Commercial Contracts

  • January 15, 2025

    Symetra Life Policyholders Seek $32.5M Settlement Approval

    A proposed class of Symetra policyholders asked a Washington federal court to preliminarily approve a $32.5 million deal to resolve a suit alleging that the insurer overcharged them for life insurance, saying the 11-state settlement would cover the owners of 43,000 policies.

  • January 15, 2025

    Grocer, Insurers Must Produce Docs In NC Opioid Row

    A North Carolina state court issued a discovery decision in a dispute between grocery chain Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. and a slew of its insurers over coverage for about 100 lawsuits seeking damages related to the opioid epidemic, telling the parties to hand over certain documents from between 1993 and 2014.

  • January 15, 2025

    Boeing Vexes Judge In 737 Max Records Flap With Airline

    The Boeing Co. can't use a now-defunct South African airline's loss of records to dodge a suit over fallout from a 737 Max airplane deal, a Washington federal judge has said, chiding the aerospace giant for offering thin circumstantial evidence of intent without any "smoking gun."

  • January 15, 2025

    Duke Settles Retiree's Mortality Data Suit At 4th Circ.

    Duke University told the Fourth Circuit it has agreed to settle a retiree's proposed class action claiming the school used outdated mortality data to calculate retirement benefits and underpaid former employees by millions of dollars, ending the university's attempt to send the case to arbitration.

  • January 15, 2025

    Biz Court Calls Out Biogas Co. For 'Stack' Of Broken Promises

    A North Carolina Business Court judge pondered during a sanctions hearing Wednesday whether a biogas company should be held in contempt for allegedly violating a court order, saying the company has repeatedly fallen short of its promises in a fight with lenders over funding for renewable energy projects.

  • January 15, 2025

    SMU Can't Chuck 100-Year Ties To Church, Justices Suggest

    Texas Supreme Court justices piled questions on Southern Methodist University over its split with the United Methodist Church, saying during oral arguments Wednesday that the school seemingly used "clever lawyering" over a "hot button political issue" to wrestle control from the church.

  • January 15, 2025

    Jackson Lewis Grows In Atlanta With E-Commerce Biz Atty

    Jackson Lewis PC has gained a new principal in Atlanta who formerly worked in-house for e-commerce company StockX and previously practiced with Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC.

  • January 14, 2025

    Wells Fargo Fights To Drop Officers From Investors' Bias Suit

    Wells Fargo & Co. urged a California federal judge Tuesday to free three executives from a derivative lawsuit filed by shareholders claiming the bank's leadership failed to address the company's discriminatory lending and hiring practices, saying there are no allegations that explain why a presuit demand to the board would have been futile.

  • January 14, 2025

    Enbridge Beats Ducere's Oil Transport Antitrust Suit

    Enbridge Inc. beat Ducere LLC's suit accusing it of killing a pipeline terminal project to maintain its monopoly over crude oil transportation services in the Chicago area, after an Illinois federal judge pointed out Monday there are several non-Enbridge pipeline routes providing refineries with alternatives for moving oil.

  • January 14, 2025

    Colo. Panel Iffy Ski Waiver Ruling Allows Snowboarder's Claim

    A Colorado appellate panel was skeptical on Tuesday that precedent for cracking down on ski resort waivers could apply to claims by a snowboarder injured by a resort employee driving a snowmobile, pressing the victim's lawyer to explain why the matter is not a question for lawmakers.

  • January 14, 2025

    Justices Told 'Copyrightability' Issues Must Be Left To Judges

    The justices have been asked by a defense contractor to wade into a split among circuit courts over "whether questions of copyrightability" should be decided by judges or juries.

  • January 14, 2025

    Chancery Hits Co. With $2.9M Atty Fee Bill As Sanction

    A California medical device molding company that sought millions from a merger partner for breaches of contract in Delaware's Court of Chancery came away Tuesday with awards of $104,000 for its claims and $2.9 million in attorney fees as a sanction for contempt and spoliation by Symbient Product Development LLC founder Scott Castanon.

