Commercial Contracts

  • August 20, 2024

    Texas Judge Blocks FTC's Impending Ban On Noncompetes

    A Texas federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked the Federal Trade Commission's looming ban on noncompete agreements in employment contracts, setting aside the regulation with a conclusion that it's beyond the agency's authority.

  • August 20, 2024

    Ex-NFLer Says False Claim He's 'Insolvent' Merits Sanctions

    A former NFL player has asked a state judge to sanction a former employee who recently dropped her sexual abuse claims by saying he was likely "insolvent" and unlikely to pay even if she won, arguing the false comments about his finances cost him work opportunities. 

  • August 20, 2024

    Ex-Client Opposes Amicus In McCarter & English Fee Fight

    A dietary supplement maker has asked Connecticut's highest court to reject a bid by the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association to file a friend-of-court brief in a case questioning whether McCarter & English LLP can obtain punitive damages in a fee dispute, saying no additional input is necessary because no tort occurred.

  • August 20, 2024

    Investment Co. Officers Oppose Counterclaims In $4M Deal Row

    Aspiring cannabis investment company Origins Tech Inc. and a pair of its officers are urging a Utah federal court to throw out counterclaims brought by the owner of a holding company they've sued over the loss of a $4 million deal, saying the claims are disallowed by contracts.

  • August 20, 2024

    A Deep Dive Into Law360 Pulse's 2024 Women In Law Report

    The legal industry continues to see incremental gains for female lawyers in private practice in the U.S., according to a Law360 Pulse analysis, with women now representing 40.6% of all attorneys and 51% of all associates.

  • August 20, 2024

    These Firms Have The Most Women In Equity Partnerships

    The legal industry still has a long way to go before it can achieve gender parity at its upper levels. But these law firms are performing better than others in breaking the proverbial glass ceiling that prevents women from attaining leadership roles.

  • August 20, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    A nearly record-breaking attorney fee got the nod in Delaware last week, along with Chancery Court settlements involving an international private jet service and a chain of trampoline parks. New disputes involved a famous burger restaurant chain, a computer-chip maker, a now-defunct genomic science company, and a historic manor house in west London.

  • August 20, 2024

    Broadcasters Fight Blockage Of Sports Streaming Megadeal

    ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery have petitioned the Second Circuit to allow their "sports-first" broadcasting service Venu to move ahead while they face antitrust litigation from streamer Fubo, which blocked Venu's launch last week.

  • August 19, 2024

    Frost & Sullivan Shouldn't Beat Data Breach Suit, Judge Says

    A magistrate judge on Monday recommended a Texas federal court trim but not toss a putative class action accusing consulting firm Frost & Sullivan Inc. of failing to protect its employees and clients from a data breach last year, rejecting the firm's contention that a former employee lacked standing to sue.

  • August 19, 2024

    T.I. Can't Bar Witness Motivation Questions At Doll IP Retrial

    Rapper T.I. can't block MGA Entertainment from questioning his customer witnesses' motivations to testify at the upcoming intellectual property retrial over the company's L.O.L. Surprise! doll line, and he likewise is barred from raising questions of cultural appropriation in that context, a California federal judge ruled Monday.

  • August 19, 2024

    Judge Suggests Atty, Firm Pay Up For Not Probing IP Claims

    A Florida lawyer who once represented former President Donald Trump and the lawyer's firm should pay $150,000 in attorney fees as a monetary sanction for failing to properly investigate patent claims before suing, a federal magistrate judge has recommended, which is far below the $684,000 the defendants in the case sought.

  • August 19, 2024

    Justices Urged To Refuse Rent-To-Own Co. Fee Suit

    Two consumers suing a rent-to-own furniture store over fees that are allegedly barred under California law urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday not to review a Ninth Circuit decision nixing the company's arbitration bid, arguing that the case is too fact-specific to warrant the court's attention.

  • August 19, 2024

    BankRI Pans 'Overspending' Customer's Account Fees Suit

    One of Rhode Island's largest banks asked a Providence federal judge on Monday to throw out a proposed class action over its consumer fee practices, saying the customer behind the suit is attempting to blame it for fallout from her own "unfortunate practice of overspending."

