California
Lululemon files lawsuit against Costco, claims company is selling ‘dupes’ of some of its products
Lululemon has filed a lawsuit against Costco that accuses the wholesale club operator of selling lower-priced duplicates of some of its popular athleisure clothing.
Lululemon Athletica claims in its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that Costco has “unlawfully traded” on its reputation, goodwill and sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel that uses knockoff, infringing versions of its patents.
Lululemon alleges that Costco is known to use manufacturers of popular branded products for its private label Kirkland brand, but that the company and the manufacturers don’t tell consumers of the connection between them for many of the Kirkland-branded products. Because of this, Lululemon claims this leads at least some shoppers to believe that Kirkland-branded products are made by the authentic supplier of the “original” products. Lululemon claims Costco doesn’t try to dispel the ambiguity.
“As an innovation-led company that invests significantly in the research, development, and design of our products, we take the responsibility of protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights very seriously and pursue the appropriate legal action when necessary,” a Lululemon company spokesperson said in a statement.
Some of the products Lululemon says Costco is making duplicates of include its popular Scuba hoodies, Define jackets, and ABC pants.
Lululemon claims one of the duplicates that Costco sells is the Hi-Tec Men’s Scuba Full Zip, with the lawsuit showing a screenshot image of Costco’s website showing the item priced at $19.97.
Lululemon sells several men’s jackets that cost more than $100 each.
Costco, based in Issaquah, Washington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Lululemon is requesting a jury trial and wants Costco to stop selling the products that it considers to be duplicates. It is also seeking an unspecified amount in monetary damages.
Lulemon was in a similar legal dispute with Peloton in 2021. Two years later the companies announced a five-year partnership that included Lululemon becoming the primary athletic apparel partner to Peloton.
New Jersey
Judge greenlights antitrust lawsuit against Apple
A federal judge on Monday rebuffed Apple’s request to throw out a U.S. government lawsuit alleging the technology trendsetter has built a maze of illegal barriers to protect the iPhone from competition and fatten its profit margins.
The 33—page opinion from U.S. District Judge Xavier Neals in New Jersey will enable an antitrust lawsuit that the U.S. Justice Department filed against Apple 15 months ago to proceed. Neals has set a timetable that could see the case come to trial in 2027.
Apple has sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the Justice Department had distorted the contours of the smartphone market and made a series of other misinterpretations that warranted the case be thrown out.
But Neals decided there is enough evidence to support the Justice Department’s market definitions and concluded the case’s key allegations merited further examination at trial.
The case seeks to pierce the digital fortress that Apple Inc., based in Cupertino, California, has built around the iPhone, iPad and other products to create a so-called “walled garden” allowing its hardware and software to mesh seamlessly for users.
The Justice Department alleges that walled garden has mostly turned into a shield against competition, creating market conditions that enable it to charge higher prices and stifle innovation.
The lawsuit “sets forth several allegations of technological barricades that constitute anticompetitive conduct,” Neals wrote in his opinion. The judge also concluded the Justice Department had pointed toward enough areas of troubling conduct that raised the “dangerous possibility” that Apple has turned the iPhone into an illegal monopoly.
In a Monday statement, Apple reiterated its position that the Justice Department’s case “is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will continue to vigorously fight it in court.”
The antitrust lawsuit isn’t the only legal headache threatening to undercut its profits, which totaled $94 billion on sales of $295 billion in its fiscal year ending last September.
Another federal judge in April issued a civil contempt order banning Apple from collecting any fees from in-app transactions on the iPhone that are funneled through other options besides its once-exclusive payment processing system that charged commissions ranging from 15% to 30%.
Apple also could lose a more than $20 billion annual payment that it gets for making Google the default search tool on the iPhone and other products as part of another antitrust case brought by the Justice Department. A federal judge in Washington D.C. is considering whether to ban the deals with Apple as part of a shake-up being proposed to address Google’s illegal monopoly in searc h.
Neals’ decision to allow the Justice Department’s antitrust case to proceed came on the same day that Apple was hit with a lawsuit by app maker Proton amplifying the accusations of wrongful conduct by the company. The lawsuit, which will seek to be certified as a class action presenting thousands of developers who have made iPhone apps, is asking for punitive damages against Apple, as well as a court order to dismantle its walled garden.
