Legal

The attorney representing online merchant Hard 2 Find Accessories Inc. in a lawsuit against Amazon.com and Apple told EcommerceBytes the two companies were served on July 3, and the next step is up to them. Matthew Crotty of Crotty & Son Law Firm confirmed that the seller had included an antitrust claim, among others, in the complaint, and said Apple and Amazon would likely either answer the complaint or move to dismiss it. Hard 2 Find Accessories filed the lawsuit against the companies after Amazon suspended his account due to takedown notices filed by Apple. 

Amazon.com says it's prepared to go to court against the Federal Trade Commission to defend itself against charges that it hasn't done enough to prevent children from making unauthorized in-app purchases. The FTC alleged in a draft lawsuit released by Amazon that unauthorized charges by children on Amazon tablets have amounted to millions of dollars. Amazon said in a letter Tuesday to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez that it had already refunded money to parents who complained.

The contract that keeps thousands of dockworkers on the job at ports from San Diego to Seattle expired Tuesday afternoon, but both sides pledged to continue negotiations without a disruption in the billions of dollars of trade that crosses the West Coast waterfront. The union which represents dockworkers and the association which represents shipping lines and terminal operators at 29 ports issued a joint statement saying that while the current six-year contract won't be extended, both sides will keep talking — and working.

J.C. Penney appealed a New York state court ruling Monday that found it had interfered with a contract between Macy's and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia by selling the celebrity's home goods, according to a filing. J.C. Penney's lawyer Martin Edel confirmed the case had been appealed but declined to comment. Retail spokesmen at each company weren't immediately available for comment. Macy's sued J.C. Penney in 2012 for breaching a deal that guaranteed exclusive rights to sell cookware, bedding and bath products from Martha Stewart Living.

American Apparel is suddenly facing a cash crunch. A key lender to the embattled clothing company on Thursday demanded repayment of a $10 million loan, threatening a liquidity crisis for the retailer on the heels of its ouster of CEO Dov Charney, The Post has learned. Lion Capital, a UK-based investment firm that has been friendly to Charney, denied a waiver on the default triggered by the executive's dismissal, forcing American Apparel to raise funds to pay it off - either b

Amazon.com drones aren't taking off anytime soon — at least not until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says otherwise. On Monday, in a document inviting public comment on drone policy, the FAA clarified that delivering packages using a drone isn't legal. The agency didn't mention Amazon in the document specifically, but the FAA seemed to suggest that Amazon — like every other business — falls under its regulations which, it says, already prohibits the commercial use of drones.

Brookstone, the luxury-gadget retailer, won bankruptcy court approval of its plan to sell the chain to a group of Chinese buyers for about $174 million that will be used to pay creditors. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Linehan Shannon yesterday in Wilmington, Delaware, approved the sale to a company backed by the Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group and the Hong Kong-based private equity firm Sailing Capital. The sale is the cornerstone of the retailer's bankruptcy exit plan, also approved today. "Today marks a new chapter in Brookstone's history," CEO Jim Speltz said in an emailed statement. 

Over at lululemon, it looks like there's a civil war brewing. On one side: Chip Wilson, the yoga retailer's founder, largest shareholder (with a 27 percent stake in the company), former CEO and up until last month, chairman. On the other: the company's current board, led by newly inducted chairman Michael Casey. Events came to a head two weeks ago when, just hours before the company's annual shareholder's meeting, Wilson announced that he was voting against the election of two outside board members (including Casey), citing concerns that the board was sacrificing long-term corporate goals for short-term results.

Be careful when posting a negative review about a seller on eBay, warns Australian newspaper The Age, because sellers can sue buyers for defamation over negative feedback. Suing trading partners isn't exactly new, but the newspaper wrote, "lawyers predict the number of defamation cases involving online reviews and feedback will grow as people become increasingly aware of their online reputation." Feedback and reviews can have a direct impact on businesses. On eBay, low feedback can cost sellers in a number of ways: lost discounts, listings pushed down in search results, more restrictive selling limits imposed on their accounts, suspension, etc.

Activist investor Carl Icahn said Thursday that he wants to see Family Dollar sold at once, and he told the retailer that he's prepared to seek shareholder support to fire the entire board of directors if he doesn't get his way. Icahn said in a letter to Family Dollar CEO Howard Levine that he wants three seats on the board of directors, which would comprise a new committee tasked with exploring a sale of the company. The letter said Icahn discussed Family Dollar over dinner with Levine on Wednesday night. The two didn't come to any agreement.