Commercial Contracts

  • July 05, 2024

    Novartis Allegedly Sat On Drug Rights To Avoid $1B Payment

    Drugmaker Novartis has allowed its right to develop a promising cancer treatment to "wither on the vine" to avoid having to pay nearly $1 billion under an interest purchase agreement with a Massachusetts company, a lawsuit filed in state court alleges.

  • July 05, 2024

    Scotts Miracle-Gro Investor Sues Board Over Inventory 'Flood'

    Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. executives "repeatedly and consistently obfuscated the truth" about excess inventory as the company pushed the extra products on its distributors, according to a new investor suit.

  • July 05, 2024

    3rd Circ. Preview: Ponzi Scheme, Merck Vaccine Heat Up July

    The Third Circuit's July argument schedule is sizzling with several high-stakes cases, including two whistleblowers attempting to make drugmaker Merck answer for allegedly inducing the U.S. government to pay for substandard mumps vaccines.

  • July 03, 2024

    Electric Jet Co. Scoffs At Boeing Bid To Undo $72M IP Verdict

    Zunum Aero Inc. said that a federal judge should reject The Boeing Co.'s efforts to cancel a $72 million jury award for misappropriating the electric jet startup's trade secrets, saying evidence presented during a 10-day trial in May amply supports the verdict.

  • July 03, 2024

    Broiler Chicken Buyers' Attys Get $51.6M Fees In Antitrust Suit

    An Illinois federal judge overseeing sprawling antitrust litigation against broiler chicken producers awarded class counsel more than $51.6 million in attorney fees in a $181 million deal for chicken buyers after the initial $57 million award was tossed by the Seventh Circuit last year, according to an order Wednesday.

  • July 03, 2024

    Roche Says Stanford Profs Stole Cancer Detection Tech

    Roche Molecular Systems has accused Stanford University and several faculty members of swiping its proprietary cancer detection technology and secretly founding a new company with it, according to a suit filed in California federal court.

  • July 03, 2024

    Don't Dismiss Suit Over Ex-Employee's 'Raid,' Lender Says

    Mortgage lender Caliber Home Loans Inc. has accused a competitor of taking "another bite at the preemption apple" in seeking dismissal of the latest version of a suit over alleged poaching, telling a Dallas federal judge that the suit revision raises "additional, distinct facts" that support allowing its claims to go forward.

  • July 03, 2024

    Marriott Unit Settles Dispute Over COVID Event Cancellation

    A data management company has told a New Jersey federal judge it settled its suit against a Marriott-branded hotel for not nullifying a contract and demanding payment for a 2021 event that the company canceled because of a COVID outbreak.

  • July 03, 2024

    FTC Warns Cos. Over Warranties That Limit Right To Repair

    The Federal Trade Commission is warning a group of air purifier sellers, treadmill makers and gaming tech companies not to scare their customers from using independent dealers to repair their products, saying their use of "warranty void" notices might be in violation of federal right-to-repair laws.

  • July 03, 2024

    5 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch For In July

    Republican state attorneys general will try to convince the Fifth Circuit to knock down a U.S. Department of Labor rule covering how retirement plan managers can consider environmental and social factors when picking investments, while Kellogg workers will challenge class action waivers at the Sixth Circuit. Here are five argument sessions coming up this month that benefits attorneys should keep an eye on.

  • July 03, 2024

    One Judge Not Enough For TCPA Deal's Toss, 11th Circ. Told

    An Alabama woman has said a recent Eleventh Circuit decision tossing her and other class members' $35 million settlement with GoDaddy.com should get another look from a three-judge panel because outstanding questions about which of the panel's opinions control are poised to sow confusion with the district court.

