Commercial Contracts

  • May 11, 2026

    5th Circ. Wary To Flip IP Suit's 'Case-Terminating Sanctions'

    A Fifth Circuit panel seemed skeptical of a bid to undo "case-terminating sanctions" that a lower court leveled against a servicing company accused of stealing Philips North America LLC's trade secrets, saying Monday that the company admitted to deleting some files to cover its tracks.

  • May 11, 2026

    Colo. Trial Firm Seeks Fees Ruling In Case Against Injury Firm

    A trial law firm asked a Colorado state court to determine whether a personal injury firm the trial firm contracted with is entitled to fees after the defendant terminated the firms' of-counsel agreement and did so, the trial firm alleged, without good faith.

  • May 11, 2026

    Pharma CEO's Role In Ex-Exec's Contract Permits Deposition

    North Carolina's business court has refused to shield the CEO of biopharmaceutical firm United Therapeutics Corp. from being deposed in a trade secrets lawsuit against a former executive and his new employer, finding it reasonable to believe she was an "ultimate decision-maker."

  • May 11, 2026

    Fla. Panel Denies Arbitration In Nursing Home Death Suit

    A Florida state appellate court denied an arbitration bid in a wrongful death suit brought by the son of an elderly man who died in a nursing home, ruling Monday that the patient lacked the mental capacity to sign an agreement upon being admitted to the facility. 

  • May 11, 2026

    Packaging Co. Wins 2nd Block On Rival's Insulated Container

    A cold storage packaging company has won a second injunction barring a rival manufacturer from selling an insulated shipping container that allegedly infringes its patents, according to a North Carolina federal judge's order.

  • May 11, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Rehear NASA Contractor Patent Fight

    The Federal Circuit declined to reconsider its ruling siding with a district court's decision to grant summary judgment to a NASA contractor over claims the contractor infringed a rotary wing vehicle patent owned by two California brothers.

  • May 11, 2026

    NC Tech Co. Says Supplier Botched Raytheon Battery Deal

    A manufacturer hired by defense contractor Raytheon to develop 270-volt battery packs for powering a weapon on the military's Apache helicopters has accused a business partner of repeatedly failing to meet various delivery deadlines for parts needed to produce the units.

  • May 11, 2026

    Brewery Says Eviction Bid Chases Profit From FIFA World Cup

    A Houston brewery asked a Texas state court on Monday to block its landlord from evicting it ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alleging the landlord manufactured lease defaults to retake the property and profit from its location near Houston's planned tournament fan zone.

  • May 11, 2026

    Ex-US Rep. Faces $1.4M Sanction In Venezuela Contract Fight

    Former Florida Congressman David Rivera, who was found guilty this month of failing to register as a foreign agent, is now facing a nearly $1.4 million sanction in New York, where the U.S. affiliate of Venezuela's state-owned oil company sued his consulting firm over a $50 million agreement that fell apart.

  • May 11, 2026

    Volvo Says Recalls For Faulty Backup Camera Moot Suit

    Volvo has urged a New York federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action alleging it sold cars with defective rear cameras that don't operate properly when in reverse, arguing the claims aren't ripe since the plaintiff didn't say he took advantage of remedies offered through the automaker's nationwide voluntary recalls.

  • May 11, 2026

    Bain-Linked Unit Accuses Sellers Of Secret Deals In TM Suit

    A Bain Capital portfolio company that manufactures hand and power tools has accused its distributors of making backdoor deals with unauthorized resellers to peddle trademarked products on online marketplaces such as Amazon without approval.

  • May 11, 2026

    Binance Takes Investor Suit Arbitration Bid To 11th Circ.

    Binance and former CEO Changpeng Zhao are asking the Eleventh Circuit to review a Florida federal judge's decision denying their bid to compel arbitration of a proposed class action alleging that the crypto trading platform knowingly violated U.S. regulatory requirements.

  • May 11, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled a varied mix of settlement approvals, political office disputes, transaction fights, emergency injunction bids and questions over how far the court can go to preserve records for litigation outside Delaware.

  • May 11, 2026

    ChatGPT Suit Points To Ups And Downs Of Pro Se AI Use

    A recent lawsuit against OpenAI highlights many of the hopes and anxieties about pro se litigants using generative artificial intelligence to churn out legal arguments. The technology raises concerns about confidentiality, hallucinations and ethical issues, but some access-to-justice advocates worry the lawsuit may hinder technology that might democratize legal services.

  • May 08, 2026

    Accounting Firm Accused Of Helping Director Usurp Dad's Co.

    SingerLewak LLP grossly mismanaged the assets of the late Ivan Reitman's production company at the direction of his filmmaker son, according to a derivative lawsuit filed in California state court.

  • May 08, 2026

    Telecom Tower Owners Found In Contempt Over Sale Defiance

    A New York federal judge said he is tired of his orders being ignored after years of overseeing a fight over a corporate coup, and has ruled to hold the majority shareholders of a telecommunications infrastructure firm "and the person who controls them" in contempt of court.

