Jordan's NASCAR Team Fires Back At League's Cartel Claim

By Ryan Harroff

Michael Jordan's racing team has urged a North Carolina federal judge to toss NASCAR's counterclaim in an antitrust suit against the league, arguing that the stock car racing company has failed to lay out enough detail on the alleged cartel Jordan's team and others purportedly formed to harm its business.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chamber Asks Justices To Review Duke Energy Monopoly Suit

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to review a decision that revived a case accusing Duke Energy of squeezing a rival out of the market in North Carolina, saying the appeals court was wrong to recognize a "Frankenstein's monster" theory of harm.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NC Biz Court Limits Testimony In Smithfield Coverage Trial

By Ryan Harroff

A North Carolina business court judge refused to exclude expert witnesses from either side of an insurance coverage dispute between Smithfield Foods Inc. and a Chubb subsidiary, but did limit their testimony for the firms' upcoming April trial on how much the insurer owes for breaching its duty to defend.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Life Sciences REIT Says Ex-Employee Stole Trade Secrets

By Grace Dixon

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. filed suit against a former employee in Massachusetts federal court, alleging that he stole a trove of proprietary information as he was planning to leave the company.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Insurer Can't Escape Auto Co.'s $50M COVID Coverage Suit

By Hope Patti

An insurer can't escape an auto parts manufacturer's suit seeking $50 million in coverage for COVID-19-related losses, a North Carolina federal court ruled, saying the manufacturer sufficiently alleged that its losses are covered under the policy's communicable disease endorsement.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dutch Software Co. Tells 4th Circ. To Pause Trial After Atty DQ

By Hayley Fowler

A Dutch software company is taking another stab at delaying its impending trademark trial with an American rival, telling the Fourth Circuit that it should not be forced to proceed after the district court held one of its attorneys in contempt and essentially disqualified him.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ's Antitrust Unit Targeting Anticompetitive Regulations

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice launched a task force on Thursday aimed at eliminating state and federal laws and regulations that are hindering competition, with an initial focus on key sectors including housing, food and transportation.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Targets WilmerHale In 5th BigLaw Executive Order

By Aebra Coe

WilmerHale became the fifth large law firm to be on the receiving end of an executive order restricting its ability to practice law, with President Donald Trump on Thursday targeting the firm over its ties to former special counsel Robert Mueller as well as its immigration pro bono work and diversity practices.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Guo Trustee Settles Clawbacks From Versace, Firms

By Aaron Keller

The Chapter 11 trustee handling convicted Chinese exile Miles Guo's estate has asked a Connecticut bankruptcy judge to approve 10 clawback settlements with Hodgson Russ LLP, BakerHostetler, luxury retailer Versace and others, ending claims totaling $8.6 million but keeping the terms under wraps for six months.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

1st Circ. Denies Gov't Bid To Enforce Funding Freeze

By Julie Manganis

The First Circuit has declined to interfere with a Rhode Island federal judge's order that the government continue releasing federal funds while the Trump administration appeals a ruling blocking its efforts to enforce the freeze.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas IP Attys Get $60K Sanction For Unauthorized Practice

By Brandon Lowrey

A San Francisco federal magistrate judge has leveled more than $60,000 in personal sanctions against Texas intellectual property lawyer William Ramey III and two other attorneys from his high-volume patent firm, saying two of them practiced law without a California license in numerous cases to escape paying out-of-state admission fees of $328 per lawyer.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Troutman Atty Says Racial Bias Suit Should Go To Trial

By Andrea Keckley

A former Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP associate who says she was fired for calling out racial bias told a Washington, D.C., federal judge that the firm's own documents and testimony show it saw her as a valuable attorney, despite saying she was let go over performance.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trade Court Skewers ITC Over Secretive Redaction Policy

By Dorothy Atkins

The U.S. Court of International Trade issued a stinging rebuke of the U.S. International Trade Commission Thursday, clarifying disclosure laws and accusing the quasi-judicial agency of being too protective of information it deems "confidential" in violation of basic transparency rules.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Alibaba Investors' Attys Awarded $108M In IPO Settlement

By Hailey Konnath

A New York federal judge on Thursday granted final approval to Alibaba Group's $433.5 million settlement with investors suing the company over alleged misstatements about its exclusivity practices and its planned initial public offering of a fintech affiliate, awarding the investors' attorneys 25%, or roughly $108 million.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ga. Restrictions On Litigation Funders Near Final Passage

By Chart Riggall

Georgia's House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Legislature's first attempt to rein in third-party litigation funders with new restrictions on the industry, advancing the other half of a sweeping civil litigation reform package championed by Republicans this spring.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Full 7th Circ. Urged To Review Law Prof's Retaliation Suit

By Celeste Bott

The full Seventh Circuit was asked on Thursday to revisit a panel's ruling reviving a retaliation claim from a law school professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago who was disciplined for including a redacted racist slur on an exam, saying the opinion "raises, without answering, questions of exceptional importance that will have sweeping implications for university officials."

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »