ICYMI, last week we taught you how to fight revenge porn, a woman sued Chipotle after the company used her photo, and Sen. Jeff Sessions faced a pro-marijuana group during his confirmation hearing. Learn more about these trending stories below!

How Can We Fight Revenge Porn?

Online sexual harassment and revenge porn have become relatively commonplace. Here at Law Street, we’ve written a number of articles on the topic in the last couple of weeks alone. From the lawyer fighting revenge porn to the online harassment of journalist Lauren Duca, there are concerns that this kind of behavior has become the norm in America. In fact, in September, President-elect Donald Trump was accused of something revenge-porn-like himself, when he encouraged his Twitter followers to look for Alicia Machado’s sex tape. This is clearly something that we’re going to have to deal with in coming years. But what exactly is revenge porn? And what do you do if it happens to you?

California Woman Files $2 Billion Lawsuit Against Chipotle After Company Uses her Photo

A California woman is suing the popular fast-casual burrito chain Chipotle, alleging that the company used a photo of her in its advertisements, but that she never gave it permission to do so. Leah Caldwell, the plaintiff, is asking for over $2 billion, specifically $2,237,633,000, arguing that the company has made that much money off of the use of her photo that was taken in 2006.

Pro-Marijuana Group Gives Jeff Sessions an Earful Before Confirmation Hearing

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, will face the Senate in a confirmation hearing on Tuesday. In an effort spearheaded by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), pro-marijuana groups are asking supporters to call their senators on Monday, and let them know that they will not stand for any aggressive enforcement actions taken by Sessions, who once said “good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ICYMI: Best of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

A California woman is suing the popular fast-casual burrito chain Chipotle, alleging that the company used a photo of her in its advertisements, but that she never gave it permission to do so. Leah Caldwell, the plaintiff, is asking for over $2 billion, specifically $2,237,633,000, arguing that the company has made that much money off of the use of her photo that was taken in 2006.

Caldwell claims that she was sitting down to eat at one of the chain’s stores in Colorado, when a photographer snapped her photo without asking permission first. While he then asked her to sign a release to use the photo,  Caldwell claims that she left the store without signing it, thereby preventing Chipotle from using the photo. That photographer, Steve Adams, is also listed as a defendant, along with the food chain.

Caldwell says that she then saw the photo of her in multiple promotional materials in Florida and California in 2014 and 2015, and that alcohol had been photoshopped onto the table in front of her. While the photo was taken in 2006, she didn’t see the picture being used in any promotional materials until 2014, so she didn’t sue before then. She has filed the suit in the U.S. District Court in Colorado.

Some of the news outlets who picked up the story pointed out–perhaps rightly so–that Caldwell’s estimate for how much she is “owed” for the picture is a bit high. Caldwell got the $2 billion-plus number by adding up the total of all of Chipotle’s profits from 2006-2015, and believes that Chipotle’s 2016 profits, when they are calculated, should be added to her paycheck as well. But that would mean that all the profits the company made in that eight year period were attributable to her photo. As Lee Morris pf FStoppers–a site dedicated to providing news for photographers–pointed out:

I don’t think there is any doubt that Caldwell should be compensated for this error, but $2.2 billion may be a bit high. Ten thousand dollars and a year’s supply of burritos would be more than enough to compensate for the error, don’t you think?

Chipotle has not made a statement about the lawsuit yet, except to say that it does not comment on pending cases.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post California Woman Files $2 Billion Lawsuit Against Chipotle After Company Uses her Photo appeared first on Law Street.

ICYMI, last week we covered child marriage, marijuana bans, and suspicious chorizo burritos. Check out Law Street’s top trending stories below!

1. Public Uproar: Turkey Moves Ahead With Child Marriage Law

It is hard to believe that in 2016 in a European country, a government could propose a new law that would make child marriage legal, and also protect rapists from being punished by the law as long as they marry their victim. But that is exactly what is happening in Turkey. The new bill was approved on Thursday and is scheduled to undergo a final vote on Tuesday. If it passes, it will take away the punishment for sexual assault if there is no force or if the victim and perpetrator are married. This would include girls under the age of 18. So how could sexual assault without force be criminalized, and how could sexual violence in marriages be punished? Put simply: they likely couldn’t be. Read the full article here.