New York
Ex-aide to governor pleads not guilty to new fraud charge
NEW YORK (AP) — A former aide to two New York governors already facing charges of acting as an illicit agent of China pleaded not guilty on Monday to additional charges that she improperly profited from the state’s purchase of face masks and other key medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Linda Sun, 41, and her husband, Chris Hu, 40, — who is also charged — entered not guilty pleas to charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Hu also faces tax evasion charges.
The two remain free on bond and are due back in court Aug. 25 ahead of an expected November trial.
Sun’s lawyer Jarrod Schaeffer declined to comment following Monday’s proceedings but has previously dismissed the new charges as “feverish accusations unmoored from the facts.” Hu’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond Monday but have also similarly denied the charges.
Prosecutors say the couple collected millions of dollars in kickbacks by exploiting Sun’s role in helping New York procure personal protective equipment, or PPE, during the pandemic in 2020.
They say Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen, used connections in her native China to secure PPE for the state, though she didn’t disclose her family’s ties to two vendors that received more than $44 million, prosecutors say.
Sun previously pleaded not guilty to charges she used her position in state government to advance Chinese government priorities in exchange for financial rewards, including assistance with Hu’s business ventures in China.
The lucrative benefits helped the Long Island couple live a lavish lifestyle with multimillion-dollar properties and luxury cars, prosecutors have said.
Sun worked for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, until she was fired in 2023.
California
Trump sues Los Angeles, claiming the city refuses to cooperate on immigration
LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration filed suit Monday against Los Angeles, claiming the city is obstructing the enforcement of immigration laws and creating a lawless environment with its sanctuary policies that bar local police from sharing information on people without legal status.
The lawsuit in U.S. District Court says Los Angeles’ “ sanctuary city” ordinance hinders White House efforts to crack down on what it calls a “crisis of illegal immigration.” It is the latest in a string of lawsuits against so-called sanctuary jurisdictions — including New York,New Jersey and Colorado — that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The Los Angeles policy bars city resources from being used for immigration enforcement. The court filing calls the city ordinance “illegal” and asks that it be blocked from being enforced.
Chad Mizelle, chief of staff for U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, said in announcing the latest lawsuit that the administration will not tolerate any interference with the federal government’s crackdown.
A spokesperson for City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said the city’s ordinance was “carefully drafted” and complies with federal law and constitutional principles separating state and federal powers.
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, a co-author of the Los Angeles sanctuary law, said Monday that the city would do everything in its power to protect its residents.
He said in a statement that “Trump is tearing families apart” and trying to force cities and towns across the country to help him carry out his agenda.
“We refuse to stand by and let Donald Trump deport innocent families,” he added.
The Los Angeles lawsuit claims Trump “won the presidential election on a platform of deporting the millions of illegal immigrants.” Over the past three weeks, immigration agents have swarmed Southern California, arresting hundreds of people and prompting protests.
Tens of thousands of people participated in rallies over immigration raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. Los Angeles police have arrested over 100 people on various charges from throwing rocks at federal officers to setting fire to Waymo cars equipped with self-driving technology.
“The practical upshot of Los Angeles’ refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities has, since June 6, 2025, been lawlessness, rioting, looting, and vandalism,” the court filing says.
On June 18, the mayor lifted a curfew she had imposed a week earlier to prevent vandalism and break-ins during nighttime protests. The demonstrations had been largely concentrated in a few downtown blocks that are home to several federal and local government buildings.
New York
Yoga business founder gets 4 years in prison after pleading guilty to tax charge
NEW YORK (AP) — An international yoga business founder whose chain of yoga studios promoted itself as “Yoga to the People” was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a tax charge.
Gregory Gumucio, 64, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by Judge John P. Cronan, who also ordered him to pay $2.7 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
In October, he pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, admitting that he had not paid over $2.5 million in taxes from 2012 to 2020.
“Gregory Gumucio built a profitable yoga empire and lived well off its success — but he refused to pay his taxes,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.
Gumucio’s business, which generated over $20 million in revenue, had operated in about 20 locations in the United States, including in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland, California; Tempe, Arizona; Orlando, Florida; and cities in Colorado and Washington.
It also operated in studios in Spain and Israel and was seeking to expand to other countries when it closed four years ago.
When Gumucio was arrested two years ago, a prosecutor said he was the living in Cathlamet, Washington, and had been arrested 15 times. The prosecutors also said he had in the past used at least six aliases, three Social Security numbers and claimed three places of birth.