  • May 08, 2026

    Franchisees Say Jack In The Box Trying To 'Avoid' Calif. Law

    Two Jack in the Box Inc. franchisees have answered the fast-food giant's bid to avoid contributing to a legal settlement over allegedly noncompliant job postings by saying Jack in the Box is attempting to "avoid" a California law that could work against it.

  • May 08, 2026

    Amazon Studios Exec Led Kickback Scheme, Producer Says

    Amazon MGM Studios has done nothing to stop one of its senior staff from orchestrating a "pay-to-play" scheme in selecting post-production vendors, according to a new lawsuit filed by a producer who says his company was excluded from Amazon-affiliated productions when he refused to pay a kickback.

  • May 08, 2026

    Former H-2A Workers, Turf Farm Ink $850K Overtime Deal

    Former H-2A workers alleging a turf farm avoided paying them overtime by misidentifying their roles while having them do substantial, non-agriculture-related landscaping work told a Missouri federal judge Friday they've reached an $850,000 settlement to resolve the yearslong Fair Labor Standards Act litigation. 

  • May 08, 2026

    Texas Justices Order Appraisal In $40M Flood Damage Dispute

    Texas' highest court on Friday conditionally granted a mandamus petition by insurers seeking to compel appraisal in litigation over roughly $40 million in water damage to a Dallas property owned by a real estate development group.

  • May 08, 2026

    Embezzler's $250M Suit Against FanDuel Sent To Arbitration

    A New York federal judge has ruled that an arbitrator will decide a dispute between FanDuel and a former NFL team administrator convicted of embezzlement who accuses the online sports betting platform of taking advantage of his gambling addiction.

  • May 08, 2026

    Amtrak Wins Arbitration Bid In Passenger Injury Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has sent to arbitration a personal injury suit accusing Amtrak of causing a passenger's injuries, saying the passenger agreed to arbitrate her claims by accepting Amtrak's online ticket terms.

  • May 08, 2026

    Venezuela Oil Co. Seeks Redo On Rig Seizure Claims

    Venezuela's state-owned oil company is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit a D.C. Circuit opinion ordering the company to face long-pending allegations of unlawfully seizing an Oklahoma-based oil drilling company's rigs, arguing the ruling upends decades of precedent on the act of state doctrine.

  • May 08, 2026

    Ohio Health System Looks To Toss DOJ Antitrust Case

    OhioHealth told a federal court Friday the antitrust case from the U.S. Department of Justice and state enforcers over the hospital system's contracts with insurers would limit competition, not restore it.

  • May 08, 2026

    Texas Atty Cleared Of Claims She Misled Client

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday sided with an attorney in a dispute with an ex-client who claimed the attorney misled him, saying the client accepted the attorney's condition to settle their dispute when he cashed a check.

Expert Analysis

  • Tips For Financial Advisers Facing TRO From Former Firm

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    The Eighth Circuit's recent decision in Choreo v. Lors, overturning a lower court's sweeping injunction after financial advisers moved to a new firm, gives advisers new strategies to fight restraining orders from their old firms, such as focusing on whether the alleged irreparable harm is calculable, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

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    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

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    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • Aerospace And Defense Law: Trends To Follow In 2026

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    Some of the key 2026 developments to watch in aerospace and defense contracting law stem from provisions of this year's National Defense Authorization Act, a push to reform procurement, executive orders that announced Trump administration priorities, the upcoming Artemis space mission and continuing efforts to deploy artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

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    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • 2 Rulings Showcase Fuzzy Limits Of 'Related To' Jurisdiction

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    The Fifth and Ninth Circuits recently handed down decisions, in Sanchez Energy and Sawtelle Partners, respectively, reminding practitioners that bankruptcy court jurisdiction over lingering disputes is not guaranteed, regardless of whether confirmation orders contain specific "retention of jurisdiction" language, says Brian Shaw at Cozen O’Connor.

  • 3 Key Ohio Financial Services Developments From 2025

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    Ohio's banking and financial services sector saw particularly notable developments in 2025, including a significant Ohio Supreme Court decision on creditor disclosure duties to guarantors in Huntington National Bank v. Schneider, and some major proposed changes to the state's Homebuyer Plus program, says Alex Durst at Durst Kerridge.

  • AI Licensing Suit Exhibits Pitfalls Of Vague Contract Terms

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    Fastcase Inc. v. Alexi Technologies, a case in District of Columbia federal court, demonstrates the potential consequences of vaguely drafted contract terms amid unforeseen technological advances, but there is practical guidance parties may employ to mitigate the potential for similar contract disputes, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Series

    Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: January Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five rulings from October and November, and identifies practice tips from cases involving consumer fraud, oil and gas leases, toxic torts, and wage and hour issues.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Navigating Battery Validation Risk In The EV Supply Chain

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    Vehicle electrification has moved battery system supply chains from a background component into the center of the automotive universe — and for legal teams, battery validation is now a driver of contractual disputes, regulatory exposure and even shareholder litigation, say Samuel Madden at Secretariat Advisors and Vanessa Miller at Foley & Lardner.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

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    My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

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