  • July 03, 2024

    Fla. Disinfectant Co. CEO Must Face $5M Canadian Judgment

    A Florida judge on Wednesday ordered the CEO of a disinfectant company to appear in state court to face a $5.1 million judgment in Canada that he's allegedly avoiding over breaching an agreement for parts that were supplied to his business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • July 03, 2024

    Geico To Pay Policyholders $2M To Settle Underpayment Suit

    Geico policyholders asked a New Jersey federal judge for preliminary approval of a $1.9 million settlement resolving claims the insurer breached their policies by failing to pay title or registration transfer fees upon the total loss of an insured vehicle.

  • July 03, 2024

    Developer Owes $10M For Boston Project Delays, Suit Says

    Massachusetts contractor Suffolk Construction Co. Inc. claims the developer of a significant mixed-use residential and commercial block in Boston's South End still owes it more than $10 million, saying delays due to the pandemic and a change in the type of cabinetry in the apartments contributed to higher costs.

  • July 03, 2024

    Penile Implant Doc Seeks $7M Atty Fees, Costs In $18M IP Win

    A urologist who won $18.3 million in royalties and damages after a jury found a rival stole his penile implant trade secrets and infringed his intellectual property asked a California federal judge for $6.5 million in attorney fees and $614,000 in costs, saying he is owed the funds as the prevailing party in the litigation.

  • July 03, 2024

    Akerman Beats DQ Bid In Sneaker Product IP Battle

    Akerman LLP can't be disqualified from defending a manufacturing company against claims that it stole from a social media influencer it partnered with to sell sneaker care products, a California federal judge has ruled.

  • July 03, 2024

    4 Mass. Rulings You Might Have Missed In June

    Massachusetts state courts last month dealt with thorny contract disputes, mistakenly disclosed emails between a defendant and an attorney, and a company's overtime policy change that may not have been spelled out to workers.

  • July 03, 2024

    Judge OKs Bid To End FindLaw Trade Secrets Lawsuit

    A New York federal judge has approved a deal to resolve a trade secrets dispute between West Publishing Corp. and RizeUp Media Inc. stemming from the departure of several key employees from West.

  • July 03, 2024

    DLA Piper Adds McGuireWoods' Downtown LA Shop Lead

    McGuireWoods LLP's former Los Angeles downtown office head is taking her class action and complex litigation-focused practice in finance, technology, aerospace and oil industries to DLA Piper, the firm announced this week.

  • July 03, 2024

    Markel Drops Suit Over Law Firm's Malpractice Coverage

    A Markel unit told a New York federal court it is dropping its suit against Harris Sliwoski LLP over coverage for malpractice claims lodged against the Seattle-based firm by Haiti after a $31 million judgment entered against the Caribbean country.

  • July 03, 2024

    Pennsylvania Casino Can't Reopen 'Legal Advice' Battle

    Parx Casino can't get a Pennsylvania federal court to reconsider its orders to turn over most of its disputed communications with Eckert Seamans in a lawsuit over whether the law firm put the casino operator's interests ahead of another client that makes gaming machines, the court ruled Wednesday.

  • July 02, 2024

    ACC Invokes 'Casablanca' In Media Rights Row With Clemson

    The 1942 Hollywood classic "Casablanca" was given some airtime on Tuesday in a North Carolina state courtroom when the Atlantic Coast Conference, in seeking to prevent dismissal of its suit over media rights, drew a comparison between Clemson University and the duplicitous character of Captain Louis Renault.

  • July 02, 2024

    Health Data Co. Alleges Contract Breach, Seeks Del. TRO

    A Blue Cross Blue Shield Association healthcare data licensee has sued for a Delaware Court of Chancery injunction that would bar a client from sharing a valuable database of BCBS medical and pharmacy claims with direct competitor Cigna Corp.

  • July 02, 2024

    Conn. Justices Send Trade Secrets Row Back To Trial Court

    The Connecticut Supreme Court ordered a "limited" new trial Tuesday in a trade secrets case that pit Dur-A-Flex Inc. against numerous companies tied to research chemist Samet Dy, its former employee, finding error in the lower court's rulings on issues including damages and the enforceability of Dy's noncompete agreement.