2. Will Trump’s Attorney General Pick Enforce the Federal Ban on Marijuana?

Days after eight states voted to legalize marijuana in some form or to expand existing laws, President-elect Donald Trump picked Sen. Jeff Sessions, a vocal critic of legalization, to head the Justice Department as the new attorney general. With the disparate marijuana laws between the federal government and states, marijuana and criminal justice advocacy groups, not to mention users and regulated sellers, are expressing concerns about how the Trump Administration would affect the state-level legal market. Read the full article here.

3. Duped by ‘300-Calorie’ Burrito, Chipotle Customers File Lawsuit

Three Chipotle customers in Los Angeles got more than they were hoping for when trying out the chain’s new Chorizo Burrito–well, more calories that is. In a class action lawsuit filed last week, the diners allege that they were “lulled into a false belief” that Chipotle’s new burrito is much healthier than it really is, due to misleading nutritional information. Read the full article here.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ICYMI: Best of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Three Chipotle customers in Los Angeles got more than they were hoping for when trying out the chain’s new Chorizo Burrito–well, more calories that is.

In a class action lawsuit filed last week, the diners allege that they were “lulled into a false belief” that Chipotle’s new burrito is much healthier than it really is, due to misleading nutritional information.

The burrito, which comes filled with grilled chicken, pork sausage, white rice, black beans, fresh tomato salsa, and a sprinkle of cheese, is seemingly billed on the overhead menu as having 300 calories.

@ChipotleTweets if a tortilla from chipotle has 300 calories by itself, how does a chorizo filled burrito also have only 300 calories??? pic.twitter.com/inepf71HKC

— Spencer Blank (@SB22_) November 9, 2016

One plaintiff claims that after ordering the Chorizo Burrito he “felt excessively full and realized that the burrito couldn’t have been just 300 calories,” according to the complaint.

The online nutrition calculator on Chipotle’s website estimates that, when added up, the burrito’s calorie count is more than triple that much, totaling over 1,000 calories.

Chipotle clarified on Twitter that the “300 calories” on the menu is for the chorizo alone, and apologized for the confusion. However, the plaintiffs claim the poor signage is part of a pattern in which the chain presents misleading nutritional information.

@LidiyaKravchuk I’m sorry for the confusion, but we’ll make things more clear next time. The 300 calories is for the chorizo. -Gabe

— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) November 8, 2016

A Chipotle spokesman refused to comment on the pending legal matter, but added, “a lawsuit is nothing more than allegations and is proof of nothing.” Still, this is yet another embarrassing blow to the Tex-Mex chain that’s still struggling to recover after E. coli, salmonella, and norovirus outbreaks caused both its sales and stock price to plummet.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill is delicious. So delicious, in fact, that at some point you’ve probably wondered to yourself “Hey what do they put in this? Crack?” Well, one of the fast casual restaurant’s top marketing executives has recently been indicted for his involvement in a New York drug ring, thanks to a recent cocaine bust.

Chipotle CMO Mark Crumpacker is indicted on cocaine possession charge https://t.co/3lpf4mwG5N pic.twitter.com/W0PZOED1T5

— Fortune (@FortuneMagazine) July 1, 2016

Chief Creative and Development Officer Mark Crumpacker was one of 18 “repeat customers” charged in an indictment Thursday, as part of investigation into coke sales at many Duane Reade and CVS Pharmacies in Manhattan.

Business Insider obtained the indictment papers, in which many of the alleged buyers were charged with “possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.” However, many of the defendants’ names were redacted from the documents, including Crumpacker’s.

Here is the indictment document for the alleged cocaine buyers.

Buyers indictment by Hayley Peterson

Chipotle  released a statement to the media announcing that it had placed Crumpacker on administrative leave.

At the moment, we know very little about these charges. Due to the nature of the situation, Mark has been placed on administrative leave. We made this decision in order to remain focused on the operation of our business, and to allow Mark to focus on these personal matters. Mark’s responsibilities have been assigned to other senior managers in his absence.

Chipotle faced a series of scandals last year due to E. coli outbreaks at several of its locations. As a result, public opinion towards the chain has significantly decreased and sales have steadily declined.

On Friday, Chipotle launched Chiptopia, a reward program aimed to drive business back to the struggling chain. Unfortunately, even though Chipotle has not been directly linked to the cocaine drug ring, these recent criminal allegations won’t help the brand rebuild its reputation.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Chipotle Marketing Executive Indicted in NY Cocaine Bust appeared first on Law Street.