Lululemon files lawsuit against Costco, claims company is selling ‘dupes’ of some of its products
Lululemon has filed a lawsuit against Costco that accuses the wholesale club operator of selling lower-priced duplicates of some of its popular athleisure clothing.
Lululemon Athletica claims in its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that Costco has “unlawfully traded” on its reputation, goodwill and sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel that uses knockoff, infringing versions of its patents.
Lululemon alleges that Costco is known to use manufacturers of popular branded products for its private label Kirkland brand, but that the company and the manufacturers don’t tell consumers of the connection between them for many of the Kirkland-branded products. Because of this, Lululemon claims this leads at least some shoppers to believe that Kirkland-branded products are made by the authentic supplier of the “original” products. Lululemon claims Costco doesn’t try to dispel the ambiguity.
“As an innovation-led company that invests significantly in the research, development, and design of our products, we take the responsibility of protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights very seriously and pursue the appropriate legal action when necessary,” a Lululemon company spokesperson said in a statement.
Some of the products Lululemon says Costco is making duplicates of include its popular Scuba hoodies, Define jackets, and ABC pants.
Lululemon claims one of the duplicates that Costco sells is the Hi-Tec Men’s Scuba Full Zip, with the lawsuit showing a screenshot image of Costco’s website showing the item priced at $19.97.
Lululemon sells several men’s jackets that cost more than $100 each.
Costco, based in Issaquah, Washington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Lululemon is requesting a jury trial and wants Costco to stop selling the products that it considers to be duplicates. It is also seeking an unspecified amount in monetary damages.
Lulemon was in a similar legal dispute with Peloton in 2021. Two years later the companies announced a five-year partnership that included Lululemon becoming the primary athletic apparel partner to Peloton.
New Jersey
Judge greenlights antitrust lawsuit against Apple
A federal judge on Monday rebuffed Apple’s request to throw out a U.S. government lawsuit alleging the technology trendsetter has built a maze of illegal barriers to protect the iPhone from competition and fatten its profit margins.
The 33—page opinion from U.S. District Judge Xavier Neals in New Jersey will enable an antitrust lawsuit that the U.S. Justice Department filed against Apple 15 months ago to proceed. Neals has set a timetable that could see the case come to trial in 2027.
Apple has sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the Justice Department had distorted the contours of the smartphone market and made a series of other misinterpretations that warranted the case be thrown out.
But Neals decided there is enough evidence to support the Justice Department’s market definitions and concluded the case’s key allegations merited further examination at trial.
The case seeks to pierce the digital fortress that Apple Inc., based in Cupertino, California, has built around the iPhone, iPad and other products to create a so-called “walled garden” allowing its hardware and software to mesh seamlessly for users.
The Justice Department alleges that walled garden has mostly turned into a shield against competition, creating market conditions that enable it to charge higher prices and stifle innovation.
The lawsuit “sets forth several allegations of technological barricades that constitute anticompetitive conduct,” Neals wrote in his opinion. The judge also concluded the Justice Department had pointed toward enough areas of troubling conduct that raised the “dangerous possibility” that Apple has turned the iPhone into an illegal monopoly.
In a Monday statement, Apple reiterated its position that the Justice Department’s case “is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will continue to vigorously fight it in court.”
The antitrust lawsuit isn’t the only legal headache threatening to undercut its profits, which totaled $94 billion on sales of $295 billion in its fiscal year ending last September.
Another federal judge in April issued a civil contempt order banning Apple from collecting any fees from in-app transactions on the iPhone that are funneled through other options besides its once-exclusive payment processing system that charged commissions ranging from 15% to 30%.
Apple also could lose a more than $20 billion annual payment that it gets for making Google the default search tool on the iPhone and other products as part of another antitrust case brought by the Justice Department. A federal judge in Washington D.C. is considering whether to ban the deals with Apple as part of a shake-up being proposed to address Google’s illegal monopoly in searc h.
Neals’ decision to allow the Justice Department’s antitrust case to proceed came on the same day that Apple was hit with a lawsuit by app maker Proton amplifying the accusations of wrongful conduct by the company. The lawsuit, which will seek to be certified as a class action presenting thousands of developers who have made iPhone apps, is asking for punitive damages against Apple, as well as a court order to dismantle its walled garden.