  • January 14, 2025

    Crypto Co.'s Lax Compliance Enabled Hackers, Suit Says

    A proposed class action in California federal court accused digital asset exchange OKX of flouting U.S. laws and allowing criminals to launder stolen funds through its platform, including $725,000 worth of crypto looted from the crypto investor leading the suit.

  • January 14, 2025

    Influencer Says Capital One Steals Link Commissions

    An online content creator has filed a proposed class action against Capital One over an alleged theft of commissions she says are rightfully owed to those responsible for connecting shoppers with products.

  • January 14, 2025

    NY Appeals Court OKs Arbitration Stay In $60M Hotel Fight

    A New York appeals court has affirmed a lower court order pausing an arbitration initiated by a hotel co-owner in a $60 million dispute with another co-owner over the purported mismanagement of eight hotels nationwide.

  • January 14, 2025

    Dispute Over Eli Lilly Weight Loss Drug Reignited

    Compounding pharmacies have reignited a suit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the removal of a lucrative weight loss drug from the shortage list, with a Texas federal judge ordering both sides to turn in briefing on injunctive relief during a Tuesday hearing.

  • January 14, 2025

    Resort Developer Asks To Wind Up Chinese Co. In Bahamas

    The developer of the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas filed a petition Tuesday to liquidate a Chinese-owned construction firm that was hit with a $1.6 billion judgment last year by a New York court over its fraud tied to the construction of the resort project.

  • January 14, 2025

    Mercedes Urges 6th Circ. Redo Of Fire Coverage Ruling

    The research group for Mercedes-Benz North America has told the Sixth Circuit it should not have to reimburse the insurer of an Ann Arbor, Michigan, property it rented for a fire it inadvertently set, saying a clause in its lease prevents subrogation.

  • January 14, 2025

    Wynne Transportation Can Tap Some Of $6M DIP In Ch. 11

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge said Tuesday she will allow transportation service provider Wynne Transportation to borrow $2 million in initial debtor-in-possession financing on an interim basis, clearing the way to fund a Chapter 11 case the company launched in the wake of a nearly $33 million arbitration judgment.

  • January 13, 2025

    CFPB Eyes Rule To Rein In 'Forced' Financial Contract Terms

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday floated a new rule that calls for banning financial companies from using contractual fine print to limit consumers' legal rights or restrict their free expression.

  • January 13, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Told Google Making Up 'New Rules Of Evidence'

    A smart-home energy startup says Google and its supporters are trying to use a Federal Circuit appeal in a $20 million patent case to "craft entirely new rules of evidence out of whole cloth."

  • January 13, 2025

    Insurer Drops Dispute Over Private Equity Firm's Deals

    An excess insurer agreed Monday to drop its Massachusetts federal suit seeking to avoid coverage of two settlements made by its insured, the private equity firm Advent International, over supposed wrongful acts the company committed related to the sale of two portfolio companies to two different buyers.

  • January 13, 2025

    Blue Cross Can't Skirt NC Hospital's Defamation Claims

    A local hospital can pursue some of its defamation claims against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina in a suit alleging the health insurer wrongly denied millions of dollars in reimbursements and falsely accused the facility of fraud, a federal judge ruled Monday.

  • January 13, 2025

    Justices Seek SG Input On Private Investor Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked for the U.S. solicitor general's input on whether securities laws governing investment funds allow for a private right of action, as the high court considered weighing in on a fight between private capital investors and investment funds.

  • January 13, 2025

    CFPB Can't Get $43M Fine From Telemarketing Debt Co. Yet

    An Illinois federal judge Friday waited to order the owner of a defunct debt company to pay $43 million for misrepresenting to customers they could eliminate their student loans, pointing to a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding the accused has a right to a jury trial when financial penalties are on the line.

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.

  • After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • 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.

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