On June 1, 2023, a panel of judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that berry distributors were not liable as “client-employers” of agricultural workers. The plaintiff agricultural workers had been hired by strawberry growers to pick fruit that was then turned over to defendants Red Blossom Sales, Inc. and Better Produce, Inc. for distribution.

In 2018, the strawberry growers stopped paying the plaintiff agricultural workers and filed for bankruptcy. The plaintiffs then sued the distributor defendants as joint employers and client ...

On June 26, 2023, a panel of judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed an insurance company’s win over a restaurant group seeking insurance coverage for pandemic-related claims in Team 44 Restaurants, LLC v. American Insurance Company, No. 22-15403.

Plaintiffs owned various individual restaurants, who sought insurance coverage under business insurance policies. The defendant insurance companies denied coverage for COVID-19 losses under government shutdowns, on the basis that there was no direct physical loss to the restaurants.

The ...

On June 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) announced that it was implementing a multi-step effort to strengthen the substantiation of animal-raising claims. Animal-raising claims are voluntary marketing claims that highlight aspects of how the source animals used for meat and poultry are raised. These claims include “grass-fed,” “free-range,” or “raised without antibiotics.”

Currently, these claims must be approved by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (“FSIS”) before they can be included on labels sold to consumers.  ...

A genuine looking email is sent to a company’s accounts payable department with instructions from its president to pay money to a certain account. The “To” and “From” headers and the signature block look identical to hundreds of emails previously received by the department from the company’s president. In reliance on the email, money is wired to the designated account. It later turns out the email was fake and the company’s money was wired to a fraudster’s account.

In another scenario, the company’s accounts payable department receives an email purportedly from a ...

Q: I was appointed receiver for some major assets owned by a corporation. I just learned the corporation has filed bankruptcy. I know I have to eventually turnover the assets I have. Can I wait to see if the bankruptcy sticks or if a trustee is appointed? Can I demand the corporation pay for the cost of my turning over the assets?

A: No and no (although you may have a claim for the cost). As most receivers know, if a bankruptcy is filed that involves an entity or assets in receivership, the receiver must turnover any property of the debtor in the receiver’s possession to the debtor or, if one is ...

On July 1, 2023, a number of local municipalities and the County of Los Angeles will be raising their hourly minimum wage, based on changes to the consumer price index, and as required by local minimum wage ordinances. Beginning July 1, 2023, the following increases will apply to employers in the designated areas:

In addition, on July 1^, 2023, all businesses in the City of West Hollywood, including smaller businesses and hotel employers, will be required to raise the hourly minimum wage to $19.08.  In the past several years, the City of West Hollywood’s minimum wage and corresponding ...

On May 1, 2023, a ban on single-use plastics went into effect for restaurants with permanent locations in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The ban was originally passed in April of 2022 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, with enforcement rolled out based on the type of establishment. 

The ban will be enforced first in restaurants with permanent locations, then be effective on November 1, 2023 at food trucks, and May 1, 2024 at temporary/pop-up food facilities, catering companies, and farmers market. 

Restaurants that demonstrate financial hardship can apply ...

On April 28, 2023, a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit against Kroger alleging that the company misleadingly labeled spreadable fruit products as “Just Fruit.”

Plaintiff Sarah Vitort alleged that Kroger violated the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices Act because the “Just Fruit” product included fruit syrup, pectin, calcium citrate, apple juice concentrate, and citric acid. Plaintiff argued that even though those ingredients could be extracted from fruit, they were not actually fruit ...

In a matter of first impression, a panel for the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a judgment of the District Court of New Jersey in Singh v. Uber Techs., Inc. (April 26, 2023), compelling arbitration in a putative class action against Uber Technology, Inc. (Uber). The class action was brought against Uber by its drivers who alleged that the rideshare company misclassified them as independent contractors, thereby depriving them of overtime pay and other benefits under wage and hour laws. The panel held that the drivers must bring work-related disputes as ...