Commercial Contracts

  • July 05, 2024

    Scotts Miracle-Gro Investor Sues Board Over Inventory 'Flood'

    Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. executives "repeatedly and consistently obfuscated the truth" about excess inventory as the company pushed the extra products on its distributors, according to a new investor suit.

  • July 05, 2024

    3rd Circ. Preview: Ponzi Scheme, Merck Vaccine Heat Up July

    The Third Circuit's July argument schedule is sizzling with several high-stakes cases, including two whistleblowers attempting to make drugmaker Merck answer for allegedly inducing the U.S. government to pay for substandard mumps vaccines.

  • July 03, 2024

    Electric Jet Co. Scoffs At Boeing Bid To Undo $72M IP Verdict

    Zunum Aero Inc. said that a federal judge should reject The Boeing Co.'s efforts to cancel a $72 million jury award for misappropriating the electric jet startup's trade secrets, saying evidence presented during a 10-day trial in May amply supports the verdict.

  • July 03, 2024

    Broiler Chicken Buyers' Attys Get $51.6M Fees In Antitrust Suit

    An Illinois federal judge overseeing sprawling antitrust litigation against broiler chicken producers awarded class counsel more than $51.6 million in attorney fees in a $181 million deal for chicken buyers after the initial $57 million award was tossed by the Seventh Circuit last year, according to an order Wednesday.

  • July 03, 2024

    Roche Says Stanford Profs Stole Cancer Detection Tech

    Roche Molecular Systems has accused Stanford University and several faculty members of swiping its proprietary cancer detection technology and secretly founding a new company with it, according to a suit filed in California federal court.

  • July 03, 2024

    Don't Dismiss Suit Over Ex-Employee's 'Raid,' Lender Says

    Mortgage lender Caliber Home Loans Inc. has accused a competitor of taking "another bite at the preemption apple" in seeking dismissal of the latest version of a suit over alleged poaching, telling a Dallas federal judge that the suit revision raises "additional, distinct facts" that support allowing its claims to go forward.

  • July 03, 2024

    Marriott Unit Settles Dispute Over COVID Event Cancellation

    A data management company has told a New Jersey federal judge it settled its suit against a Marriott-branded hotel for not nullifying a contract and demanding payment for a 2021 event that the company canceled because of a COVID outbreak.

  • July 03, 2024

    FTC Warns Cos. Over Warranties That Limit Right To Repair

    The Federal Trade Commission is warning a group of air purifier sellers, treadmill makers and gaming tech companies not to scare their customers from using independent dealers to repair their products, saying their use of "warranty void" notices might be in violation of federal right-to-repair laws.

  • July 03, 2024

    5 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch For In July

    Republican state attorneys general will try to convince the Fifth Circuit to knock down a U.S. Department of Labor rule covering how retirement plan managers can consider environmental and social factors when picking investments, while Kellogg workers will challenge class action waivers at the Sixth Circuit. Here are five argument sessions coming up this month that benefits attorneys should keep an eye on.

  • July 03, 2024

    One Judge Not Enough For TCPA Deal's Toss, 11th Circ. Told

    An Alabama woman has said a recent Eleventh Circuit decision tossing her and other class members' $35 million settlement with GoDaddy.com should get another look from a three-judge panel because outstanding questions about which of the panel's opinions control are poised to sow confusion with the district court.

  • July 03, 2024

    Fla. Disinfectant Co. CEO Must Face $5M Canadian Judgment

    A Florida judge on Wednesday ordered the CEO of a disinfectant company to appear in state court to face a $5.1 million judgment in Canada that he's allegedly avoiding over breaching an agreement for parts that were supplied to his business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • July 03, 2024

    Geico To Pay Policyholders $2M To Settle Underpayment Suit

    Geico policyholders asked a New Jersey federal judge for preliminary approval of a $1.9 million settlement resolving claims the insurer breached their policies by failing to pay title or registration transfer fees upon the total loss of an insured vehicle.

  • July 03, 2024

    Developer Owes $10M For Boston Project Delays, Suit Says

    Massachusetts contractor Suffolk Construction Co. Inc. claims the developer of a significant mixed-use residential and commercial block in Boston's South End still owes it more than $10 million, saying delays due to the pandemic and a change in the type of cabinetry in the apartments contributed to higher costs.

  • July 03, 2024

    Penile Implant Doc Seeks $7M Atty Fees, Costs In $18M IP Win

    A urologist who won $18.3 million in royalties and damages after a jury found a rival stole his penile implant trade secrets and infringed his intellectual property asked a California federal judge for $6.5 million in attorney fees and $614,000 in costs, saying he is owed the funds as the prevailing party in the litigation.

