Legal

Last fall, a young black man was arrested after buying an expensive Ferragamo belt at Barneys New York. The man, Trayon Christian, had saved up from his part-time job to buy the accessory. Even though Christian had proof of purchase and I.D., police (who had reportedly been called by the Barneys cashier) took him to a local precinct and held him. After the case made national headlines, another shopper came forward with similar allegations. The cases of both of the shoppers have now been settled, and Barneys has been found at fault for racially profiling shoppers.

Target has for the first time come out publicly in support of gay marriage, as a growing number of high-profile businesses take positions on the divisive issue. In revealing Tuesday that it had signed a court brief backing marriage equality in a ­pending court case, Target joins other blue-chip names such as Starbucks, Apple and Intel that have sided publicly with same-sex marriage advocates in court cases or ballot issues. "It is our belief that everyone should be treated equally under the law, and that includes rights we

Walgreens said Wednesday that it will purchase the shares in Alliance Boots that it doesn't already own as it also confirmed that it will keep its headquarters in the Chicago area. The retailer said it will purchase the remaining 55 percent stake in Alliance Boots, a British health and beauty retail chain, it doesn't already own. Walgreens also said it won't reorganize the company in a move known as a tax inversion that would have trimmed the amount of U.S. taxes it pays. 

Coach is the latest company to be sued for allegedly misclassifying its unpaid interns. Former intern Johnetta Campbell has filed suit against the New York-based brand, alleging that she was misclassified as an intern when she worked in Coach's Manhattan office from January 2012 to March 2012. According to Campbell's complaint, which was filed last month in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, she worked five days a week, from five hours to eight hours per day. Moreover, Campbell alleges that Coach started this practice to minimize labor costs and retain a higher profit value.

Victoria's Secret lost a trademark dispute with a chain of shirt stores when a London judge said the lingerie brand's "Pink" clothing line could confuse customers with its "sexy, mass-market appeal." L Brands Inc.'s Victoria's Secret infringed trademark rights owned by London-based Thomas Pink Ltd., Judge Colin Birss said in a written decision. He said customers in Europe might associate the traditional shirtmaker with underwear, which would cause a "detriment to the repute" of its brand.

It's not surprising that tech giants Apple and Google are among the 10 companies most often sued by patent trolls. However, when it comes to sectors, it may come as a surprise that retail graces the top spot. In the first half of 2014, 136 retailers have been involved in 264 lawsuits brought by trolls — i.e., nonpracticing entities that buy patents in the open market seeking to collect licensing revenue from infringing parties. That makes the sector the No. 1 target, above such high-tech categories as electronics, media and telecom, and computer software, according to research firm Patent Freedom.

RadioShack, the struggling electronics retailer, was notified by the New York Stock Exchange that it's out of compliance with requirements because its stock has traded below $1 for 30 straight days. Under the exchange's rules, RadioShack has six months to get back into compliance by boosting its stock price to at least $1 on the last trading day of the month and having an average closing price at that level over a 30-day period, according to a statement yesterday. The risk of delisting adds to RadioShack's headaches as the retail chain attempts a turnaround.

Lululemon is aggressively protecting its $48 sports bras and $64 tank tops by way of design patents — an unusual move that the rest of the retail industry is watching carefully. The maker of expensive workout gear, which famously sued Calvin Klein and G-III Apparel in 2012 for violating a design patent on its yoga pants, has since accumulated a total of 31 such patents on

A pension adviser has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate private meetings that top Walgreens execs held with investors who prodded the drugstore chain to reincorporate overseas for tax reasons. CTW Investment Group, which advises union pension funds worth $250 billion, is raising questions about whether Walgreens’ meetings with investors Goldman Sachs, Jana Partners, Och-Ziff and Corvex ran afoul of fair disclosure rules. 

LVMH and eBay have settled a six-year legal battle in which the online auction site was accused of allowing users to sell knock-off luxury goods. In a joint statement released Thursday, the two companies said they had agreed to settle ongoing litigation and put "cooperation measures" in place. "eBay and LVMH today announced a cooperative effort to protect intellectual property rights and combat counterfeits in online commerce. Thanks to the cooperation measures put in place, the companies have settled ongoing litigation," eBay and LVMH said.