Commercial Contracts

  • July 15, 2024

    Dow Chemical Seeks Recusal After Settlement Offer Gaffe

    The Dow Chemical Co. asked an Ohio federal judge to recuse himself from a trade secrets suit brought by a Cleveland technology firm accusing it of misappropriating confidential information to recreate the firm's copyrighted software after the tech company showed the court a settlement offer without Dow Chemical's approval.

  • July 12, 2024

    Law360 Names 2024's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • July 12, 2024

    Mississippi Judge Benches Favre's NY Atty In Fraud Suit

    A Mississippi judge found Thursday that retired quarterback Brett Favre's New York-based defense attorney in a massive welfare fraud lawsuit routinely violated the state's civil procedure codes and barred him and other non-local counsel from making any more filings.

  • July 12, 2024

    Conn. Health Staffing Co. Co-Owner Drops Partnership Suit

    The co-owner of a Connecticut healthcare staffing company has withdrawn a lawsuit against a co-owner accused of plundering from the partnership, a move that leaves untested a sole dissolution claim left standing by a judge who dismissed all other causes of action between the parties earlier this year.

  • July 12, 2024

    BNSF Puts Up $426M To Stay Tribe's Win Pending Appeal

    BNSF Railway Co. on Friday asked a federal judge to approve a $426 million security bond and to stay enforcement of a nearly $400 million judgment for trespassing across a Washington tribe's territory, while the railroad appeals.

  • July 12, 2024

    VLSI Continues Fight Against Intel In Patent Litigation

    VLSI has launched a fight in Texas federal court against an argument that Intel made in Delaware federal court that it had a license to various patents.

  • July 12, 2024

    Valve Says Too Much Game Publisher Variety For Class Cert.

    Online gaming giant Valve is fighting certification of a class of some 32,000 gaming publishers that distributed their titles through the company's Steam platform, arguing those publishers have nothing in common to assert any commonality in the alleged creation of a pricing floor that helped sustain Valve's 30% commissions.

  • July 12, 2024

    Delta Slams Flyers' Facebook Data Sharing Class Action

    Delta Air Lines has asked a California federal judge to dump a proposed class action alleging it unlawfully shared customers' sensitive personal data with Meta's Facebook through online tracking tools embedded in its website, saying its contract of carriage clearly discloses its digital advertising practices.

  • July 12, 2024

    Staffing Agency Accused Of Misclassifying Workers

    A staffing agency misclassified customer service agents as independent contractors and failed to pay them for all the hours they worked, according to a proposed class and collective action filed in Colorado federal court.

  • July 12, 2024

    Gas Co. Says Trader Can't Get Bonus From Risky Trades

    A Colorado gas marketing company has urged a state judge to find a former trading director forfeited his right to collect a $3.3 million bonus because it was the result of risky and unauthorized trading, according to a motion asking the court to toss a jury's damages award.

  • July 12, 2024

    Zimmer Biomet Owes Despite Expired Patents, 7th Circ. Says

    Zimmer Biomet Holdings shouldn't have stopped paying royalties on knee replacement devices it developed using an orthopedic surgeon's various patents after those patents expired, the Seventh Circuit said Friday, backing a lower court's decision affirming an arbitration ruling in favor of the surgeon's estate.

  • July 12, 2024

    Texas City Escapes Suit Over 2014 Toby Keith Concert

    A state appeals court wrote that a south Texas city can escape a lawsuit brought by the promoters of a Toby Keith concert held at a city building, writing that the city didn't waive governmental immunity because the contract was verbal.

  • July 12, 2024

    Tobacco Co. Wants Coverage After $89M Tornado Damage

    A tobacco company blamed its insurers for failing to pay their portion after $89 million of snuff was damaged following a 2023 tornado, in a case removed to Tennessee federal court.

  • July 12, 2024

    American Airlines Pilot Pushes For $16M Win After ERISA Trial

    An American Airlines pilot urged a Texas federal court to make the airline cough up nearly $16 million following a June bench trial in a retirement savings class action, arguing the company breached its fiduciary duties to its retirement plan by focusing too heavily on environmental and social factors in investments.

  • July 12, 2024

    Lin Wood Wants Judge Disqualified In Ga. Defamation Case

    Controversial retired Georgia attorney L. Lin Wood has asked that a Georgia federal judge be disqualified from presiding over a defamation case he's facing from his former law partners, arguing that the case involved two witnesses from Alston & Bird LLP, where the judge previously worked.

  • July 12, 2024

    Wayfair Says Contractor On 1st Megastore Stiffed Vendors

    Online retailer Wayfair LLC says the company it hired to oversee the build-out of its first "large-format" brick and mortar location failed to pay multiple subcontractors on the project, forcing Wayfair to pay the subcontractors directly to ensure that the store opened on time, according to a complaint filed Friday.

