Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

New York -- Macy’s and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia have reached a confidential settlement in their ongoing legal dispute over whether Martha Stewart breached a contract by selling certain goods at J.C. Penney Co.

Martha Stewart and Macy’s both said the terms of the settlement aren’t material to their businesses. In a separate statement, Macy's said that the settlement did not affect its outstanding claim against Penney.

The case for domestic sourcing received a boost this week after Walmart was required to recall 73,400 five-piece card table and chair sets sold under its Mainstays brand.

The recall was initiated after Walmart said it received reports of 10 injuries including one instance of a finger amputation and several fingertip amputations. The product was manufactured by the Heshan Camis Industrial Co. Ltd., of Guangdong, China, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

Food safety and compliance issues earned Walmart some unwanted attention this week after it was learned that snacks made with donkey meat in China were also found to contain fox meat.

Walgreens, Walmart and Kroger were among major retailers quick to implement temporary new programs designed to help customers coping with one of the many glitches associated with the roll out of the Affordable Care Act.

Lebanon, Tenn. — Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc has considered and rejected a recent filing and statement from top shareholder Sardar Biglari demanding that the company commence a sale process. Cracker Barrel has determined that the continued execution of the company’s existing business strategy is currently the proper course of action for the long-term best interests of the company and its shareholders.

New York -- Colorado will become the first state in the country to open recreational pot retail stores when, on Jan. 1, 2014, it begins allowing the sale of cannabis to anyone age 21 or over.

The move comes after voters in Colorado approved the measure in the November 2012 elections. The state of Washington also legalized recreational marijuana at the same time, but that state won't open marijuana stores until later in 2014.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. admitted Friday that “strongly encrypted PIN data” was removed during the hacking that compromised some 40 million credit- and debit-card accounts between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. The retailer said it remains “confident” that customers’ PIN numbers are safe and secure.

Los Angeles – Newegg has filed an opposition to Soverain Software's petition for the Supreme Court to review a January 2013 ruling by the Federal Court of Appeals in the Eastern District of Texas that found Newegg and other e-commerce retailers did not violate a patent on e-commerce shopping cart technology held by Soverain. In district court actions in the Eastern District of Texas, Soverain had obtained settlements and won jury verdicts estimated at more than $70 million.