Commercial Contracts

  • July 08, 2025

    Insurer Fights Coverage For $13M Townhome Arbitration Row

    An insurer told a Washington federal court it has no duty to defend or indemnify a developer facing a nearly $13 million arbitration demand from a construction lender, which claims the developer misrepresented the completion of underground facilities at a Seattle townhome project while requesting funds for the work.

  • July 08, 2025

    Metal Trader Eyes Jurisdiction Fight In $3.7M Int'l Trade Feud

    A Taiwanese company that says a Connecticut metals trading firm owing it $3.7 million for magnesium shipments has signaled its intent to press a claim under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods in Connecticut federal court, despite a subject matter jurisdiction challenge.

  • July 08, 2025

    'Practice Better Judgment,' Judge Tells Comscore Foe

    A California federal judge "strongly" admonished a film distribution and data company for filing an amended monopolization complaint against Comscore on the Fourth of July, while also concluding that the filing mooted, for now, a bid to force the box office giant to continue sharing data.

  • July 08, 2025

    Tenet Sues Blue Cross Over $21M In Unpaid Medical Claims

    Tenet Healthcare providers have sued Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc., claiming the insurer failed to pay more than $21 million in claims for a slew of necessary medical services provided by Tenet hospitals and outpatient facilities.

  • July 08, 2025

    Wash. Law Firm Settles Investors' Suit Over $1M Escrow Loss

    A Washington-based law firm has settled a lawsuit in which investors accuse it of losing $1 million in escrow funds intended as a security deposit on a medical supplies purchase, the parties have informed a federal judge just weeks before the scheduled trial date.

  • July 08, 2025

    Amazon Wants To Challenge Class Cert. Bid On The Stand

    Amazon has asked a Washington state federal judge to let it interrogate the expert witness backing a bid for class action status covering tens of millions of consumers, arguing that an evidentiary hearing, with cross-examination, is needed in the antitrust litigation accusing it of keeping online retail prices artificially high.

  • July 07, 2025

    6th Circ. Affirms Toss Of 'Que Sera, Sera' Writer's Family Spat

    The Sixth Circuit Monday refused to revive a royalties spat between the granddaughter and daughter of Jay Livingston, the late Oscar-winning co-songwriter of "Que Sera, Sera," saying in a published opinion that the granddaughter failed to plausibly allege that her mom's bids to terminate copyright grants were invalid.

  • July 07, 2025

    FTC Wants More Time To Present Case Against Amazon Prime

    The Federal Trade Commission asked a Washington federal judge for 10 days to put on its case-in-chief against Amazon over alleged deceptive practices that trick customers into automatically renewing Prime subscriptions, arguing the evidence at the upcoming trial would be "voluminous and complex," and lengthening the trial won't prejudice Amazon.

  • July 07, 2025

    Aetna's Trade Law Claim Lacks Merit, Air Ambulance Cos. Say

    Six out-of-state air ambulance companies suing Aetna in Connecticut federal court claiming violations of the federal No Surprises Act say they shouldn't be forced to face the insurer's Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act counterclaim because their billing practices were for a time allowed by federal law.

  • July 07, 2025

    11th Circ. Backs UBS' $6.5M Arbitration Win

    The Eleventh Circuit has rejected a Puerto Rican man's bid to vacate a roughly $6.5 million arbitration award given to UBS Financial Services Inc. that stems from a long-running account contract dispute, finding there was no misconduct in the proceedings.

  • July 07, 2025

    4th Circ. Revives SC Builder's Bid For Condo Repair Coverage

    A Charleston builder will get a second chance at recouping the money it spent repairing a condo complex that flooded after the Fourth Circuit on Monday partially vacated a pretrial win favoring its insurer, finding there are still unanswered questions about whether certain costs might be covered under its policy.

  • July 07, 2025

    Fanatics Told To Give Panini Licensing Docs In Antitrust Case

    A New York federal court said Monday that Fanatics Inc. must turn over unredacted versions of its licensing deals with major sports leagues and player associations that are at the heart of Panini America Inc.'s case accusing Fanatics of monopolizing the sports trading card market.

  • July 07, 2025

    Texas Appeals Court Finds $50M Dubai Judgment Was Unfair

    A Texas appeals court has found that a $50 million judgment issued by a United Arab Emirates court system against executives who allegedly fled the country after committing fraud could not stand under state law, saying the UAE court system never provided the executives adequate notice.

  • July 07, 2025

    Newark Property Buyer Wins Appeal Over Axed $32.8M Sale

    A New Jersey appellate panel on Monday upheld a trial court's ruling that a real estate investment firm properly terminated its $32.8 million purchase agreement for a mixed-use building in Newark after receiving a noncompliant estoppel certificate from one of the tenants, rejecting the seller's argument that the certificate's deficiencies were immaterial.

  • July 07, 2025

    Ex-Essential Oil Co. Manager Gets 6 Years For Fraud

    A former manager of an essential oils company was sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison Monday for his role in an embezzlement scheme that stripped his employer of more than $29 million and awarded him millions in kickbacks he hid from the IRS, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • July 07, 2025

    DC Court OKs $7.6M Award Against Niger In Airport Dispute

    A D.C. federal judge has enforced a 12-year-old arbitral award worth some $7.6 million against Niger in a fight brought by a Luxembourg subsidiary of British aviation services company Menzies following a soured deal to operate ground handling services at the African country's airports.