New York
Ex-aide to governor pleads not guilty to new fraud charge
NEW YORK (AP) — A former aide to two New York governors already facing charges of acting as an illicit agent of China pleaded not guilty on Monday to additional charges that she improperly profited from the state’s purchase of face masks and other key medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Linda Sun, 41, and her husband, Chris Hu, 40, — who is also charged — entered not guilty pleas to charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Hu also faces tax evasion charges.
The two remain free on bond and are due back in court Aug. 25 ahead of an expected November trial.
Sun’s lawyer Jarrod Schaeffer declined to comment following Monday’s proceedings but has previously dismissed the new charges as “feverish accusations unmoored from the facts.” Hu’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond Monday but have also similarly denied the charges.
Prosecutors say the couple collected millions of dollars in kickbacks by exploiting Sun’s role in helping New York procure personal protective equipment, or PPE, during the pandemic in 2020.
They say Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen, used connections in her native China to secure PPE for the state, though she didn’t disclose her family’s ties to two vendors that received more than $44 million, prosecutors say.
Sun previously pleaded not guilty to charges she used her position in state government to advance Chinese government priorities in exchange for financial rewards, including assistance with Hu’s business ventures in China.
The lucrative benefits helped the Long Island couple live a lavish lifestyle with multimillion-dollar properties and luxury cars, prosecutors have said.
Sun worked for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, until she was fired in 2023.
California
Trump sues Los Angeles, claiming the city refuses to cooperate on immigration
LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration filed suit Monday against Los Angeles, claiming the city is obstructing the enforcement of immigration laws and creating a lawless environment with its sanctuary policies that bar local police from sharing information on people without legal status.
The lawsuit in U.S. District Court says Los Angeles’ “ sanctuary city” ordinance hinders White House efforts to crack down on what it calls a “crisis of illegal immigration.” It is the latest in a string of lawsuits against so-called sanctuary jurisdictions — including New York,New Jersey and Colorado — that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The Los Angeles policy bars city resources from being used for immigration enforcement. The court filing calls the city ordinance “illegal” and asks that it be blocked from being enforced.
Chad Mizelle, chief of staff for U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, said in announcing the latest lawsuit that the administration will not tolerate any interference with the federal government’s crackdown.
A spokesperson for City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said the city’s ordinance was “carefully drafted” and complies with federal law and constitutional principles separating state and federal powers.
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, a co-author of the Los Angeles sanctuary law, said Monday that the city would do everything in its power to protect its residents.
He said in a statement that “Trump is tearing families apart” and trying to force cities and towns across the country to help him carry out his agenda.
“We refuse to stand by and let Donald Trump deport innocent families,” he added.
The Los Angeles lawsuit claims Trump “won the presidential election on a platform of deporting the millions of illegal immigrants.” Over the past three weeks, immigration agents have swarmed Southern California, arresting hundreds of people and prompting protests.
Tens of thousands of people participated in rallies over immigration raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. Los Angeles police have arrested over 100 people on various charges from throwing rocks at federal officers to setting fire to Waymo cars equipped with self-driving technology.
“The practical upshot of Los Angeles’ refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities has, since June 6, 2025, been lawlessness, rioting, looting, and vandalism,” the court filing says.
On June 18, the mayor lifted a curfew she had imposed a week earlier to prevent vandalism and break-ins during nighttime protests. The demonstrations had been largely concentrated in a few downtown blocks that are home to several federal and local government buildings.
New York
Yoga business founder gets 4 years in prison after pleading guilty to tax charge
NEW YORK (AP) — An international yoga business founder whose chain of yoga studios promoted itself as “Yoga to the People” was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a tax charge.
Gregory Gumucio, 64, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by Judge John P. Cronan, who also ordered him to pay $2.7 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
In October, he pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, admitting that he had not paid over $2.5 million in taxes from 2012 to 2020.
“Gregory Gumucio built a profitable yoga empire and lived well off its success — but he refused to pay his taxes,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.
Gumucio’s business, which generated over $20 million in revenue, had operated in about 20 locations in the United States, including in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland, California; Tempe, Arizona; Orlando, Florida; and cities in Colorado and Washington.
It also operated in studios in Spain and Israel and was seeking to expand to other countries when it closed four years ago.
When Gumucio was arrested two years ago, a prosecutor said he was the living in Cathlamet, Washington, and had been arrested 15 times. The prosecutors also said he had in the past used at least six aliases, three Social Security numbers and claimed three places of birth.