It’s been a bad few months for everyone’s favorite fast casual burrito chain–Chipotle. There’s been a lot of bad press about the company after numerous instances of food-borne illnesses across the country broke out, and Chipotle’s sales have taken a sharp dive. And most recently, it was announced that there will be a criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigation, into the handling of a Norovirus outbreak in Southern California.

Chipotle’s food safety issues in 2015 included multiple instances of E.coli as well as Norovirus and salmonella. For example, during the second week of December, almost 150 Boston College students came down with Norovirus after eating at the chain. A large E.coli scare in October forced restaurant closures in Washington and Oregon. There were additional cases of E.coli tied to Chipotle in pretty much every corner of the United States, including California, Ohio, New York, and Minnesota. Earlier last year, in August, Chipotle customers in Minneapolis/St. Paul area fell sick with salmonella after eating at the chain.

The most disturbing part of these outbreaks, however, is that Chipotle doesn’t appear to be able to trace what is going on. Credit Suisse analysts told CNBC that Chipotle’s issues look different from other chains’ food scares in years past–including issues at Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, McDonalds– because the cause of the outbreaks have yet to be determined. The analysts said:

In all of the five historical cases just mentioned, the cause of the food safety issue was determined relatively quickly. As such, if CMG were able to identify the source of the E coli outbreak, that could help sales recover more quickly than we have modeled.

The health scares have also led to bad financial health for the Mexican chain–sales in the fourth quarter plummeted 14.6 percent, and sales at stores that have been open for at least a year fell 30 percent in December alone. Over the last year, the company’s stock has fallen by almost a third.

The criminal investigation is going to be focused specifically on a Norovirus outbreak in Simi Valley, California, and Chipotle has said that it will comply with the investigation. But it’s going to be a long road and a lot of work for the restaurant chain if it ever hopes to regain the trust it formerly had among its customers.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Burrito or bowl? White or brown? Black or pinto?

These are just some of the daily decisions customers make at hundreds of Chipotle Mexican Grill locations around the world. But for some, just walking through the restaurant door means that they’ve already decided something about their food–they’d like it GMO-free. However, contrary to current advertisements, a lawsuit alleges that GMO-free may not be what is actually being served.

A California woman has accused Chipotle of false advertising in a lawsuit, after the company touted its Mexican-styled casual dining as the first national chain to go completely GMO-free in April. According to Reuters, plaintiff Colleen Gallagher alleges in her lawsuit that “Chipotle violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act because its food labeling is false and misleading, and deceived diners into paying more for their food.”

Gallagher says,

As Chipotle told consumers it was ‘G-M-Over it,’ the opposite was true. In fact, Chipotle’s menu as never been at any time free of GMOs.

Chipotle has already admitted that before the April announcement, the corn and soy in its corn and flour tortillas and cooking oil had previously been genetically modified. It has also clearly noted on its website that its GMO-free menu comes with a disclaimer.

The site reads,

The meat and dairy products we buy come from animals that are not genetically modified. But it is important to note that most animal feed in the U.S. is genetically modified, which means that the meat and dairy served at Chipotle are likely to come from animals given at least some GMO feed.

It also warns that many of the beverages it sells, e.g. Coke products, also contain genetically modified ingredients  like high fructose corn syrup, which is almost always made from GMO corn. Despite this admission, Gallagher’s lawsuit currently seeks class-action status and unspecified damages, but Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told Reuters the company plans to contest the charges.

The debate over the potential harms of genetically altered foods is an interesting one. While there has technically been no scientific evidence that supports the theory that GMOs are actually bad for you, 52 percent of Americans still say they’d be more likely to buy food that’s labeled as having been raised organically. Ninety three percent also think that the federal government should require labels on food saying whether it’s been genetically modified. These statistics are a bit of a catch-22 for companies debating the merits of disclosing to the public their products’ GMO statuses.

When Chipotle publicly dropped the bio-engineered corn and soy from its products it was making a statement, calming many of its customers fears about enhanced products. But even if genetically altered foods aren’t actually bad for you, these allegations should still be taken seriously. Capitalizing on Americans’ willingness to pay a premium for better quality ingredients for monetary gain, and then not providing said ingredients would be a gross manipulation of public trust, and isn’t exactly “food with integrity.”

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Chipotle Sued Over GMO-Free Menu Claims appeared first on Law Street.

This week’s installment of the best legal tweets of the week feature law students motivated for finals by TV lawyers, contracts-fueled breakups, and everyone’s favorite development: Chipotle deliveries! Check out the slideshow below of the best legal tweets of the week.

[SlideDeck2 id=38768 ress=1]

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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