  • August 19, 2024

    Colo. Justices Won't Hear Cheese Heiress' Appeal

    The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from a minority owner of a private, $5 billion cheese company in her case against the company's former CEO, who is also her uncle, in her failed billion-dollar suit over alleged shareholder oppression.

  • August 19, 2024

    Canadian Court Won't Yet Enforce $140M Hospital Award

    Webuild SpA has told a Delaware federal court of a Canadian court's decision to wait on enforcing a $140 million arbitral award related to a Chilean hospital project, saying it is relevant to Webuild's bid in Delaware to dismiss a petition seeking to confirm the same award.

  • August 19, 2024

    Ethanol Co. Investors Say $9M Arbitration Award Was Stolen

    Class B members of a Colorado ethanol company claim they have been denied their share of a $9 million arbitration award resulting from an action against the managing entity of the company for allegedly engaging in a pay-to-play scheme with vendors in exchange for those vendors sponsoring a National Hot Rod Association team.

  • August 19, 2024

    UnitedHealthcare Says Humana Can't Access Its Records

    UnitedHealthcare has asked the Texas high court to review a decision requiring it to turn over Medicare plan documents for the state's teachers to a competing insurer, arguing that recent updates to the Public Information Act were too broadly interpreted by a lower appellate court.

  • August 19, 2024

    Fair Use Dooms Santos Suit Over Jimmy Kimmel's Prank Videos

    A New York federal judge said Monday that the fair use exception to copyright law is fatal to former U.S. Rep. George Santos' suit against ABC and Jimmy Kimmel over video clips that the late-night TV show host tricked the ex-congressman into making.

  • August 19, 2024

    Insurer Blames Panda Express Grease For $176K Water Leak

    An insurer demanded Chinese fast food chain Panda Express Inc. repay it more than $176,000 for damages allegedly caused when the restaurant's grease-filled pipes backed up, leaking water into a clothing store covered by the insurer, in a case the eatery moved to Washington federal court.

  • August 19, 2024

    Israeli Co. Sues NC Packaging Firm For Severing $25M Deal

    An Israeli smart packaging company is suing North Carolina-based Sealed Air Corp. for allegedly backing out of a $25 million contract for smart sensors, saying Sealed Air lied about their progress developing the product and invented defects to tank the deal.

  • August 19, 2024

    Doctor Accused Of Taking Connecticut Practice's Patient Data

    An obstetrician-gynecologist took trade secrets including confidential patient information when she left a Connecticut practice, and solicited its employees and "hundreds" of patients to come to her new competing business, according to a lawsuit in state court.

  • August 19, 2024

    Biotech Consultant Sues Ex-Partner To Force $2.5M Share Buy

    Life sciences consulting firm BioPoint is asking a Massachusetts judge to order a former partner to sell back $2.5 million worth of shares in the closely held company following his ouster, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

  • August 19, 2024

    NC Judge Relocates BorgWarner Supply Chain Fight To Pa.

    Pennsylvania-based supplier Modern Industries Inc. convinced a North Carolina federal judge to transfer a lawsuit against it by auto parts manufacturer BorgWarner Turbo Systems LLC to its home state, where a related case is already pending.

  • August 16, 2024

    The Biggest Texas Rulings Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    Texas has seen a bevy of major decisions, including a $1.4 billion settlement with Facebook over alleged biometric data collection, a ruling banning gender-affirming care for minors, and the conclusion of a long-running securities case against Attorney General Ken Paxton. Here's some of the biggest decisions so far this year.

  • August 16, 2024

    11th Circ. Partially Reverses Rental Car Co.'s Win In Fee Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit has revived a class of consumers' breach of contract claims against a Florida rental car company over allegedly deceptive damaged vehicle costs but affirmed a lower court's finding that the lead plaintiffs did not suffer any actual damages.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Arbitration Takeaways From High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's May 23 decision in Coinbase v. Suski, which provides clarity to parties faced with successive contracts containing conflicting dispute resolution provisions, has four practical impacts for contracting parties to consider, say Charles Schoenwetter and Eric Olson at Bowman and Brooke.

  • Series

    Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

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    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • The Effects Of New 10-Year Limitation On Key Sanctions Laws

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    Recently enacted emergency appropriations legislation, doubling the statute of limitations for civil and criminal economic sanctions violations, has significant implications for internal records retention, corporate transaction due diligence and government investigations, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • 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.

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