Commercial Contracts

  • February 24, 2025

    US Steel, Nippon Urge Court Not To Toss Cleveland-Cliffs Suit

    U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel have pressed a Pennsylvania federal court to leave intact their suit accusing Cleveland-Cliffs and United Steelworkers union leadership of illegally conspiring to prevent their planned $14.9 billion merger, arguing that they're trying to block an "unlawful agreement," not shut down political speech.

  • February 24, 2025

    Dominican Republic Slams Report Favoring $44M Award

    The Dominican Republic has urged a D.C. federal court to reject a magistrate judge's recommendation to enforce a nearly $44 million arbitral award issued after the country terminated a landfill concession, saying there was never an underlying arbitration agreement.

  • February 24, 2025

    Lloyd's Says Cadwalader's Suit Claims Nonexistent Tort

    A Lloyd's of London syndicate has urged a North Carolina judge to toss part of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP's coverage lawsuit stemming from a data breach, saying there's no tort remedy for the allegation that the insurer exposed the firm's confidential information in a court filing.

  • February 24, 2025

    Insurer Needn't Cover Hospital's $2.5M Virus Vax Probe Costs

    A Chubb unit has no obligation to pay an Illinois hospital for $2.5 million in legal costs associated with responding to federal and state probes into its COVID-19 vaccine distribution program, a federal court ruled, finding that the policy's $1 million regulatory claims sublimit applies.

  • February 24, 2025

    Charter Communications Keeps Trade Secrets Suit In Conn.

    A Charter Communications Inc. trade secrets lawsuit against a former Colorado-based vice president will remain in Connecticut, a federal judge ruled from the bench on Monday, greenlighting the company's request for a preliminary injunction in its home state.

  • February 24, 2025

    Colo. Justices Toss Student's COVID Refund Class Action

    A Colorado State University student seeking classwide fee refunds for campus shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic can't allege unjust enrichment after her breach of contract claims were tossed, according to a state Supreme Court decision Monday that found the student's position would "obliterate the difference" between the two claims.

  • February 24, 2025

    Texas Bank Fights To Keep $28M In Assets In Ginnie Mae Suit

    A bank told a Texas federal court that it will lose $28 million worth of collateral assets if Ginnie Mae secures a summary judgment win in a suit over a vacated first-priority lien.

  • February 24, 2025

    Placement Co. Hit With False Ads Suit Over Referral Model

    A company that places senior citizens in retirement homes was hit with proposed class claims alleging it falsely advertises free services and steers business away from communities that decline to participate in its "pay-to-play" business model. 

  • February 24, 2025

    Mich. Sales Co., Auto Parts Maker Settle $6M Commission Suit

    A Michigan-based auto sales company has reached a settlement with an Italian auto parts maker the company alleges owes $6 million in commissions for building the foreign business' relationship with General Motors.

  • February 24, 2025

    Investors Don't Have 'Shred' Of Fraud Evidence, Exxon Says

    Exxon Mobil Corp. has told a Texas federal judge that an investor class doesn't have a "shred of evidence" that the company engaged in the stock inflation scheme the investors allege.

  • February 24, 2025

    FCA Didn't Forfeit Arbitration Rights In Defect Suit, Judge Says

    An arbitrator must decide whether some drivers alleging Fiat Chrysler sold them vehicles with defective engines that shut off during use can pursue their claims, a Michigan federal judge said, finding the automaker didn't waive its right to seek arbitration by attacking the claims' merits before seeing if the drivers' purchase agreements had an arbitration clause.

  • February 24, 2025

    Law Firm Must Face Malpractice Suit Over Home Project Case

    The New Jersey Appellate Division reinstated a malpractice suit against a Garden State firm on Monday in a published decision finding that the plaintiff was allowed to assign some of the proceeds of the case to third parties ahead of time.

  • February 24, 2025

    Penn National Settles NC Hurricanes Coverage Suit

    Penn National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. settled a property owner's insurance payout suit filed in North Carolina federal court just before the suit headed to trial.

  • February 24, 2025

    Mass. City Says Ex-Team Owners Reneged On Stadium Fees

    The city of Brockton, Massachusetts, claims in a lawsuit filed in state court that the former owners of a minor league baseball team owe the economically struggling community more than $68,000 for the use of a city-owned stadium for games and a concert last year.

  • February 24, 2025

    Justices Skip Fee-Shifting, IP Web Scraping Questions

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected petitions involving fee-shifting in copyright cases, whether judges or juries should decide what can be copyrighted, and if scraping public information online should be considered hacking under the Defend Trade Secrets Act when it is done by a computer.

  • February 24, 2025

    Justices Nix Whistleblower Suit Over Arbitral Vacatur Limits

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a petition that raised questions about the standards under which courts can vacate or enforce arbitral awards, in a case brought by a whistleblower who sought to challenge an arbitral award favoring his former employer.

