Legal

A federal jury has concluded that Costco Wholesale Corp. should pay Tiffany & Co. $5.5 million for selling diamond engagement rings bearing Tiffany’s name. The $5.5 million represents the amount of profit Costco made from the sale of the rings — 2,500 in total — according to the jury. However, at the trial’s beginning, Costco…

The U.S. House of Representatives last week approved a measure to delay by six months the Obama administration's rule to extend mandatory overtime pay to more than 4 million workers, despite a White House promise to veto the bill. The House passed the legislation on a partisan vote of 246-177, with five Democrats joining 241 Republicans in favor of moving…

Twenty-one states and a coalition of business and industry groups filed separate federal lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez and the top Wage and Hour Administrator, David Weil, to try to block the federal overtime regulation changes. The changes are set to go into effect on Dec. 1,…

A New Jersey couple on Friday filed a class-action lawsuit against Costco Wholesale, claiming it has been illegally overcharging them — and potentially hundreds of  thousands of other customers — by charging sales tax on toilet tissue purchases in violation of state law. Toilet tissue sold for household use is exempt from New Jersey's 7 percent…

On Wednesday, we reported that things weren't looking too good for Golfsmith International Inc. Well, the retailer has now filed for bankruptcy protection. In addition to here in the U.S., Golfsmith also sought protection under Canada’s chapter 11 equivalent. The company is based in Austin, Texas, but is hoping to get some control of its…

Golfsmith, the country's largest golf retailer, has failed to find a buyer for itself and could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in just a few days, according to the New York Post. Sources say Golfsmith, fighting an overall downturn in sales and burdened by debt, could end up a target of Dick's Sporting Goods if it…

Aeropostale lives to fight another day. Bloomberg reports the retailer won court permission to sell its assets to buyers led by Simon Property Group Inc. and General Growth Properties Inc after the landlords banded together with liquidators to save jobs and stores. The Sept. 2 auction revealed that with a $243 million bid, Aeropostale will…

U.S. antitrust regulators let Walgreens Boots Alliance know it will have to close up to 1,000 retail stores if its acquisition of Rite Aid will be approved. Despite this, Walgreens still expects the deal to close in the second half of this year. Walgreens currently has 8,200 U.S. stores and Rite Aid has 4,500. Even…

It’s a nice payday for three unnamed Sports Authority executives. A judge approved the company to pay up to $1.5 million in bonuses to these execs after a bankruptcy liquidation that erased around 14,000 jobs. Sports Authority has an estimated $400 million worth of merchandise to sell in one of the largest retail liquidations ever.…

Aeropostale was thrown a lifeline as a group of interested parties bid on its assets. Companies General Growth Properties, Simon Property Group and Authentic Brands Group joined together to bid $243.3 million to save 229 stores from closing, and therefore possibly saving Aeropostale from liquidation. An auction for Aeropostale's assets was supposed to be held…