Commercial Contracts

  • October 09, 2024

    Morgan & Morgan Wins Bid To Arbitrate Malpractice Claims

    A Georgia federal judge on Wednesday granted Morgan & Morgan PA's bid to compel arbitration of a former client's legal malpractice claims, ruling that the state's justices have already rejected his argument that arbitration clauses between attorneys and clients should be unenforceable.

  • October 09, 2024

    Ousted AI Engineer Took Trade Secrets, Auto Service Co. Says

    A software engineer who was fired from auto services company Agero after just three months took hundreds of confidential files and other materials, according to a suit filed on Wednesday in Massachusetts state court.

  • October 08, 2024

    Genting Unit Used Bahamas Resort To Hide Fraud, Suit Says

    A Bahamanian real estate development company on Monday sued a U.S. company organized under destination resorts and casino giant Genting Group, saying in a Florida federal complaint that the Genting company used a resorts in the Bahamas as a "financial wasteland" that obscured fraudulent activities.

  • October 08, 2024

    Del. Justices Revive Margolis Edelstein Malpractice Suit

    The full Delaware Supreme Court on Tuesday revived GMG Insurance Agency's malpractice suit claiming Margolis Edelstein's incompetence caused the insurer to have to settle a case for $1.2 million, saying there are still disputed facts about whether the law firm's representation fell below the requisite standards.

  • October 08, 2024

    Vince McMahon Accuser Wants Freedom To Air 'Toxic' Culture

    A woman accusing former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. executive chair Vince McMahon in Connecticut federal court of pressuring her into performing sex acts in exchange for an entry-level job has asked both McMahon and the company to voluntarily waive nondisclosure agreements, saying she and other accusers could help reform WWE's "toxic and sexualized culture."

  • October 08, 2024

    TMX Unit Can't Sue In Texas To Void $52M Pa. Fine, Court Told

    The secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities has urged a Texas federal judge to toss a suit from an affiliate of consumer lending company TMX Finance, challenging an order from the department seeking more than $52 million in civil penalties over claims tied to loan agreements that allegedly carry interest rates up to 720%.

  • October 08, 2024

    Jackson, Kagan Target Loper Bright In Ghost Gun Case

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was uncharacteristically quiet during initial arguments Tuesday over the federal government's authority to regulate ghost guns. While her colleagues debated whether kits of unassembled parts qualify as firearms, she waited patiently to post a different question: Can courts now toss agency interpretations they don't like?

  • October 08, 2024

    FuboTV Rips Fox Attempt To Transfer Sports Streaming Fight

    Fox wants the New York federal judge overseeing the lawsuit accusing it, ESPN and Warner Bros. of trying to run a rival out of business with a joint sports streaming venture to lop off the claims against it and ship them to California, but plaintiff FuboTV says Fox is trying to "forum shop mid-case."

  • October 08, 2024

    Underwriter Says Freight Co. Not Covered For Missing Cargo

    An underwriter urged a Washington federal court to relieve it of any coverage obligations it may owe under a commercial auto policy to a freight company that is potentially on the hook for over $580,000 after a cargo broker claimed that a shipment of computer parts wasn't delivered.

  • October 08, 2024

    GM Part Maker Can't Force Supplier To Deliver

    A Michigan federal judge won't force an automotive parts supplier to keep delivering products to a manufacturer that provides parts for lumbar seating systems to General Motors, even though it may cause "major disruptions," finding their agreement allows either party to choose when to walk out.

  • October 08, 2024

    Judge Clarifies Licensing Curbs On Paul Newman Foundation

    The foundation established by the actor Paul Newman cannot license his publicity and intellectual property rights to any university or other nonprofit, studio or publisher or any luxury brand for advertising, a Connecticut state court judge has said, responding to a request to clarify a preliminary injunction she issued.

  • October 08, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Restores Debit Card Patent Suit Against Aetna

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday revived patent litigation targeting Aetna's Visa- and Mastercard-branded debit cards, while holding that certain aspects of dismissal decisions should be reviewed from scratch on appeal.