  • February 21, 2025

    Trade Secrets Dispute Between Cell Tower Cos. Stays Alive

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday narrowed a lawsuit between rival cell tower companies over the use of pricing information, dismissing trade secret claims stemming from leases that lacked confidentiality or nondisclosure provisions.

  • February 21, 2025

    Appeals Court Says No Contract Dooms Ranch Sale Challenge

    A Texas appeals court found no grounds to revive most of the rejected claims a land brokerage lodged against the owners of a 1,200-acre ranch and their real estate and escrow agents after its attempt to buy the property fell through.

  • February 21, 2025

    Eli Lilly Has Exclusivity Over Weight Loss Drug, FDA Says

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked a Texas federal court to reject a request for an injunction that would allow compounding pharmacies to produce a lucrative weight loss drug, saying the agency based its decision on sound facts and it was within its authority.

  • February 21, 2025

    Mich. Pot Cos. Say Grand Rapids' Equity Fees Are Illegal

    A group of cannabis companies is suing the city of Grand Rapids in Michigan state court, saying it is illegally charging them millions in fees through its social equity program.

  • February 21, 2025

    NFL Alums Accused Of Misusing COVID Outreach Funding

    The National Football League's largest alumni organization has been accused by a biotechnology company of trying to misuse Georgia taxpayer dollars intended for a COVID-19 vaccine education program before unlawfully breaking their contract last year.

  • February 21, 2025

    Insurers Ask High Court To Review Tribal Jurisdiction Order

    A group of insurers led by AIG unit Lexington Insurance Co. urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling ordering them to litigate COVID-19-related property insurance claims in Suquamish Tribal Court despite the insurers' contention that the coverage claims related to "off-reservation conduct."

  • February 21, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Atty's Ownership Claims Over Calif. Winery

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Friday revived an attorney's ownership claims over a California winery, finding factual disputes over an alleged oral agreement with the winery's former owner require a trial, while also upholding a jury's verdict that found a breach fiduciary duty claim against the attorney that awarded no damages.

  • February 21, 2025

    Wash. Health System Says Nurse Must Arbitrate Wage Claims

    A Washington-based healthcare system facing a proposed class and collective wage action in Seattle federal court contends the plaintiff nurse agreed to arbitrate any claims with the third-party staffing agencies he contracted with to work at its facilities.

  • February 21, 2025

    Manufacturer Not Covered For Pot Grower Claims, Court Told

    Cincinnati Insurance Co. said it has no duty to defend or indemnify a manufacturer accused of misrepresenting the capabilities of its indoor marijuana growing systems, telling a Michigan federal court Friday that underlying claims brought by a cannabis company do not trigger coverage.

Expert Analysis

  • Antitrust In Retail: Rude Awakening For FTC In Tempur Sealy

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    A Texas federal court's recent denial of a Federal Trade Commision order to stop a giant mattress merger because of lack of evidence on market segments shows that such definitions are only a viable path for regulating vertical mergers if antitrust agencies provide adequate documentation, says David Kully at Holland & Knight.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

  • 10 Issues To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting

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    This year, in addition to evergreen developments driven by national security priorities, disruptive new technologies and competition with rival powers, federal contractors will see significant disruptions driven by the new administration’s efforts to reduce government spending, regulation and the size of the federal workforce, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five federal appellate court class certification decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving breach of life insurance contracts, constitutional violations of inmates and more.

  • Series

    Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.

  • Pier Pressure: Contract Takeaways From Pa. Ocean Liner Suit

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    The settlement that resolved the fate of the landmark SS United States ocean liner illustrates important lessons on managing contract disputes, illuminating common trade-offs such as the choice between deferred legal risk and the cost of legal foresight, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • Opinion

    Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice

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    A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.

  • In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

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    Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

  • How FAR Council's Proposal May Revamp Conflicts Reporting

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    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recent proposal for updating organizational conflict of interest rules includes some welcome clarifications, but new representation and disclosure obligations would upend long-standing practices, likely increase contractors’ False Claims Act risks, and necessitate implementation of more complex OCI compliance programs, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Navigating Title IX Compliance In The NIL Era

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    As universities push to move more name, image and likeness activity in-house, it's unclear how the NCAA and its members will square implementation of the House settlement with Title IX requirements, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.

  • Series

    Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.

  • DeepSeek AI Investigation Could Lead To IP Law Precedents

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    The investigation by OpenAI and Microsoft into DeepSeek's artificial intelligence model raises interesting legal concerns involving intellectual property and contract law, including potential trade secret appropriation and fair use questions, say Saishruti Mutneja and Raghav Gurbaxani.

  • Opinion

    Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay

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    Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.

  • Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

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    Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

  • What Contractors Can Do To Address Material Cost Increases

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    In light of the Trump administration's plans to increase tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, construction industry players should proactively employ legal strategies to mitigate the impacts that price increases and uncertainty may have on projects, says Brenda Radmacher at Seyfarth Shaw.

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