Commercial Contracts

  • November 21, 2024

    Settlement Doesn't Void Injury Coverage Ruling, Judge Says

    A Colorado federal court refused to set aside its September ruling that an oil and gas production company isn't owed coverage by an electrical drilling company for a worker's underlying injury lawsuit, saying the parties' settlement negotiations don't justify vacating a valid court order.

  • November 21, 2024

    Nurse Staffing Exec Can't Trim Fraud Charge In Antitrust Case

    A Nevada federal court has refused to dismiss fraud charges against a home healthcare staffing executive accused of fixing nurses' wages and hiding a probe of the scheme when selling the business, and also refused to exclude statements the executive made during an FBI interview.

  • November 21, 2024

    NBA Veteran Who Cooperated In $5M Fraud Case Avoids Jail

    A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday allowed former NBA center Melvin Ely to avoid prison for taking $36,000 of illegal payouts in pro basketball's $5 million health billing fraud ring, crediting his decision to cooperate in the sprawling criminal case.

  • November 21, 2024

    Rebel Wilson Unlikely To Duck 'The Deb' Defamation Suit

    A Los Angeles judge suggested Thursday that he'll likely keep alive a defamation suit accusing actress Rebel Wilson of spreading baseless lies about producers of the musical film "The Deb," saying it seems the matter is a "private business dispute" not protected by California's anti-SLAPP statute.

  • November 21, 2024

    Bettor Wants Class Cert. In Suit Over DraftKings' Voided Bet

    A man suing DraftKings over a canceled NBA wager he says would have put $150,000 in his pocket has asked an Indiana federal court to certify a class of 99 bettors, including himself, affected by the axed transaction.

  • November 21, 2024

    $1.5M Georgetown Tuition Refund Deal Closer To Final OK

    A D.C. federal judge appears poised to give final approval to a $1.5 million settlement resolving claims over Georgetown University's move to remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, but his skepticism that a graduate student outside the settlement class should score a $1,000 service award dissuaded him from granting final approval Thursday.

  • November 20, 2024

    Canadian Court Revives Award In $7M Coffee Franchise Fight

    An appeals court in Ontario has revived a CA$10 million ($7.1 million) arbitral award issued in a franchising dispute stemming from the expansion of an Israeli coffee bar chain into Canada, rejecting a lower court's conclusion that the arbitrator had breached his duty of disclosure.

  • November 20, 2024

    NC Judge Trims Suit Against Investor Over Fla. Restaurant

    A North Carolina state court judge has trimmed a lawsuit that a restaurateur brought against an investor over funding of a restaurant in the heart of Miami Beach, dismissing claims of breach of settlement agreement, fraudulent inducement and deceptive trade practices but declining to toss the complaint altogether.

  • November 20, 2024

    Wash. Judge Questions Startup's Amazon Antitrust Claims

    A Washington federal judge on Wednesday suggested that antitrust claims might not survive in a startup's complaint against Amazon Web Services involving a dispute over higher-speed internet connections in the Middle East that allowed the startup to cater to its customer Epic Games.

  • November 20, 2024

    Attys Get $9K After Seeking $578K For Defending Safeway

    A California federal judge awarded about $8,800 in fees to two firms that requested $578,000 after defending Safeway from a contractor's 2021 lawsuit, saying Wednesday that the figure shouldn't come as a surprise because the attorneys simply pointed to a request-for-proposal document to defeat the suit's breach of contract allegations.

  • November 20, 2024

    Gas Bill Challenge Finds Little Purchase With Colo. Justices

    Colorado Supreme Court justices questioned Wednesday why a state regulator-backed plan to charge customers for extra natural gas ahead of a snowstorm was unreasonable, appearing to dash a company's challenge to its utility bill.

  • November 20, 2024

    Colo. Justices Doubtful Students' COVID Fee Suit Will Survive

    Colorado's justices were skeptical Wednesday that Colorado State University students seeking fee refunds for coronavirus campus shutdowns can bring an unjust enrichment claim, with one justice saying the students' attorney is advocating for an "enormous" extension of existing law.

  • November 20, 2024

    10th Circ. Questions Sunoco Bid To Nix $180M Royalty Ruling

    Tenth Circuit judges on Wednesday weighed Sunoco Inc.'s latest bid to undo a $180 million judgment for withholding late interest payments on oil royalties to Oklahoma landowners, and sharply questioned the company's argument that the class action should never have been certified.

  • November 20, 2024

    10th Circ. Side-Eyes Gas Royalty Claims Against Chevron Unit

    Tenth Circuit judges on Wednesday seemed skeptical of a Colorado oil and gas company's class claim that a Chevron Corp. subsidiary owes it a royalty payment on infrastructure improvements undertaken by a third company.

  • November 20, 2024

    German Tesla Supplier Says Mich. Is Wrong Venue For Parts Suit

    A German auto parts supplier referenced Elon Musk's diverse business ventures in an attempt to convince a Michigan federal judge Wednesday that it doesn't belong in a lawsuit over one of its North American affiliates' alleged breach of a supply contract for Tesla vehicles, arguing the foreign entity has no ties to the Wolverine State.

  • November 20, 2024

    Yacht Owner Seeks Trial In Highway Damage Case

    Yacht owner Max Zach Corp. urged a Connecticut federal court to reject bids from a North Carolina boat repair shop and a trucking company to toss its suit seeking damages after a New Jersey highway crash destroyed its $750,000 vessel, arguing a jury must sort out fact questions about the ultimate value of its modified boat and other questions about storage costs.