  • July 03, 2024

    Akerman Beats DQ Bid In Sneaker Product IP Battle

    Akerman LLP can't be disqualified from defending a manufacturing company against claims that it stole from a social media influencer it partnered with to sell sneaker care products, a California federal judge has ruled.

  • July 03, 2024

    4 Mass. Rulings You Might Have Missed In June

    Massachusetts state courts last month dealt with thorny contract disputes, mistakenly disclosed emails between a defendant and an attorney, and a company's overtime policy change that may not have been spelled out to workers.

  • July 03, 2024

    Judge OKs Bid To End FindLaw Trade Secrets Lawsuit

    A New York federal judge has approved a deal to resolve a trade secrets dispute between West Publishing Corp. and RizeUp Media Inc. stemming from the departure of several key employees from West.

  • July 03, 2024

    DLA Piper Adds McGuireWoods' Downtown LA Shop Lead

    McGuireWoods LLP's former Los Angeles downtown office head is taking her class action and complex litigation-focused practice in finance, technology, aerospace and oil industries to DLA Piper, the firm announced this week.

  • July 03, 2024

    Markel Drops Suit Over Law Firm's Malpractice Coverage

    A Markel unit told a New York federal court it is dropping its suit against Harris Sliwoski LLP over coverage for malpractice claims lodged against the Seattle-based firm by Haiti after a $31 million judgment entered against the Caribbean country.

  • July 03, 2024

    Pennsylvania Casino Can't Reopen 'Legal Advice' Battle

    Parx Casino can't get a Pennsylvania federal court to reconsider its orders to turn over most of its disputed communications with Eckert Seamans in a lawsuit over whether the law firm put the casino operator's interests ahead of another client that makes gaming machines, the court ruled Wednesday.

  • July 02, 2024

    ACC Invokes 'Casablanca' In Media Rights Row With Clemson

    The 1942 Hollywood classic "Casablanca" was given some airtime on Tuesday in a North Carolina state courtroom when the Atlantic Coast Conference, in seeking to prevent dismissal of its suit over media rights, drew a comparison between Clemson University and the duplicitous character of Captain Louis Renault.

  • July 02, 2024

    Health Data Co. Alleges Contract Breach, Seeks Del. TRO

    A Blue Cross Blue Shield Association healthcare data licensee has sued for a Delaware Court of Chancery injunction that would bar a client from sharing a valuable database of BCBS medical and pharmacy claims with direct competitor Cigna Corp.

  • July 02, 2024

    Conn. Justices Send Trade Secrets Row Back To Trial Court

    The Connecticut Supreme Court ordered a "limited" new trial Tuesday in a trade secrets case that pit Dur-A-Flex Inc. against numerous companies tied to research chemist Samet Dy, its former employee, finding error in the lower court's rulings on issues including damages and the enforceability of Dy's noncompete agreement.

  • July 02, 2024

    Marriott Loses Counterclaim In Delta's TM Suit

    Delta Air Lines Inc. has won its fight against Marriott International Inc.'s claim that the airline breached an agreement over the use of "Delta Hotels," with a Georgia federal judge finding that the deal at issue applies only in Hong Kong and China.

  • July 02, 2024

    Depo Gets Dad Ousted From Sesame Place Race Bias Case

    The father of a child who was allegedly snubbed by costumed performers at a Pennsylvania theme park has been removed from consolidated race bias litigation after plaintiffs' counsel said the father had lied during a deposition, with a Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday granting a bid by other families to sever their case from his.

Expert Analysis

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • Independent Regulator Could Chip Away At FIFA Autonomy

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    After the U.K.'s recent proposal for an independent football regulator, FIFA's commitment to safeguarding football association autonomy remains unwavering, despite a history of complexities arising from controversies in the bidding and hosting of major tournaments, say Yasin Patel at Church Court Chambers and Caitlin Haberlin-Chambers at SLAM Global.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • Examining The Arbitration Clause Landscape Amid Risks

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    Amid a new wave of mass arbitrations, recent developments in the courts and from the American Arbitration Association suggest that companies should improve arbitration clause drafting to protect themselves against big-ticket settlements and avoid major potential liability, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • 10 Areas To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting Law

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    The near future holds a number of key areas to watch in aerospace and defense contracting law, ranging from dramatic developments in the space industry to recent National Defense Authorization Act updates, which are focused on U.S. leadership in emerging technologies, say Joseph Berger and Chip Purcell at Thompson Hine.

  • 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.

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