Legal
August 27, 2015 at 12:14 pm
The old adage about looking a gift horse in the mouth may have a corollary regarding gift cards issued by retailers: use it or lose it. In the latest case of gift card holders caught up in the bankruptcy of a major retailer, attorneys on Wednesday outlined a plan under which some holders of RadioShack gift…
August 25, 2015 at 10:43 am
Target Corp. has agreed to pay $2.8 million to thousands of rejected job candidates for upper-level positions because tests they were given disproportionately screened out applicants based on their race or gender. The payout was announced Monday by the Minneapolis Area Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and will be disbursed among more…
August 18, 2015 at 2:44 pm
Only months after one of the country’s biggest retailers of dog food and catnip went private, another is planning a return to the public markets. Petco filed on Monday to stage an initial public offering, becoming the latest company owned by private equity firms to pursue a stock listing. Going public will give Petco’s private…
August 10, 2015 at 2:45 pm
Dozens of the nation’s largest retailers including Macy’s, Amazon.com and Home Depot have quickly moved to disassociate themselves from new discount retail website Jet.com. The retailers complained to Jet after discovering it had placed links to their sites without permission, promising its own members cash back for making purchases after clicking the links. A comparison of Jet’s…
August 6, 2015 at 6:11 pm
As sales at smaller, niche-oriented online retailers continue to grow, above-board online retailers must carefully navigate the treacherous waters of intellectual property infringement. By asserting broad and vague intellectual property claims, aggressive boy bands, TV and movie stars, and the media giants that promote them can crush an entirely reputable business that may be using…
August 6, 2015 at 3:57 pm
A U.S. judge rejected American Express’ settlement with merchants over credit card fees after finding the plaintiffs’ lawyer tainted the deal by exchanging confidential information with an attorney for MasterCard Inc. The rejection means that merchants and the card firm may have to renegotiate the deal or possibly go to trial. A conference is scheduled…
August 5, 2015 at 1:57 pm
The parent company of iconic upscale Neiman Marcus retail stores Tuesday filed plans for an initial public stock offering. In a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Group said it would seek to become publicly traded this year on an as yet undisclosed U.S. financial exchange under the ticker symbol…
August 4, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy of Connecticut want some of the nation's largest sporting goods stores to wait for the FBI to complete background checks on gun purchasers in all cases – and hope customers boycott those stores if they don’t. Blumenthal and Murphy have signed letters to Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops and EZ Pawn…
August 3, 2015 at 2:30 pm
Fabric patterns are covered under intellectual property laws. Lilly Pulitzer, known for its bright and unique fabric patterns, is suing Old Navy for copyright infringement, saying the Gap-owned unit blatantly stole two of the designer’s fabric prints. While apparel designs aren't covered by any intellectual property laws, one-of-a-kind prints and patterns do fall under that protection. Sugartown…
July 30, 2015 at 2:27 pm
Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby Stores is fighting Visa and MasterCard in court over what it claims are excessive fees for accepting debit and credit cards at its stores. Hobby Lobby and its sister company Mardel have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City over the fees, which…
