Commercial Contracts

  • September 06, 2024

    Insurer Tries To Stop Asset Transfers In $2.6M Builder Lawsuit

    An insurance company has urged a Montana federal court to temporarily block a group of construction companies from transferring assets, alleging they owe more than $2.6 million in payments, claims and attorney fees related to projects in Montana and Wyoming.

  • September 06, 2024

    4 ERISA Arguments To Watch In September

    The Ninth Circuit will weigh two cases involving whether class claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act can be forced into solo arbitration, and the Second Circuit will hear Yale University workers' bid to revive their retirement plan mismanagement suit. Here are four upcoming oral argument sessions that benefits attorneys should have on their radar.

  • September 06, 2024

    Atty Loses Bid To Revive NJ Malpratice Suit Against 2 Firms

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday upheld the dismissal of an attorney's common law fraud and negligence claims against two law firms for allegedly misrepresenting a debt he owed.

  • September 06, 2024

    $147.5M Life Insurance Class Deal Gets First OK In Conn.

    A Connecticut federal judge has given his initial approval to a $147.5 million settlement in a class action accusing two insurers of overcharging policyholders when deducting costs from savings accounts attached to universal life insurance plans, turning away objections from plaintiffs in parallel cases in other states.

  • September 06, 2024

    Judge Barnard Says It's 'About Time' For Texas Biz Court

    Law360 recently talked with Judge Marialyn Barnard, who transitioned this month from the 73rd District Court to Texas Business Court, about the newly created court.

  • September 06, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen Rockfire Capital sue its former director, Liam Kavanagh, after he was accused of cheating cash-strapped Thurrock Council out of £150 million ($197 million), FedEx launch a claim against an Israeli supply chain business, and a legal dispute between steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta and a former colleague. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • September 06, 2024

    Indicted Power Broker, Atty Brother Hit With Civil RICO Suit

    Philadelphia developer Carl Dranoff has accused the indicted brothers George E. Norcross III, a New Jersey power broker, and Parker McCay CEO Philip A. Norcross of causing him and his company millions of dollars in damages by intimidating and extorting him out of his property development rights in the city of Camden, New Jersey.

  • September 05, 2024

    MGA's O.M.G. Dolls Imitated Girl Group's Looks, Member Says

    Toy company MGA Entertainment Inc.'s line of O.M.G. dolls imitated the signature looks of a pop group created by rapper T.I. called OMG Girlz, a member of the singing group testified Thursday in a California federal court retrial of a long-running intellectual property fight.

  • September 05, 2024

    NC County Says Hospital 'Monopoly' Led To ER Understaffing

    A North Carolina county has accused an Asheville hospital of driving up taxpayer-funded ambulance expenses by understaffing its emergency department and forcing paramedics to step into the roles of emergency physicians.

  • September 05, 2024

    Judge Orders Jury Trial Over Arbitration Bid In TCPA Fight

    An Ohio federal judge declined to rule on whether a proposed Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action against a Maryland-based healthcare company should go to arbitration, ordering that a jury should decide whether the plaintiff had an applicable arbitration agreement.

  • September 05, 2024

    Panel Finds Colo. Attys Can't Poach From Current Employers

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel on Thursday upheld a $4,000 verdict and $1.2 million in fee awards against an attorney who violated an employment contract when she tried to lure colleagues away from a prominent regional personal injury firm, finding the firm's contract was valid and enforceable.

  • September 05, 2024

    Judge Sharp No Stranger To Complex Cases Biz Court To See

    Business Court Judge Stacy Sharp says that most of the cases she's litigated across her career would have been a perfect fit for the state's newest venue.

  • September 05, 2024

    Real Estate Co. EasyKnock Settles Battle With Ch. 7 Trustee

    New York-based real estate investor EasyKnock Inc. would fork over the full alleged value of a debtor's home to her bankruptcy estate as part of a proposed deal to settle the Chapter 7 trustee's fraud claims and the company's own suit alleging collusion.  

  • September 05, 2024

    Lumen Sued Over $1.4B Pension Swap With 'Risky' Provider

    Two retired employees of Lumen Technologies are suing the internet service provider and an investment adviser over the transfer of $1.4 billion in pension obligations to a "highly risky private equity-controlled" insurance company, arguing in a Colorado class action that the move puts their retirement benefits at risk despite safer options available.

  • September 05, 2024

    Guess What? The Guess Who Settled Their Intra-Band TM Suit

    The trademark dispute between two halves of the Canadian rock band The Guess Who ended Thursday when the four rockers filed a joint stipulation asking a California federal judge to toss the lead singer and lead guitarist's claims that their two former bandmates were using the group's trademarks without permission.

  • September 05, 2024

    Pa. City Iced Retirees Out Of Ch. 9 Plan Talks, Committee Says

    Retiree creditors in the city of Chester, Pennsylvania's bankruptcy have denounced its proposed Chapter 9 plan, telling a judge in Philadelphia it is a "blunt-instrument approach" to complex issues and was docketed without consulting their committee that represents the largest creditor group.

  • September 05, 2024

    Bad Bunny Sports Firm In Contempt Over MLBPA Arbitration

    A federal judge in Puerto Rico has found the sports agency tied to music megastar Bad Bunny in contempt, saying the firm defied the court's order to arbitrate claims accusing the Major League Baseball Players Association of hobbling its business.

