Commercial Contracts

  • January 24, 2025

    Justices Urged To Review Souvenir Store's TM Fraud Case

    A Florida souvenir store chain has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider its challenge to a Second Circuit decision foreclosing its arguments that a bankrupt beachwear company fraudulently procured a trademark registration to secure a $3.5 million settlement in yearslong litigation between the competitors.

  • January 24, 2025

    11th Circ. Upholds $23M Ruling Against Venezuelan Oil Cos.

    The Eleventh Circuit ruled Friday that two Venezuelan oil companies can't reverse a $23 million judgment over breach of contract for the sale of chemicals, saying they waived challenges to personal jurisdiction at key points in the litigation, and the record shows no genuine factual issues surrounding the broken agreements.

  • January 24, 2025

    Scorned Hot Dog Biz Buyer Urges NC Justices To Revive Suit

    A businessman who claims he was cut out of a deal to buy a chain of Ohio hot dog eateries urged the North Carolina Supreme Court to revive his suit against a man who the businessman said was supposed to be his partner, arguing only a jury can resolve the matter.

  • January 24, 2025

    EEOC Disability Bias Suit Tossed Following Nixed Evidence

    A mortgage and financial services company on Friday defeated a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it unlawfully refused to hire a woman because she took pain medication, after a Washington federal judge ruled midtrial that a key piece of evidence shouldn't have been shown to jurors.

  • January 24, 2025

    NJ Judge Rejects Bid For New Trial In Red Roof Inn Deal

    A New Jersey state judge has rejected a bid for a new trial over a deal gone wrong to purchase a Red Roof Inn, ruling two witnesses who asserted their Fifth Amendment rights outside of the jury's presence had no bearing on the jury's verdict.

  • January 24, 2025

    9th Circ. Renews Billing Co.'s Suit Against Texas Data Firm

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Friday partly revived a Washington billing services company's lawsuit over a soured business deal with bankrupt Addison Data Services, finding a bankruptcy settlement agreement and the statute of limitations can't keep the plaintiff from pursuing its breach of fiduciary duty claims.

  • January 24, 2025

    Boston Firm Says IT Vendor Holding Computers 'Hostage'

    Boston-based law firm Melick & Porter LLP says a company it hired to manage its information technology is now holding its computer network and data "hostage" by refusing to cooperate with the transition to a new vendor unless Melick pays it $380,000.

  • January 24, 2025

    Dow Argues Tech Firm's IP Suit Over Software Is Time-Barred

    The Dow Chemical Co. has urged an Ohio federal judge to rule in its favor in a dispute over proprietary polyethylene manufacturing software, arguing that ControlSoft Inc.'s suit ignores their more than 20-year business relationship and that the technology firm waited too long to bring trade secrets and copyright infringement claims.

  • January 24, 2025

    Capital One Named In Action Over Early-Year Service Outage

    Capital One has been hit with a proposed class action in Virginia federal court focused on a January service disruption that allegedly left consumers locked out of its systems.

  • January 24, 2025

    Baldoni Rebuts Atty Ethics Claims In 'It Ends With Us' Fight

    A lawyer representing Justin Baldoni has told a New York federal judge that statements his counsel has made to the press regarding the actor and director's thorny litigation with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds over the film "It Ends With Us" didn't violate ethical rules or prejudice proceedings.

  • January 24, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen Axa Insurance and Admiral face a claim from a former lawyer recently exposed for personal injury fraud, the owner of Reading Football Club sue a prospective buyer and mobile network Lycamobile tackle action by Spanish network Yogio. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • January 24, 2025

    Judge To Inspect Winston & Strawn Docs In Malpractice Row

    A Texas state judge said Friday that he plans to personally review more than 100 Winston & Strawn LLP documents to determine whether the firm must turn them over to Houston-based energy companies in connection with their $175 million malpractice suit.

  • January 24, 2025

    'Secret Plot' Drove Perella Weinberg Split, Judge Hears

    A New York state judge heard dueling claims of deception on Friday as counsel for investment banking firm Perella Weinberg and a group of former partners each accused the other of a "secret plot" that violated their partnership agreement, kicking off a trial centering on a sudden split in the firm a decade ago.

  • January 23, 2025

    Wash. Justices Back Workers' View On Moonlighting Law

    Washington's highest court clarified on Thursday that the state's moonlighting protections shield low-wage workers from noncompete terms that would outright ban them working for any competitor in any capacity, concluding that employers must narrowly tailor such restrictions to be line with employees' common-law duty of loyalty.

  • January 23, 2025

    Conn. High Court Snapshot: Atty's Bonus, Burn Verdict

    In its next term starting Monday, the Connecticut Supreme Court will hear an appeal from an acupuncturist who doesn't want to share liability for a judgment paid to a burn victim, and consider whether to reverse a seven-figure verdict for a private equity management firm's founder, who claims other members improperly cut him out.

  • January 23, 2025

    4th Circ. Unwinds Rocket Mortgage Borrowers' Class Cert.