  • October 08, 2024

    3rd Circ. Won't Rehear Pa., NJ Businesses' Virus Loss Suits

    The Third Circuit declined to rehear consolidated pandemic-related loss coverage disputes brought by New Jersey and Pennsylvania businesses, according to an order issued Tuesday, upholding its decision that the businesses' insurers didn't owe coverage for the claimed losses.

  • October 08, 2024

    US Airways Renews $139M Sabre Fee Bid For $1 Antitrust Win

    US Airways has renewed its bid for more than $139 million in costs for a long-running case accusing Sabre of monopolizing ticket distribution systems after a jury awarded the airline just $1 in damages following a second trial on antitrust claims.

  • October 08, 2024

    Senior Renters Say Mass. Facility Charged Exorbitant Fees

    A proposed class of low-income, elderly residents at an assisted living facility have told a Massachusetts federal court the facility's owner and operators charged an illegal "ancillary fee" calculated to extract all but a $100 monthly allowance from residents.

  • October 08, 2024

    1st Circ. Eyes Revival Of Welch's Execs' Pension Fight

    The First Circuit appeared receptive Tuesday to former Welch's executives who are seeking to revive a suit claiming they were shortchanged by a supplemental retirement plan, with two judges pointing out conflict-of-interest disputes on appeal that the lower court left unaddressed.

  • October 08, 2024

    Colo. Freed From Union Protest Of Southwest Sick Leave Deal

    Colorado isn't on the hook for claims by a union representing Southwest Airlines flight attendants related to a settlement between the state and airline about a sick leave law, a state court judge ruled, finding the union lacks standing to raise its allegations.

  • October 08, 2024

    Ga. Firm Says 'Right To Petition' At Stake In HOA Row

    An Atlanta-area real estate law firm urged the Georgia Court of Appeals Tuesday to stand by a trial court's decision to kill a lawsuit filed by two property owners who lost to the firm in court some 17 years ago.

  • October 08, 2024

    Media Co. And Ousted CEO Settle Suit Over Biz Sale

    The company behind the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other media outlets has settled a case brought against it by its ousted chief executive officer, who claimed he had been wrongly kept out of a committee looking into whether to sell the company by his family and other members of the firm's board.

  • October 07, 2024

    FTC's Amazon Monopolization Suit Largely Survives Dismissal

    The bulk of the Federal Trade Commission's landmark monopolization case against Amazon will go forward, a Washington federal judge held in a recently unsealed opinion that trimmed only a few state-law claims from the 20-count antitrust complaint challenging the retail giant's pricing practices.

  • October 07, 2024

    Skiplagged Cost American Airlines $18M, Jury Hears

    American Airlines Inc. claims that airfare search engine Skiplagged Inc. cost it $18 million by masquerading as an authorized agent of the airline, but Skiplagged told a Texas jury Monday that American sued it to limit customers' "freedom of choice."

  • October 07, 2024

    9th Circ. Asked To Take Another Look At 'Patent Misuse' Case

    Atrium Medical Corp. has urged the full Ninth Circuit to reconsider a panel ruling siding with rival medical product maker C.R. Bard in a $52.8 million lawsuit over patent royalty provisions, saying the panel "inappropriately dispensed with the evidence adduced below and the district court's fact-finding."

  • October 07, 2024

    Seinfeld-Inspired Investors Sue Bitwise Over $2M Crypto Losses

    A group of family-owned investment companies named after a gag from "Seinfeld" sued crypto asset manager Bitwise and its executives for allegedly duping them into staying invested in one of its funds as it sought a conversion to a less-preferable structure, causing them $1.9 million in losses.

  • October 07, 2024

    Fla. Jury Told Unchecked Plane Fueling Led To Crash Injuries

    A professional angler told a Florida federal jury Monday that a Cessna pilot's failure to supervise the refueling of a plane led to the wrong tanks being filled, resulting in his injuries after the aircraft ran out of fuel midair and crashed-landed into the ocean near the Bahamas.

  • October 07, 2024

    Judge Presses AmEx On Arbitration Push For Merchants

    A Rhode Island judge on Monday expressed skepticism about American Express' claim that it could force a proposed antitrust class action targeting the company's swipe fee rules back into arbitration after the plaintiffs say it already defaulted on arbitration fees.

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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