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Commercial Contracts
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December 04, 2024
Amazon Held To Prior Fights, Ongoing Rules In Antitrust Row
Amazon.com Inc. can't duck updated consumer antitrust suits because it failed to raise some arguments against prior iterations and because plaintiffs adequately alleged substantial, ongoing anticompetitive conduct and effects from rules punishing sellers who offer their goods cheaper elsewhere, according to a decision unsealed in Washington federal court.
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December 04, 2024
Chinese Semiconductor Co. Seeks OK Of Emergency Award
A Chinese semiconductor company has asked a California federal court to enforce an emergency arbitral award barring a commodity trading firm from dissipating its assets as the two companies arbitrate a $5.4 million dispute over a botched contract for two lithography machines.
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December 04, 2024
Takeda Exec Duped Beau Into $2M Fraud, Jury Told
A Massachusetts man is accusing his wife, a former Takeda Pharmaceuticals vice president, of playing "puppet master" by tricking him into joining a scheme to steal millions from the drug company through fake invoices.
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December 04, 2024
Timothy Hutton, Production Co. Settle Over Firing From Show
Academy Award-winning actor Timothy Hutton has settled a $3 million dispute over his ouster from the Amazon crime drama reboot "Leverage: Redemption" amid sexual assault allegations, two months before he and the show's production company had been set to square off at trial in California state court.
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December 03, 2024
Equipment Co. Inks $14.5M OFAC Deal Over Iran Sanctions
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday said a German industrial equipment company has inked a $14.5 million settlement to end claims that it violated Iran sanctions by supplying the country with a polypropylene plant, though a majority of the penalties will be suspended if the company meets certain compliance commitments set out by the deal.
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December 03, 2024
Mich. Seat Co. On Hook For €4.1M German Lease, Suit Says
A German property owner has said in a new complaint that a Michigan-based automotive seat manufacturer is on the hook for a €4.1 million ($4.3 million at current exchange rates) lease after its European entity defaulted on payments and entered insolvency proceedings.
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December 03, 2024
9th Circ. Ponders AIDS Generic Drug Reimbursement
A Ninth Circuit panel heard arguments Tuesday on a Seattle pharmacy's dispute with a benefits manager over reimbursements for the generic version of the HIV/AIDS drug Truvada, with one judge asking if the pharmacy was stuck with a lopsided deal, but also questioning if the contract obligated the payments.
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December 03, 2024
5th Circ. Judge Doubts Deepwater Horizon Claims Can Survive
A Fifth Circuit judge on Tuesday questioned whether cleanup workers' claims following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill can survive in the face of a demanding evidence standard adopted from toxic tort cases.
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December 03, 2024
Cheese Co. Can't Give Whey Trial The Slip, Nutrition Co. Says
A nutritional supplement company has asked a Connecticut federal judge to reject giving Colorado-based cheese giant Leprino Foods a summary win in a fight over a whey protein deal, arguing that the motivation behind Leprino's decision to abruptly cut off supply is a key factual dispute.
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December 03, 2024
Bearing Maker Settles With RTX, Rival In Trade Secrets Case
A Connecticut roller bearing company has settled its lawsuits accusing military supplier RTX and a competitor of misusing trade secrets related to the design of a U.S. military bomb, after earlier delays in reaching an agreement.
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December 03, 2024
AmEx Loses Arbitration Bid Due To 'Ironic' Unpaid $17M Bill
A Rhode Island federal judge on Monday rejected sending a proposed antitrust class action over American Express Co.'s swipe-fee rules back to arbitration after the company refused to pay arbitration fees totaling $17 million, observing that AmEx's actions created its own "ironic dilemma: a credit card company not paying its bills."
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December 03, 2024
Mattel's 'Wicked' Doll Boxes Linked To Porn Site, Mom Says
Mattel was hit with a proposed class action Tuesday in California federal court by a mother who alleged she bought the toy giant's line of "Wicked" dolls based on the film for her young daughter, only to find out afterward the packaging featured a hyperlink leading to a pornographic website.
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December 03, 2024
PE-Backed Anesthesia Giant Can't Duck Antitrust Claims
A New York federal judge refused to nix a Syracuse hospital's antitrust damages claims against North America's largest anesthesia provider, finding the alleged multimillion-dollar costs incurred from understaffing and overpayment can be traced to noncompete agreements locking in anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists.
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December 03, 2024
CSX Asks High Court to Weigh Norfolk Southern Rate Case
CSX has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fourth Circuit ruling that the rail giant's antitrust lawsuit against Norfolk Southern over a switching line the two railroads own was outside the statute of limitations.
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December 03, 2024
4 Mass. State Court Rulings You May Have Missed In Nov.
An age discrimination case was undone by the fine print of an employment agreement, while an "utterly inadequate" document search led to a five-figure sanctions order, among other notable recent decisions in Massachusetts state court.
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December 03, 2024
9th Circ. Affirms Circle K's Win In Gas Pricing Row
The Ninth Circuit upheld Circle K Stores' win against retail gas stations that accused the convenience chain of setting high gas prices in bad faith, finding Tuesday that Circle K's prices were "within the range" of those charged by its competitors and lower than at least one refiner.
