Commercial Contracts

  • October 10, 2024

    SeaWorld Wraps Up Suit Over COVID Severance Pay

    SeaWorld has inked settlements with two employees to resolve a California federal court suit claiming the business ignored its policies by failing to pay employees severance when they were furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • October 10, 2024

    Proskauer Adds Akin Knowledge Management Ace In NY

    Proskauer Rose LLP is expanding its private funds team, bringing in an Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP knowledge management expert as a partner in its New York office.

  • October 10, 2024

    Rock Climbing School Not Covered In Fall Suit, Insurer Says

    An insurer said it doesn't owe coverage to a rock climbing school in an underlying suit brought by the family of a teenager who was injured after he fell 35 feet while climbing, telling a North Carolina federal court that the policy does not provide coverage for joint ventures.

  • October 10, 2024

    Pa. Justices Vexed By Mall's Bid To Dodge Store's Legal Bill

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday questioned Harrisburg Mall's argument that it should be let off the hook for Bass Pro Shops' legal bills after the retailer sank a customer's trip-and-fall suit, with one justice suggesting that the alleged need for proof or a judgment incentivized the tenant to lose the case. 

  • October 10, 2024

    Houston Firm Says 'Scurrilous' Ex-Atty Not Entitled To Fees

    A Houston law firm is urging a state court to dismiss a lawsuit from a disbarred attorney seeking fees for cases he worked on before going to prison for fraud, arguing that paying him the $3.84 million he is asking for would run afoul of ethics rules and a Texas Supreme Court order.

  • October 10, 2024

    Investor Connected To Texas AG Seeks To Ax Fraud Case

    Nate Paul, a real estate investor at the heart of the failed impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has moved to dismiss federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges against him, arguing that the indictment does not claim that he acted willfully when allegedly ripping off lenders and investors.

  • October 10, 2024

    Ex-NFLer Can't Get Sanctions For Dropped Sexual Abuse Suit

    A Colorado state judge on Wednesday denied awarding attorney fees to a former NFL player-turned-reptile-shipper as a sanction, concluding it wasn't clear that the now-dismissed lawsuit by a former employee who accused him of sexually abusing her and then firing her was brought in bad faith or without any factual foundation.

  • October 10, 2024

    Fiduciary Co. Asks Justices To Weigh ERISA Arbitration Denial

    A fiduciary services provider urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit's decision blocking arbitration in a proposed class action alleging a debt relief company overcharged an employee stock ownership plan, arguing the ruling demonstrated a "judicial hostility" to arbitration that justices have warned against.

  • October 10, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Adds Of Counsel Atty, 6 Associates In Miami

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP's 3-year-old Miami office has just surpassed the 20-lawyer mark with the addition of seven attorneys in the past two months.

  • October 09, 2024

    'Legend' Distributor Tried 'Shell Game' To Duck Bill, Judge Told

    French film company StudioCanal's attorney said Wednesday during opening statements of a California bench trial that companies associated with Cross Creek Pictures and its cofounder played a "shell game" by fraudulently avoiding paying millions owed for the North American distribution rights to the 2015 film "Legend."

  • October 09, 2024

    $140M Chilean Hospital Award Fight Is Paused In Canada

    A Canadian judge has paused a Chilean construction company's bid to enforce a $140 million arbitral award arising from a soured hospital construction project against Webuild while an Italian court determines whether the construction giant is obligated to pay.

  • October 09, 2024

    Amid Copyright Suit, Authors Guild Eyes Licensing To AI Cos.

    The rise of generative artificial intelligence has led to a tsunami of copyright lawsuits by authors alleging OpenAI and other tech companies are ripping off their works, but on Wednesday the nation's largest professional organization for writers announced a new plan of attack: Help writers license their works to AI companies.

  • October 09, 2024

    Chancery Keeps $5B Md. Data Center Project Fight In Del.

    A court battle over control and management of early work on a potential $5 billion data complex in western Maryland will remain in the First State despite a marginally earlier-filed suit in Texas' new business court, a Delaware vice chancellor ruled late Wednesday.

  • October 09, 2024

    Hedge Fund Agrees To Drop Spoofing Claims Against TD Bank

    Broker-dealer affiliates of TD Bank will no longer face a hedge fund's claims that they manipulated markets by placing trade orders they never intended to fulfill, the parties told a Manhattan federal judge.

  • October 09, 2024

    Court Affirms Waste Management Win In 'Titans Of Trash' Spat

    A Florida appeals court on Wednesday affirmed a win for Waste Management Inc. of Florida Inc. in a dispute with Bergeron Environmental and Recycling LLC over a joint venture to provide municipal trash pickup services and said the agreement's jury trial waiver was valid.

  • October 09, 2024

    Atlanta Braves Pitch Dismissal Or Transfer Of Defamation Suit

    The Atlanta Braves urged a Texas federal judge to dismiss or transfer a defamation lawsuit filed by an auction house alleging the team purposely maligned its image by leaking false claims to the media that the auctioneer was selling memorabilia to which it had no rights.

  • October 09, 2024

    'Sophie's Choice' Theatrical Rights Deal Long Over, Court Told

    The 95-year-old widow of "Sophie's Choice" author William Styron urged a judge on Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that she broke a deal for the theatrical rights to the 1979 novel, saying the agreement signed between the playwright plaintiff and her late husband in 2005 and several later agreements expired more than five years ago.

  • October 09, 2024

    Del. Justices Told Noncompete Toss Will Upend State Doctrine

    An attorney for an Illinois-based auto parts company urged Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday to clarify recent court precedent on employee "forfeiture-for-competition" agreements, saying a federal court strike-down of the company's forfeit action against a former manager would be "anathema" to Delaware's "contractarian doctrine and tradition" if upheld.