  • September 05, 2024

    Berkshire Unit Owes $1M For Shooting, Ga. Man Says

    A man shot during an armed robbery at a convenience store told a Georgia federal court that a Berkshire Hathaway unit must pay its full $1 million limit toward an underlying $1.5 million consent judgment he reached against the property owner.

  • September 05, 2024

    Colo. Cannabis Co. Manager Stole $150K, Suit Claims

    The two marijuana entrepreneurs behind the Euflora chain are once again back in court, with one of them accusing the other of stealing at least $150,000 from their enterprise, possibly to cover unpaid loans and taxes, according to a lawsuit filed in Colorado state court, which claimed the alleged theft comes after a string of erratic behavior.

  • September 05, 2024

    Placid Oil Tells 5th Circ. It's Clear Of Contamination Claims

    Placid Oil told a Fifth Circuit panel that previous bankruptcy proceedings cleared it of contamination claims on a Louisiana property, saying during oral arguments Thursday that language in the contract calling it a party to the surface lease agreement didn't count as an assignment.

  • September 05, 2024

    'Regrettable Mistake' Can't Bar Subrogation Bid, Insurer Says

    An insurer for a Hardee's restaurant urged a North Carolina state appeals court to revive its subrogation action over a December 2019 fire, after it said its counsel made a "regrettable mistake" in naming a related brokerage as the plaintiff rather than the insurer itself.

  • September 05, 2024

    Marvel Illegally Coerced Silence, 'X-Men '97' Writer Says

    Former "X-Men '97" series head writer has hit Marvel Animation Studio LLC with a lawsuit in California state court, seeking to invalidate a nondisparagement provision he claims Marvel coerced him into signing amid his alleged "forced ouster" this year.

  • September 05, 2024

    Lloyd's Looks To Ditch Cadwalader's Coverage Suit In NC

    A Lloyd's of London syndicate is urging the North Carolina Business Court to toss a Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP lawsuit seeking coverage for a 2022 data breach, saying the law firm failed to include three other carriers included on the insurance policy at issue.

  • September 12, 2024

    Squire Patton Hires Disputes Pro From Eversheds Sutherland

    Squire Patton Boggs LLP has said that a former trainee who specializes in commercial disputes has returned to the firm as a partner in its office in Birmingham, as it continues to expand its litigation practice across the U.K.

  • September 05, 2024

    7-Eleven Owners Not Company Workers, Mass. Justices Say

    The top court in Massachusetts ruled Thursday that 7-Eleven franchise owners aren't employees because they don't perform services for the corporation that licensed them the franchises.

Expert Analysis

  • Meta Data Scraping Case Has Lessons For Platforms, AI Cos.

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    The California federal court ruling that artificial intelligence company Bright Data's scraping of public data from Meta social media sites does not constitute a breach of contract signals that platforms should review their terms of service and AI companies could face broad implications for their training of algorithms, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year

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    As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

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    A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Assessing 2 Years Of High Court's Arbitration Waiver Ruling

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    In the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Morgan v. Sundance, clarifying that no special rules apply to waiver of arbitration provisions, the ruling has had immediate ramifications in federal courts, but it may take some time for the effects to be felt on other federal issues and in state courts, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief

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    The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.

  • UMG-TikTok IP Rift Highlights Effective Rights Control Issues

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    Despite Universal Music Group's recent withdrawal of TikTok's licensing rights to its music catalog, the platform struggles to control uploads and reproductions of copyrighted material, highlighting the inherent tension between creative freedom and effective rights control in the age of social media, says Simon Goodbody at Bray & Krais.

  • Fintech 'Prenups': Planning For A Card Program Breakup

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    After a year of economic downturns, some banks and their fintech partners are realizing they may have rushed to the altar without a good prenup, but planning ahead can curb both foreseeable and unexpected issues in the event of a termination of a bank-fintech card-issuing agreement, say Andrew Grant at Ketsal and Richard Malish at Community Federal Savings Bank.

  • 3 Notification Pitfalls To Avoid With Arbitration Provisions

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    In Lipsett v. Popular Bank, the Second Circuit found that a bank's arbitration provision was unenforceable due to insufficient notice to a customer that he was bound by the agreement, highlighting the importance of adequate communication of arbitration provisions, and customers' options for opting out, say attorneys at Covington.

  • 2nd Circ.'s Nine West Ruling Clarifies Safe Harbor Confusion

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    The Second Circuit’s recent ruling in Nine West’s Chapter 11 suit clarifies that courts in the circuit will apply a transfer-by-transfer analysis to determine the applicability of Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code, and that to be safe harbored, a financial institution must act as an agent with respect to the specific transfer at issue, says Leonardo Trivigno at Carter Ledyard.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • What FTC's 'Killer Acquisition' Theory Means For Pharma Cos.

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent lawsuit to block Sanofi's acquisition of a pharmaceutical treatment developed by Maze Therapeutics builds on previous enforcement actions and could indicate the agency's growing willingness to use its so-called killer acquisition theory against perceived attempts to eliminate nascent competition, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

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