  • November 20, 2024

    Conn. Trial Firm's Dissolution Is In Disarray, CEO Tells Judge

    The windup of Connecticut Trial Firm LLC is "in complete controversy" and must be submitted to arbitration, CEO Ryan C. McKeen has told a state Superior Court judge, saying his onetime 50-50 partner, Andrew P. Garza, committed "self-dealing, waste and abuse" to benefit his new firm, Claggett Sykes & Garza LLC.

  • November 20, 2024

    Ga. Judge Asks 'What's Tortious?' About Talking Bad Loans

    A Georgia federal judge appeared inclined Wednesday to hand an early win to a lender who seized two vintage cars from a reality TV personality after she missed her payments on a $300,000 loan, going so far as to suggest she might be better off finding an out-of-court solution to the dispute.

  • November 20, 2024

    Walgreens Wins Sanctions Over Depo With 300 Objections

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday ruled Walgreens can recover the costs of a contentious deposition in a dispute with an electronics company, saying the witness "possessed virtually no knowledge" of the matters laid out in the deposition notice and the company's attorney engaged in "improper, obstructionist conduct" during the proceeding.

  • November 19, 2024

    HP Joins Patent Pool After Resolving Suit Over 'Unfair' Terms

    HP has agreed to join a patent pool for coding technology developed by companies like Dolby Laboratories, Mitsubishi and Philips, months after alleging that the group was engaging in "a money grab" to coerce it to accept "unfair and discriminatory licensing terms."

  • November 19, 2024

    Judge Rejects Infosys' Bid To Seal NDAs In Trade Secrets Row

    A Texas federal judge shot down Indian tech company Infosys Ltd.'s efforts to seal nondisclosure agreements involved in a trade secrets case over healthcare software, ruling that there was "nothing commercially sensitive" about them.

  • November 19, 2024

    Online Lenders, Contractor Face Service Members' Fraud Suit

    California-based contractor Multitaskr Construction Inc. and several online lending companies were hit with a consumer lawsuit in California federal court alleging they conspired to originate lucrative fraudulent loans for home improvement projects that were never completed.

  • November 19, 2024

    Cannabis Bag Co.'s Suit Against Marketing Firm Survives

    The manufacturer of specialized bags used to store marijuana will get to proceed with its lawsuit against a cannabis industry–focused branding firm, a federal judge in Seattle ruled, saying the suit plausibly claims the marketing agency buried the manufacturer's online search ranking by crashing its website.

  • November 19, 2024

    Finnish Sports Co. Fights NHL Agent's Bid To Ax $1.2M Suit

    A Finnish sports talent corporation has slammed an NHL agent's bid in Massachusetts federal court to toss its lawsuit over $1.2 million in arbitration awards, saying he has systemically used shell companies to dodge collection of the judgments against him.

  • November 19, 2024

    Yoga Teacher Gets 7½ Years For Defrauding Mentally Ill Doctor

    A yoga instructor who helped defraud $2.7 million from a mentally ill doctor by moving into his Malibu home and feeding him psychedelic drugs was sentenced to 90 months in prison by a California federal judge Tuesday, more than twice the time recommended by prosecutors.

Expert Analysis

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • There's No Crying In Property Valuation Baseball Arbitration

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    The World Series is the perfect time to consider how the form of arbitration used for settling MLB salary disputes — in which each side offers competing valuations to an arbitrator, who must select one — is often ideal for resolving property valuation disputes, say Sean O’Donnell at Herrick Feinstein and Mark Dunec at FTI Consulting.

  • Navigating Fla.'s Shorter Construction Defect Claim Window

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    In light of recent legislation reducing the amount of time Florida homeowners have to bring construction defect claims, homeowners should be sure to understand their rights and responsibilities regarding maintenance, repairs and inspections set forth in developer-drafted documents, say Brian Tannenbaum and Nicholas Vargo at Ball Janik.

  • Why Diversity Jurisdiction Poses Investment Fund Hurdles

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    Federal courts' continued application of the exacting rules of diversity jurisdiction presents particular challenges for investment funds, and in the absence of any near-term reform, those who manage such funds should take action to avoid diversity jurisdiction pitfalls, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.

  • Webuild Ruling Complicates Arb. Award Enforcement In US

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    A Delaware federal court's recent decision in Sociedad Concesionaria Metropolitana de Salud v. Webuild, if read literally, could undercut the United States' image as a proarbitration jurisdiction by complicating creditors' efforts to enforce awards against property in this country, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

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    During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.

  • Bristol-Myers Win Offers Lessons For Debt Security Holders

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    A New York federal judge's recent dismissal of a $6.4 billion lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb, due to plaintiff UMB Bank's lack of standing, serves as an important reminder to debt security holders to obtain depositary proxies before pursuing litigation, say attorneys at Milbank.

  • Series

    Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.

  • How To Avoid Risking Arbitration Award Confidentiality In NY

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    Though a Second Circuit decision last year seemed to create a confidentiality safe harbor for arbitration awards that had no ongoing compliance issues, a recent New York federal court ruling offers further guidance on the meaning of "ongoing compliance issues," says Matthew Iverson at Nelson Mullins.

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

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    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Opinion

    Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

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    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • Perspectives

    The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

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    Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

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