Legal

The National Retail Federation (NRF) released the following statement from its President and CEO Matthew Shay on the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act: "As the voice of retailers of all types and sizes, we're disappointed by today's ruling. The Court missed an opportunity to redress the many shortcomings of the law. As it stands, the law wrongly focuses more on penalizing employers and the private sector than reducing health costs. For these reasons, NRF has been a consistent skeptic of the Affordable Care Act."

Best Buy founder Richard Schulze is exploring taking the world’s largest electronics retailer private as he considers options that include selling his stake, according to a person familiar with the matter. Schulze, who has a 20 percent shareholding in the Richfield, Minn.-based company, is working with Credit Suisse Group AG on his plans, said the person, who asked not to be identified. The 71-year-old said in May he would step down as chairman after an internal probe found he failed to tell the board about allegations that then-CEO Brian Dunn was having an inappropriate relationship with a female employee. 

In an open letter and ad campaign, Equal Exchange, an importer of coffee and other commodities, is asking Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to leave Fair Trade USA, a certification organization. Equal Exchange, a Massachusetts-based importer of "fair trade" coffee, cocoa and other commodities, has taken out two full-page ads in Vermont's largest daily newspaper, the Burlington Free Press, taking local hero Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to the woodshed. At issue is what constitutes "fair trade."

Despite reporting an uptick in organized retail crime, the National Retail Federation (NRF) revealed that retail theft rates decreased in 2011, according to preliminary results of the organization's latest National Retail Security survey. The results, which were presented at the NRF's Loss Prevention Conference and Expo in New Orleans, revealed that retail shrinkage — a loss of inventory due to employee theft, shoplifting, paperwork errors or supplier fraud — decreased to 1.41 percent of retail sales in 2011 ($34.5 billion), down from 1.49 percent in 2010 ($37.1 billion). 

The Black Keys aren't shilling power tools or pizza, the band said in copyright infringement lawsuits against The Home Depot and Pizza Hut. The "Lonely Boy" band filed the federal lawsuits last Thursday, claiming Home Depot didn't have permission to use elements of the hit song in an ad promoting power tools and that Pizza Hut misused "Gold on the Ceiling" in a recent ad. Both songs appeared on the rock group's seventh album, El Camino, which was released last year and has sold nearly 840,000 copies. The Black Keys are comprised of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney.

Ritz Camera & Image, which calls itself the largest U.S. chain of specialty camera shops, filed for bankruptcy for the second time in three years after the founding family failed to turn around the 94-year-old retailer. Ritz listed debt and assets of at least $50 million each in Chapter 11 court papers in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. The company, with sales of $254 million in the 12 months before April 30, said it wasn't making enough money to justify keeping open all its 265 stores.

Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren is scheduled to give a deposition in July in a contract dispute with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., Bloomberg reported. Macy’s sued to stop Martha Stewart Living from executing a sales agreement with J.C. Penney. Cincinnati-based Macy’s said it has the exclusive right to sell Martha Stewart-branded products in certain categories. J.C. Penney acquired a 17 percent stake in Martha Stewart Living for $38.5 million. Lundgren is scheduled for a half-day of questioning on July 3 in advance of a July 13 hearing.

According to a story published by ABC News, a group of 25 women have filed a lawsuit against Sears and a former maintenance worker who allegedly hid cameras in dressing rooms and restrooms at a store in North Hollywood, Calif., between 2009 and April of this year. The suspect, a former maintenance employee who worked at Sears for seven years, was arrested on April 12. The group suing Sears is comprised of 16 employees and nine store customers. They claim Sears knew or should have known the cameras had been installed and are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Barnes & Noble Founder and Chairman Leonard Riggio agreed on Wednesday to forgo $29 million from a sale of one of his companies to the book retailer in order to settle a shareholder lawsuit, according to court documents, Reuters reported. The lawsuit goes back to a 2009 agreement by the chain to buy back Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Inc. for $514 million from Riggio. Shareholders sued Riggio, saying the deal overvalued the college bookstores and enriched Riggio, Barnes & Noble’s largest investor, at the expense of shareholders.

The two top executives of Wal-Mart Stores gave shareholders their unequivocal commitment to get to the bottom of alleged bribery charges in Mexico that have surfaced against the company. "If any violations occurred, then appropriate actions will be taken. That is my personal commitment to each of you," S. Robson Walton Jr., chairman, said during the company's annual shareholder meeting here. "We will do the right thing the right way. You have my word on that."