  • July 02, 2024

    Marriott Loses Counterclaim In Delta's TM Suit

    Delta Air Lines Inc. has won its fight against Marriott International Inc.'s claim that the airline breached an agreement over the use of "Delta Hotels," with a Georgia federal judge finding that the deal at issue applies only in Hong Kong and China.

Expert Analysis

  • Supply Chain Considerations For Companies Deploying AI

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    Many businesses will risk failure by embracing artificial intelligence without fully understanding the risks, and the value of a five-step AI supply chain analysis cannot be overstated, say Brooke Berg and Nathan Staffel at Nardello & Co.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • Key Lessons From Recent Insurance Policy Reform Litigation

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    A review of recent case law reveals the wide range of misunderstandings that may arise between insurers and policyholders in the purchase and renewal of insurance policies, as well as the utility — and the limits — of reformation and related remedies for these misunderstandings, say Jad Khazem and Seth Tucker at Covington.

  • Compliance Considerations For New Data Protection Law

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    Sam Castic at Hintze Law discusses how to determine if your organization is covered by the newly enacted Protecting Americans' Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, the scope of the law's restrictions, and how to go about compliance as its June 23 effective date approaches.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Affirms NY Law's Creditor-Friendly Approach

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    The Second Circuit’s recent ruling in 245 Park Member v. HNA International provides creditors with some reason for optimism that debtors in New York may face rejection in court for aiming to keep creditors at arm’s length by transferring personal assets into an LLC, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

  • Diving Deep Into Sweeping NY Financing Bill — And Its Pitfalls

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    A New York bill seeking to impose state usury limits onto a broader variety of financing arrangements and apply lender licensing requirements to more diverse entities would present near-insurmountable compliance challenges for lenders and retailers, say Kate Fisher and Tom Quinn at Hudson Cook.

  • When Oral Settlements Reached In Mediation Are Enforceable

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    A recent decision by the New Jersey Appellate Division illustrates the difficulties that may arise in trying to enforce an oral settlement agreement reached in mediation, but adherence to certain practices can improve the likelihood that such an agreement will be binding, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.

  • What Transactional Attys Must Know About Texas Biz Courts

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    As Texas prepares to launch its new business courts, transactional attorneys — especially those involved in commercial, securities and internal governance matters — should keep several issues in mind when considering use of the state's business court system to facilitate deals and settle disputes, say attorneys at Katten.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • Behind Court Challenges To The FTC's Final Noncompete Rule

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent final rule banning noncompetes may not go into effect any time soon amid a couple of Texas federal court challenges seeking to bar the rule's implementation, which will likely see appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Elkins at MLE Law.

  • Can Chatbot Interactions Lead To Enforceable Contracts?

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    The recent ruling in Moffatt v. Air Canada that found the airline liable for the representations of its chatbot underscores the question of whether generative artificial intelligence chatbots making and accepting offers can result in creation of binding agreements, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • The Opportunities, Risks And Rewards Of AI Acquisitions

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    As artificial intelligence acquisitions become an increasing area of focus for investors and technology buyers, entities should pay special attention to target identification, due diligence and more when structuring and executing a transaction with a company that has an AI-centric business model, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Legal Issues To Watch As Deepfake Voices Proliferate

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    With increasingly sophisticated and accessible voice-cloning technology raising social, ethical and legal questions, particularly in the entertainment industry and politics, further legislative intervention and court proceedings seem very likely, say Shruti Chopra and Paul Joseph at Linklaters.

  • Insurance Types That May Help Cos. After Key Bridge Collapse

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    Following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, businesses that depend on the bridge, the Port of Baltimore and related infrastructure for shipment and distribution of cargo should understand which common types of first-party insurance coverage may provide recoveries for financial losses, say Bert Wells and Richard Lewis at Reed Smith.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

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