  • October 09, 2024

    Singapore Liquidator Seeks Recognition For Overseas Case

    The liquidator of a bankrupt Singapore company has told a New Jersey bankruptcy judge he needs to act to stop one of the company's creditors from using a U.S. lawsuit to undermine court proceedings in Singapore.

  • October 09, 2024

    Kohl's Sued After Vendor Hack Leaks 1.9M Customers Files

    Kohl's department store customers hit the retail giant on Wednesday with a putative breach of implied contract class action in Pennsylvania federal court alleging the store failed to protect data from 1.9 million customers from a hack targeting a contractor the retailer uses for debt collection.

  • October 09, 2024

    Payment Processor Accuses Pot Biz Of Ending Contract Early

    A Florida-based payment processor accused a cannabis merchant of ending a three-year contract early and blowing off requests for an agreed-upon termination fee, putting the processor out nearly $320,000.

  • October 09, 2024

    Toll Bros. Blames Subcontractors For Senior Housing Flaws

    As several entities of the construction firm Toll Brothers face contract breach claims over alleged defects in a Connecticut senior community, the defendants have filed a third-party complaint against four subcontractors that they claim are actually responsible for poor work and any damages.

  • October 09, 2024

    Locke Lord Slams 'Unsustainable' Take On Jurisdiction Issue

    Locke Lord LLP urged a New Jersey appellate panel Wednesday to reverse a trial court's finding that it is subject to Garden State courts in a malpractice suit over an allegedly botched deal involving a North Dakota oil refinery project, arguing personal jurisdiction can't be obtained through personal service on a firm partner not involved in the litigation.

  • October 09, 2024

    Colo. Firm Seeks Bigger Cut Of Atty Fees From Competitor

    A Colorado personal injury firm has told a state federal court it deserves a bigger cut of attorney fees than its successor firm in a $1.5 million tort settlement because the client's attorney, who left to work at another firm, did most of the work on the case while under her previous firm.

  • October 09, 2024

    Morgan & Morgan Wins Bid To Arbitrate Malpractice Claims

    A Georgia federal judge on Wednesday granted Morgan & Morgan PA's bid to compel arbitration of a former client's legal malpractice claims, ruling that the state's justices have already rejected his argument that arbitration clauses between attorneys and clients should be unenforceable.

Expert Analysis

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Shows Lies Must Go To Nature Of Bargain

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Milheiser decision, vacating six mail fraud convictions, clarifies that the key question in federal fraud cases is not whether lies were told, but what they were told about — thus requiring defense counsel to rethink their strategies, say Charles Kreindler and Krista Landis at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Adopting 7 Principles May Improve Voluntary Carbon Markets

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    The Biden administration's recently issued joint policy statement on improving the integrity of voluntary carbon markets may help companies using carbon credits to offset their emissions withstand scrutiny by government agencies, the public and investors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Managing Legal Risks After University Gaza Protests

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    Following the protests sparked by the war in Gaza, colleges and universities should expect a long investigative tail and take steps to mitigate risks associated with compliance issues under various legal frameworks and institutional policies, say Wiley's Diana Shaw and Colin Cloherty.

  • Debate Over CFPB Definition Of Credit Is Just Beginning

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has recently worked to expand the meaning of credit, so anyone operating on the edges of the credit markets, or even those who assumed they were safely outside the scope of this regulatory perimeter, should pay close attention as legal challenges to broad interpretations of the definition unfold, says John Coleman at Orrick.

  • Abu Dhabi Ruling Hints At More Arbitration-Friendly Approach

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    The international and comparative rationale an Abu Dhabi onshore court used to decide that an arbitration agreement referencing a defunct arbitration center was still enforceable suggests that the UAE judiciary may be adopting a more flexible, pro-arbitration framework and stabilizing Dubai's arbitration landscape, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

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    The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

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    To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

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    Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • DC Circ. Ruling Heightens HHS Contract Pharmacy Challenges

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent ruling that the Section 340B program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies represents a second strike against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' current contract pharmacy policy and raises the stakes surrounding an upcoming Seventh Circuit ruling on the same issue, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Real Party In Interest And IPR

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    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s recent Luminex v. Signify decision, finding a complaint seeking indemnification may be treated as a public demand sufficient to establish a real party-in-interest, shows that the board continues to apply a broad and expansive definition to that term, say Yicong (Eve) Du and Yieyie Yang at Finnegan.

  • How Employers, Attorneys Can Respond To Noncompete Ban

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    As the Federal Trade Commission's recently issued noncompete ban faces ongoing legal challenges, now is a good time for employers to consider whether they want to take a wait-and-see approach before halting use of noncompetes and for practitioners to gain insight into other tools available to protect their clients' business interests, says Jennifer Platzkere Snyder at Dilworth Paxson.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

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    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

  • CFPB's Expanding Scope Evident In Coding Bootcamp Fine

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent penalty against a for-profit coding bootcamp that misrepresented its tuition financing plans is a sign that the bureau is seeking to wield its supervisory and enforcement powers in more industries that offer consumer financing, say Jason McElroy and Brandon Sherman at Saul Ewing.

  • 4 Arbitration Takeaways From High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's May 23 decision in Coinbase v. Suski, which provides clarity to parties faced with successive contracts containing conflicting dispute resolution provisions, has four practical impacts for contracting parties to consider, say Charles Schoenwetter and Eric Olson at Bowman and Brooke.

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