Legal
March 28, 2016 at 12:01 pm
A cap on debit card swipe fees enacted by the Federal Reserve five years ago has helped reduce costs for retailers and consumers, but is still higher than intended by Congress and should be lowered, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said. “In most cases, 24 cents per transaction represents a significant savings over the prior noncompetitive pricing,”…
March 23, 2016 at 11:07 am
An executive with Amazon.com Inc's unit that sells office supplies to businesses gave testimony on Tuesday that appeared to bolster a U.S. regulator's wariness over a potential merger of Staples Inc and Office Depot Inc. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit last year to block the proposed $6.3 billion acquisition of Office Depot by…
March 23, 2016 at 10:55 am
Virginia-based hardwood flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators Inc. has paid the California Air Resources Board $2.5 million to settle claims that the business sold, supplied or offered for sale composite wood products that ARB testing showed exceeded state formaldehyde limits. ARB said Tuesday that the payment also settled state claims that Lumber Liquidators failed to take “reasonable,…
March 22, 2016 at 11:11 am
Amazon.com filed suit against a longtime logistics and supply chain executive recently hired by rival Target Corp. over what it said was a violation of a noncompete agreement. In the lawsuit, the Seattle retailer said Arthur Valdez, employed by Amazon for 16 years, was in a position to reveal confidential strategy to its rival. Target touted Valdez’s…
March 21, 2016 at 12:36 pm
When the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne presented his 2016 budget, he had a warning for online sellers and online marketplaces, saying it was unfair when small businessmen and women compete against foreign companies on the internet that don't pay taxes.
March 21, 2016 at 12:27 pm
First it was Subway shortchanging its footlong sandwiches. Now caffeine addicts are up in arms over Starbucks allegedly underfilling its lattes. A class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Northern California claims that the coffee chain knowingly and systematically serves customers lattes that are 25 percent smaller than the menu claims. The plaintiffs allege that…
March 16, 2016 at 10:04 am
Department store Lord & Taylor has reached a deal with the government to settle charges it deceived customers by placing ads in a magazine that looked like real articles. The Federal Trade Commission also charged Lord & Taylor, a unit of Hudson’s Bay Company , with promoting one of its collections by giving 50 fashion “influencers” the…
March 14, 2016 at 11:27 am
Staples wants more data from Amazon.com as it prepares to fight the Federal Trade Commission over the federal regulator's challenge of its $6.3 billion merger with Office Depot. Staples filed a motion on March 10 asking a U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. to compel Amazon to produce more documents and data. A subpoena served earlier…
March 2, 2016 at 11:17 am
Englewood, Colo.-based Sports Authority early Wednesday morning filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, hoping to reorganize its operations and reduce its $1.1 billion debt, according to court documents and an interview with CEO Michael Foss. The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware was expected. In a statement issued in conjunction with the filings, the company said it…
March 2, 2016 at 10:56 am
Macy's, which retired the Marshall Field's name a decade ago, will keep the rights to the beloved Chicago brand as part of a court settlement reached with a California man planning to monetize the retailer's dormant monikers. The department-store operator had filed a federal trademark infringement suit in the Northern District of California against Strategic Marks,…
