Legal

Wal-Mart, J.C.Penney, The Children's Place and the government of Bangladesh have been sued by victims and families of victims of a garment factory collapse that killed more than 1,000 people two years ago. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, claims the retailers and the government were aware of the unsafe conditions. When the eight-story building collapsed on April 24, 2013, 1,129 people were killed and about 2,515 people were injured. Many of the people were women and children.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was slow to get into alcohol, but now it's fighting for the right to sell more of it. A prime target is Texas, where the world's largest retailer has sued the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, saying legal limits on sales of hard liquor are unconstitutional. One restriction prevents public companies — those with more than 35 shareholders — from selling spirits. The state beverage code also says no company can own more than five liquor stores unless permits for the others are bought from a blood relative.

Dov Charney was fired as American Apparel's CEO because he wouldn't go along with a plan to sell the clothing retailer, according to a shareholder lawsuit brought by two men with ties to Charney. Citing information they said was gathered from Charney and a former board member they didn't identify, the shareholders claim then Chief Financial Officer John Luttrell approached Charney about selling the company. After he refused, Luttrell orchestrated Charney's firing for alleged misconduct, aiming to set the stage for a future sale, according to the complaint. 

Ray-Ban has asked Sen. Rand Paul's presidential campaign to quit selling the brand's Wayfarer sunglasses, which Paul had imprinted with the "Rand" logo. The Rand-Ban sunglasses were for sale for $150 on Paul's website as recently as Tuesday. The website described the product as "the intersection of politics and cool." But the campaign didn't have Ray-Ban's consent, and the company didn't think that was cool.

Call it the case of "patent or perish." A lawyer formerly in charge of applying for patents in cosmetics company L'Oreal SA's U.S. office claims he was fired in December for refusing to make filings for dubious inventions just so the company could fill an annual quota. Steven Trzaska said in a complaint filed April 16 in Newark, New Jersey, that L'Oreal ordered him to apply for at least 40 patents last year to help fill a companywide global quota of 500 applications. The company sought to post on its cosmetics packaging that the contents were "patent pending." 

The Justice Department and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have filed a lawsuit against Michaels for failing to report serious hazards with glass vases that were prone to shattering. Officials claim the arts-and-crafts retailer knowingly violated the reporting requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Act by failing to disclose a series of complaints about the vases, which caused serious injuries to some of its customers, including lacerations that needed stitches, or permanent nerve and tendon damage that required surgery.

Frederick's of Hollywood filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday with a $22.5 million offer in hand from Authentic Brands Group, LLC. The agreement with Authentic Brands means the lingerie chain will continue only as an online business, unless a rival steps forward that agrees to reopen the stores. None appeared in the efforts to find a buyer that preceded the bankruptcy, court papers say. If any competing bids are received, Frederick's is planning a May 28 auction, with Authentic Brands as lead bidder.

Simply Fashion Stores has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it plans to liquidate substantially all of its assets. The Birmingham, Ala.-based urban fashion retailer, which operates nearly 250 stores in 25 states, said declining sales was one of the primary factors behind the bankruptcy. In a court filing, the restructuring officer for the retailer said the company expects some Simply Fashion locations will be forced to close as part of the process. The filing didn't disclose how many stores would close. The company has 1,332 employees.

China's e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group, has been fined 800,000 yuan ($129,000) by the price bureau in eastern Zhejiang province for violations by third-party sellers during promotions on its e-commerce platforms. Since Alibaba turned "Singles' Day", a Nov. 11 Chinese response to Valentine's Day, into an online shopping festival in 2009, the event has grown to similar proportions as Cyber Monday and Black Friday in the United States.

A union representing Wal-Mart workers who lost their jobs when the retailer suddenly closed five stores last week said it would seek an injunction on Monday from the National Labor Relations Board to have them rehired. Wal-Mart announced last week that it was closing five stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and California temporarily to fix plumbing issues. It said it would seek to reopen the stores, which employed about 2,200 people, as quickly as possible.