakland and Albany, California, passed a…
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Illinois Lawsuit Claims Contaminated Feed Killed Horses
Two horse owners have filed a lawsuit against Archer Daniels MidlandCo. alleging feed produced by its subsidiary, ADM Alliance Nutrition, was contaminated with monensin, a cattle-feed additive poisonous to horses. Berarov v. Archer Daniels Midland Co., No. 16-7355 (N.D. Ill., filed July19, 2016). The plaintiffs argue that ADM knowingly manufactured cattle feed containing monensin in the…
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Second Putative Class Action Targets Quaker Oats’ Glyphosate Use
A consumer has filed a putative class action against The Quaker Oats Co. alleging the company misrepresents its oatmeal products as natural and “eco-friendly” despite containing glyphosate, “a potent herbicide that last year was declared a probable human carcinogen by the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization.” Wheeler v. Quaker Oats Co., No.…
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Seventh Circuit Finds P.F. Chang’s Customers Have Standing to Sue for Data Breach
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has revived a data breach lawsuit against P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., finding that the two plaintiffs have standing to sue despite eating at a restaurant apparently not linked to the breach. Lewert v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., No. 14-3700 (7th Cir., order entered April 14, 2016). Additional…
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Jury Awards $240,000 to Muslim Workers Fired for Refusal to Transport Beer
A jury has awarded two Muslim men $240,000 after they were fired from Star Transport Inc. for refusing to transport beer because of their religious beliefs. EEOC v. Star Transport Inc., No. 13-1240 (C.D. Ill., jury verdict submitted October 21, 2015). Each man will receive $20,000 for mental or emotional pain and $100,000 in punitive…