    A split Fourth Circuit on Thursday reversed the class certification of borrowers who accused Rocket Mortgage of inflating their home values, finding that not all potential class members could prove they were injured under the U.S. Supreme Court's heightened pleading standard in TransUnion.

  • January 23, 2025

    Ex-Tribal Chair Seeks High Court Review Of Extortion Verdict

    A former tribal chair in Massachusetts told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that the First Circuit was wrong and stands alone in ruling that federal extortion laws apply to Native American officials as it reinstated his convictions tied to the development of a casino project.

  • January 23, 2025

    Catholic University, Students' $2M Deal Wraps Up COVID Suit

    A D.C. federal judge gave final approval to a $2 million settlement between Catholic University and a class of students who say they lost opportunities when the school shut down in-person learning at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • January 23, 2025

    Wells Fargo Prevails In $25M Mortgage Default Dispute

    A Pennsylvania state court sided with Wells Fargo in a foreclosure suit accusing a Philadelphia property owner of defaulting on a nearly $25 million mortgage loan, finding the owner failed to abide by the loan agreement.

  • January 23, 2025

    Judge Throws Out Minor League Owners' Suit Against Rival

    A New Jersey federal judge dismissed a suit brought against a minor league baseball team owner by a rival company over his alleged moves to undermine its position in financial negotiations with Major League Baseball, ruling that the owner had no duty to his rival during those talks.

  • January 23, 2025

    Fla. Insurer Tries To Toss Suit Blaming It For Black Mold Death

    A Sunshine State insurer accused of wrongfully causing the death of a woman who died from black mold contamination after it didn't send a promised team to her home to fix hurricane damage has urged a Florida judge to dismiss the suit, calling it a bad-faith case in disguise trying to get around an already pending contract dispute.

  • January 23, 2025

    7th Circ. Says Ex-Manager's Noncompete Allowed Clawback

    The Seventh Circuit reopened an auto parts company's lawsuit seeking to recover proceeds a plant manager got from selling shares he was granted, saying Delaware's top court has made clear that a lower court shouldn't have analyzed whether the forfeiture-for-competition provisions of the stock agreements were reasonable.

  • January 23, 2025

    Ex-J&J Exec Accused Of File Theft Has Died, Court Told

    A former competitive strategy director for Johnson & Johnson accused of stealing confidential files when he left the company to work for Pfizer has died, according to a court filing.

  • January 23, 2025

    AT&T, Fidelity Beat Retiree's Suit Over Mistaken Benefits

    A retiree who claimed he was misled by AT&T and Fidelity into thinking he was owed more retirement benefits than he received cannot proceed with his suit, a Colorado federal judge ruled, stating that the snafu resulted in a miscommunication, not a violation of federal benefits law.

  • January 23, 2025

    NC Biogas Co. Sidesteps Sanctions For Now In Lender Fight

    A North Carolina Business Court judge held back on sanctioning a biogas company for allegedly violating a court order to pay its lender before pursuing new contracts on a renewable energy project, reasoning that he needs more information about the terms of the agreement to see if a contempt ruling is warranted.

Expert Analysis

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Key Territory-Split Licensing Lessons For Life Sciences Cos.

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    Territory-split deals can allow life sciences companies to maximize products' potential across a range of geographic areas, but these deals also present unique challenges requiring highly bespoke structures that can make or break the value of an asset, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Total loss valuation cases and labor depreciation cases dominated the past quarter of insurance class actions, with courts continuing to reject challenges to condition adjustments in the former, and a pro-insured trend persisting in the latter, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Opinion

    In Visa Case, DOJ Continues To Misapply The Sherman Act

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    The recent U.S. Department of Justice debit market monopolization case against Visa fuels concerns that a misguided Biden administration DOJ is inappropriately expanding its interpretation of the Sherman Antitrust Act beyond the demonstrable economic effects that business conduct has on consumers, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • Key Legal Considerations After Supply Chain Disruptions

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    After U.S. supply chain disruptions — like the recent port workers' strike, and Hurricanes Helene and Milton — stakeholders should look to contractual provisions to mitigate losses, and keep in mind that regulators will be watching closely for unfair shipping practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Why Secured Lenders Must Mind The Gap In UCC Searches

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    If not adequately addressed, the Uniform Commercial Code filing indexing gap can interfere with a lender's expected lien priority, but taking appropriate preclosing actions and properly timing searches can eliminate this risk, says Robert Wonneberger at Barclay Damon.

  • The Fed. Circ. In October: Aetna And License-Term Review

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision that Aetna's credit card licensing agreement with AlexSam did not give the insurer immunity from patent infringement claims serves to warn licensees to read their contracts carefully, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • Reading Tea Leaves In Fed. Circ. Deep Dive On Review Scope

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    Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer investigates why a recent Federal Circuit opinion spent six pages explaining its unsurprising conclusion on proper scope of review — that no deference need be afforded to the trial court in a case dismissed for failure to state a claim.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

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    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

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