  • July 07, 2025

    Ex-Leerink Banker Can't Get Redo On Unpaid Bonuses Claim

    A Massachusetts federal judge declined on Monday to rethink partially tossing a former Leerink Partners employee's suit alleging she was cheated out of millions of dollars in bonuses, rejecting the worker's argument that new evidence should change the court's mind.

  • July 07, 2025

    Energy Co. Says $7.6M Award Result Of 'Classic' Contract Law

    An energy company that ended a contract with a Houston Ship Channel facility over a lack of dock space is asking an appeals court to back its $7.6 million award, writing that the lack of availability was a clear violation of its original agreement.

  • July 07, 2025

    George Clinton Faces Sanctions Bid In IP Suit

    Music executive Armen Boladian has asked a Florida federal court to sanction funk legend George Clinton, saying he was raising issues already adjudicated in their decades-long series of legal disputes.

  • July 07, 2025

    ESPN, NFL Skewer Jets Legend's Suit Over Doc Portrayal

    ESPN and NFL Films are looking to escape a lawsuit that Mark Gastineau, a former New York Jets defensive end, brought against them over their portrayal of him in a "30 for 30" documentary, telling a New York federal court the onetime defensive player of the year granted the companies full access to his image and likeness and surrendered any right to approve its use.

  • July 07, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    In Delaware in the past week, a vice chancellor awarded just $1 in damages to a China-tied company looking to secure a $50 million stake in SpaceX while also slamming the fund's manager for acting "insincerely," Tyson Foods won $55 million in damages in a suit claiming the owner of two poultry rendering plants Tyson acquired hid that it relied on a "disfavored" practice of recovering "unappetizing remnants of butchered chickens," and a suit over a one-site bank's 11-aircraft fleet was moved into the discovery phase.

  • July 07, 2025

    Fla. Condo Says Chubb Insurer Lowballed Hurricane Claim

    A nonprofit Florida condominium owner is urging a federal court to reject a Chubb subsidiary's final summary judgment bid against the nonprofit's hurricane coverage suit, arguing that the insurer offered only $23,801 for property damage that eventually resulted in the nonprofit receiving an award of more than $7.2 million.

  • July 07, 2025

    Judge Blocks Demolition Contract Switch At Pa. Power Plant

    A demolition contractor that claimed to have been locked out of the former Homer City Generating Station in Western Pennsylvania can resume work and regain access to the equipment and scrap materials the company took as payment for the job, a state court judge has ruled.

  • July 04, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    The past week in London has seen the owner of Crystal Palace and the troubled Olympique Lyonnais football clubs sue its current chief executive John Textor, Fieldfisher faces a claim by Georgian businessman Zaza Okusahvili, and a dispute partner at Travers Smith file a personal injury claim against the firm.

  • July 03, 2025

    Calif. Justices Say Ford Can't Arbitrate Fiesta And Focus Suits

    Ford Motor Co. cannot force drivers who allege defects in their Focus and Fiesta vehicles to take their claims to arbitration, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday, rejecting the automaker's argument that the dispute flows from dealership sales contracts containing arbitration provisions that it can invoke.

Expert Analysis

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    Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

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    Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

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    Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

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    District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech

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    New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Navigating Potential Sources Of Tariff-Related Contract Risk

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    As the tariff landscape continues to shift, companies must anticipate potential friction points arising out of certain common contractual provisions, prepare to defend against breach claims, and respond to changing circumstances in contractual and treaty-based relationships, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

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    As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility

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    As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Florida Case Could Redefine Construction Defect Damages

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    If a Florida appellate court overturns the trial court in a pending construction contract dispute, the state could experience a seismic shift in construction defect damages, effectively leaving homeowners and developers with an incomplete remedy, says Andrew Gold at Akerman.

  • Indemnity Lessons From Mass. Construction Defect Ruling

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    The Massachusetts high court's decision in Trustees of Boston University v. CHA, holding that a bespoke contractual indemnity provision means that a construction defect claim is not subject to Massachusetts' statute of repose, should spur design and construction professionals to negotiate limited provisions, says Christopher Sweeney at Conn Kavanaugh.

  • When Reshoring, IP Issues Require A Strong Action Plan

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    With recent headlines highlighting tariffs as high as 3,521%, more firms will contemplate reshoring manufacturing to the U.S., and they will need to consider important intellectual property issues as part of this complex, expensive and lengthy undertaking, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Series

    Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

  • Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

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    Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.

  • 4 Strategies For De-Escalating Hospitality Industry Disputes

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    As recent uncertainty in the travel business exacerbates the risk of conflict in the hospitality sector, industry in-house counsel and their outside partners should consider proactive strategies aimed at de-escalating disputes, including preserving the record, avoiding boilerplate clauses and considering arbitration, say Randa Adra at Crowell and Stephanie Jean-Jacques at Hyatt.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Appreciating Civil Procedure

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    If you’re like me, law school’s often complex and theoretical approach to teaching civil procedure may have contributed to an early struggle with the topic, but when seen from a practical perspective, new lawyers may find they enjoy mastering these rules, says Chloe Villagomez at Foster Garvey.

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