  • July 12, 2024

    Biggest Washington Decisions Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    The first half of 2024 in Washington courts was punctuated by a fizzled startup's $72 million trial win against The Boeing Co., and Monsanto Co.'s appellate reversal of a $185 million verdict in one of a series of high-profile PCB poisoning cases. Here is a closer look at some of the biggest decisions in Washington state and federal courts in the first half of 2024.

  • July 12, 2024

    Conn. Landlord Loses COVID-Era Lease Fight With Eatery

    A Connecticut landlord did not tender an "unequivocal ultimatum" booting an eatery from a parcel of property, an appellate panel ruled Friday, finding that since the landlord vacillated between kicking the tenant off its Wallingford land and accepting payments, a 2020 eviction notice had no effect.

  • July 12, 2024

    Microsoft Squashes Beef With Ex-Engineer Over Xbox Patents

    Microsoft has resolved litigation with a former software engineer who was fighting with the company over whether he could claim to own patents that he says Microsoft uses in its Xbox software.

  • July 12, 2024

    DraftKings' Voided NBA Bets Spark Lawsuit In Fed. Court

    An Indiana man claiming he was cheated out of a $150,000 payday has sued DraftKings over its decision to void bets on an October NBA game, with the online betting giant moving the proposed class action to federal court this week.

  • July 12, 2024

    VW Supplier's Antitrust Suit Belongs In Germany, Texas Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge has dismissed an antitrust lawsuit filed by an auto parts maker against Volkswagen after finding that the German judicial system rather than the U.S. district courts would be the best place for these claims to be litigated.

  • July 12, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen the owner of the Lambretta scooter brand Innocenti SA embroiled in a trademark dispute with a property developer, a clash between two art dealers over a collection of tapestries, Telecom Italia pursue a debt claim against a competing telecommunications company, and performing arts trade union Equity hit a casting directory for charging unfair subscription fees on actors. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • July 12, 2024

    First Republic Settles $7M Scholarship Fund Loss Suit

    A philanthropist couple have reached an agreement to resolve their $7 million breach of fiduciary duty allegations against the now-failed First Republic Bank, telling a California federal judge that they reached a deal during a private mediation session.

  • July 11, 2024

    Only 1 Gold Mine Investor Has Class Claim, Chancery Says

    Only one of three warrant holders who sued a Nevada gold and silver mine in Delaware's Court of Chancery may move forward with a proposed class action, a Chancery Court judge has ruled, but the other pro se plaintiffs may continue with their individual claims.

  • July 11, 2024

    Disney Beats Suit Over Post-Pandemic Park Pass Restrictions

    A Florida federal judge Thursday tossed a lawsuit accusing Disney World of cheating customers who held pricey "Platinum" passes for its Sunshine State parks by imposing new restrictions on their use after the pandemic hit, saying the two women who sued could have canceled their passes and received a refund.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Addressing Dispositive Motions

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    Stephanie Magnell and Bret Marfut at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Claims and the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals that provide interesting takeaways about the nuances of motion practice utilized by the government to dispose of cases brought under the Contract Disputes Act prior to substantive litigation

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • Arbitration Implications Of High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Suski ruling not only reaffirmed the long-standing principle that arbitration is a matter of contract, but also established new and more general principles concerning the courts' jurisdiction to decide challenges to delegation clauses and the severability rule, say Tamar Meshel at the University of Alberta.

  • A Look At Calif. Contract Considerations In Fiji Water Ruling

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    A California appellate court's recent decision in Carolina Beverage v. Fiji Water, that a party may not seek contractual recovery on the basis of constructive termination, offers a look at contract construction and other considerations on negotiating distribution agreements, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Practical Private Equity Lessons From 2 Delaware Deals

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    A pair of Delaware Chancery Court cases remind private equity sponsors that specificity is crucial through the lens of deal certainty, particularly around closing conditions and agreement sections of acquisition agreements, say Robert Rizzo and Larissa Lucas at Weil Gotshal and William Lafferty at Morris Nichols.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • How Uyghur Forced Labor Law Affects Importing Companies

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    Amid a growing focus on forced labor in supply chains and a likely increase in enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, companies may face costly import delays unless they develop and implement compliance best practices, say Thad McBride and Lauren Gammer at Bass Berry.

  • Revisiting Morals Clauses In The Age Of Deepfakes

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    Deepfakes and other forms of misrepresentation powered by artificial intelligence have complicated the traditional process of reputation management for companies entering into talent agreements with celebrities, bringing new considerations for the morals clauses that usually shield against these risks, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • 4 Tips For Drafting Earnouts To Avoid Disputes

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    Amid slowed merger and acquisition activity, buyers and sellers are increasingly turning to earnout provisions to get deals done, but these must be carefully drafted to avoid interpretative differences that can lead to later disputes, say attorneys at Cooley.

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