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December 03, 2024
Timeshare Co. Argues Jury Never Should've Seen Fraud Suit
A company selling timeshares in Atlantic City, New Jersey, told a state appeals court Tuesday that a consumer fraud suit never should have reached a jury, arguing that an evidence rule bars the claims.
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December 03, 2024
Fla. Court Urged To OK 'Offensive' $645K Deal In Firm's Ch. 11
A law firm debtor urged a Florida bankruptcy court Tuesday to approve a $645,000 settlement in its Chapter 11 to resolve a proposed fraudulent misrepresentation class action in state court against a former Miami insurance attorney, who called the potential deal "offensive" and said it's possible he'll be sued again.
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December 03, 2024
Tech Giants Seek Firm's Communications With Elusive Client
Apple and Amazon want Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP to turn over texts and emails with a client who disappeared from a putative class action against the tech giants, to determine whether the plaintiff consented to the case continuing in his absence.
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December 02, 2024
Trial Begins In Trader Joe's Vendor's Fight With Poultry Supplier
Employees of a poultry producer cracked vulgar jokes about the quality of the meat while packaging raw chicken tainted with bone fragments, a Washington-state grocery store vendor told a federal jury on Monday, blaming the meatpacker for the demise of the Chili Lime Chicken Burgers previously made exclusively for Trader Joe's.
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December 02, 2024
Judge Isn't Seeing 'Good Faith' Compliance In Probiotic Feud
A Maryland federal judge said Monday that a drug company is, yet again, failing to make "good faith substantial compliance" with the terms of an injunction that followed a $15 million jury verdict in a dispute over a proprietary probiotic formula.
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December 02, 2024
McDonalds Can't Nix $10B Bias Suit Despite 'Close Call'
A California federal judge has refused to hand a summary judgment win to either party in Byron Allen's $10 billion lawsuit alleging that McDonald's Corp. discriminates against Black-owned media companies, finding that the discrimination allegations are a "close call" involving factual disputes that must be decided at trial.
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December 02, 2024
Kyrie Irving Owes $400K For Retreat Services, Therapist Says
A psychotherapist sued Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving in New York state court alleging he owes nearly $400,000 for services she provided for a North Dakota retreat this past summer, including additional counseling services after one of the participants tragically died during the event.
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December 02, 2024
Insurer Says Telecom Co. Can't Ax Marshall Fire Coverage Suit
Liberty Mutual urged a Colorado federal court to allow it to proceed with a lawsuit against a Lumen Technologies subsidiary over coverage for underlying litigation linking the 2021 Marshall Fire to an unmoored telecommunications line, arguing that the insurer had clear standing to bring the suit.
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December 02, 2024
Filmmaker Says He Didn't Infringe IP With Beirut Documentary
An independent filmmaker and his company have launched a suit in Ohio federal court seeking a declaration that they never infringed any copyright owned by a nonprofit while making a documentary about the 1983 U.S. Marine barracks bombings in Beirut.
Expert Analysis
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2 Rulings Serve As Conversion Fee Warnings For Banks
A comparison of the different outcomes in Wright v. Capital One in a Virginia federal court, and in Guerrero v. Bank of America in a North Carolina federal court, highlights how banks must be careful in describing how currency exchange fees and charges are determined in their customer agreements, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.
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Expect CFPB To Enforce Warning Against 'Coercive' Fine Print
The recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warning against unenforceable terms "deceptively" slipped into the fine print of contracts will likely be challenged in court, but until then, companies should expect the agency to treat its guidance as law and must carefully scrutinize their consumer contracts, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Leveling Up IP Protections For Video Game Icons' Film Debuts
Video game creators venturing into new realms of entertainment that include their iconic characters, such as television and film adaptations, should take specific steps to strengthen their intellectual property rights, say Joshua Weigensberg and Parmida Enkeshafi at Pryor Cashman.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Mitigating Risks Amid 10-Year Sanctions Enforcement Window
In response to recent legislation, which doubles the statute of limitations for actions related to certain U.S. sanctions and provides regulators greater opportunity to investigate possible violations, companies should take specific steps to account for the increased civil and criminal enforcement risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Keys To Strong Parking, Storage Contracts For NYC Buildings
Drafting and enforcing unambiguous parking and storage unit license agreements are essential tasks for co-op and condo boards in New York City, with recent cases highlighting how prudent terms can minimize potential headaches, say Matthew Eiben and Adam Lindenbaum at Rosenberg & Estis.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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Series
After Chevron: FTC's 'Unfair Competition' Actions In Jeopardy
While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference will have limited effect on the Federal Trade Commission's merger guidelines, administrative enforcement actions and commission decisions on appeal, it could restrict the agency's expansive take on its rulemaking authority and threaten the noncompete ban, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
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Expect The Unexpected: Contracts For Underground Projects
Recent challenges encountered by the Mountain Valley Pipeline project underscore the importance of drafting contracts for underground construction to account for unexpected site conditions, associated risks and compliance with applicable laws, say Jill Jaffe and Brenda Lin at Nossaman.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.