Hospitality

  • September 27, 2024

    Deal Cools Sale Broker's Beef With Cold-Cheese Pizzeria

    A Pittsburgh cold-cheese pizzeria's beef with a real estate broker over the commission on what was almost a $2.1 million sale has cooled, with the parties telling a Pennsylvania state court they have settled the case.

  • September 27, 2024

    Miami Approves $12.5M Deal To End Little Havana Bar's Suit

    The city of Miami has agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle claims from the owners of several popular Little Havana businesses who alleged city officials repeatedly harassed them and deliberately crafted ordinances to destroy their business rights.

  • September 26, 2024

    1st Circ. Won't Disturb Ex-DraftKings Exec's Noncompete

    The First Circuit on Thursday rejected an appeal from a former DraftKings executive looking to undo his noncompete contract, ruling that Massachusetts law — not California law — applies to his agreement with his Boston-based former employer and that an injunction barring him from competing with DraftKings stands.

  • September 26, 2024

    Judge Certifies COVID-19 Refund Action Against Cedar Fair

    An Ohio federal judge certified two classes of 2020 season pass holders with amusement park company Cedar Fair LP — which recently merged with Six Flags Entertainment Corp. — and also added some subclasses for the pass holders' claims that they are entitled to refunds after the amusement parks they bought passes for were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • September 26, 2024

    Dominican Airport Co. Says Project Feud Must Be Arbitrated

    The operator of airports in the Dominican Republic has urged a Puerto Rico federal court to compel a food-and-beverage concessionaire to resolve its multimillion-dollar claims against it in arbitration following an ill-fated expansion project at the country's main airport.

  • September 26, 2024

    Man Says Houston-Area Starbucks Put Racist Joke On Drink

    Coffee chain Starbucks was hit with a race discrimination lawsuit Wednesday from a Black man who alleged staff at a Houston-area location put a racist note on his cup when he arrived to pick up a mobile order.

  • September 26, 2024

    Nightclub Can Pursue Defamation Suit Against TikTok User

    A Chicago nightclub and restaurant has pled enough to pursue defamation claims against a woman who posted a viral TikTok video claiming security staff was "manhandling" and otherwise physically forcing her out of the establishment, a state court judge has said.

  • September 26, 2024

    Pa. Justices Say COVID Closures Aren't Covered Losses

    Pennsylvania's Supreme Court shut the door Thursday on COVID-19 pandemic loss insurance coverage for businesses closed by government mandate, ruling that requisite physical loss or damage required tangible alteration to property, reversing a lower court decision that stated loss of use was sufficient.

  • September 25, 2024

    Wash. Judge Says Co., Firm Seem To Share Sanctions Blame

    A Washington appeals court judge said Wednesday that a climbing equipment manufacturer and its former trial counsel, Sinars Slowikowski Tomaska LLC, appear to share blame for discovery violations in a product liability lawsuit and that a trial court appeared to have the authority to issue sanctions.

  • September 25, 2024

    11th Circ. Weighs Sovereignty In Ala. Burial Ground Fight

    An Eleventh Circuit judge on Wednesday described a lower court's ruling in a dispute between two tribes over an ancient Alabama burial site as problematic, arguing that it failed to evaluate sovereign immunity status on a claim-by-claim basis and instead lumped it together, against precedent.

  • September 25, 2024

    Marriott Gets $8M Default Win In TM Robocall Scam Case

    A Virginia federal judge has granted Marriott International Inc. the maximum damages that the law allows for the company's trademark infringement claims against a pair of Mexican firms it accused of using its "Marriott Marks" for a robocall scam, ending the claims with an $8 million default judgment.

  • September 25, 2024

    Dolan Balks At Deposition Order In Ex-Knick's Ejection Suit

    New York Knicks owner James Dolan has asked a New York federal court to reconsider an order allowing his deposition, arguing it's part of a "relentless campaign" by former player Charles Oakley to broaden the scope of the lawsuit he filed after being ejected from a game in 2017.

  • September 25, 2024

    Insurer Needn't Cover Las Vegas Sands In Payment Dispute

    An AIG unit secured an early win in its coverage dispute with a Las Vegas casino over an underlying state court lawsuit brought by an agent alleging the casino failed to pay him for his work, after a Nevada federal court ruled the underlying action was not covered.

  • September 25, 2024

    Production Co. Drops Lil Uzi Vert Manager From Fees Suit

    A California-based company suing rapper Lil Uzi Vert for failing to pay more than half a million dollars in concert design and production costs told a Georgia federal judge it is dismissing a breach of contract claim against the rapper's manager, Amina Diop.

  • September 25, 2024

    Bar Works Crook Gets 7 Years For Role In $57M Global Fraud

    A Manhattan federal judge hit an English real estate marketer with a seven-year prison sentence on Wednesday for joining what prosecutors call a global Ponzi scheme that tricked investors into pouring $57 million into the bogus workspace share venture Bar Works.

  • September 23, 2024

    Tyson, Cargill Want Appeal Of Pollution Verdict Plan Certified

    Tyson, Cargill and other poultry producers have urged an Oklahoma federal judge to certify their interlocutory appeal of a plan to hash out remedies concerning a river pollution trial that took place over a decade ago, arguing that the record is far too "stale" to support forward-looking relief now.

  • September 23, 2024

    3rd Circ. Revives $60M Moroccan Hotel Award Fight

    The Third Circuit has sent a decision over a $60 million arbitral award favoring the Royal Mansour Hotel's current owner back to a lower court for further consideration, saying the company has plausibly argued that it didn't cause the Moroccan establishment to fall into financial ruin.

  • September 23, 2024

    Starbucks Wins At 9th Circ. In 'S'mores' Lip Gloss IP Theft Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday refused to revive lip balm company Balmuccino's claims that Starbucks breached an implied contract and misappropriated trade secrets by stealing its idea for coffee-flavored "S'mores Frappuccino" lip gloss, agreeing with the lower court's order that Balmuccino's claims were filed too late.

  • September 23, 2024

    Gordon Rees Gets Insurer's Wash. Malpractice Suit Trimmed

    A Washington judge issued a mixed order in a lawsuit brought by the insurer for a climbing equipment manufacturer over allegations that misconduct by a Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP attorney — coupled with another insurer's decision to yank coverage — forced the manufacturer into a settlement over a climber's fall.

  • September 23, 2024

    Chicago's DoorDash Fee Claims Get Two-Year Limit

    An Illinois federal judge on Friday pared down a lawsuit brought by the city of Chicago accusing DoorDash of using various deceptive practices to fool customers into paying higher prices, holding that claims under the city's municipal code that accrued more than two years before the city filed suit are time-barred.

  • September 20, 2024

    Domino's Execs Concealed Store Closure Woes, Investor Says

    Domino's is facing a proposed class action filed Friday in Michigan federal court by an investor who says the pizza chain overhyped plans to launch more than 1,100 stores across the globe over a four-year period while concealing that a major franchisee faced significant hurdles with store openings and closures.

  • September 20, 2024

    Senate Panel Advances Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act

    A U.S. Senate panel has moved forward efforts to win passage of the Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act, which would place approximately 172 acres of specified lands in San Diego into trust for the benefit of the California tribe.

  • September 20, 2024

    NC Governor Defends Bar Closures During COVID

    North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper urged the state's highest court to overturn a decision finding he violated the constitutional right to make a living and the equal protection of bar owners with his COVID shutdown order, arguing the decision was reasonable given how the virus was spreading.

  • September 20, 2024

    Golf Course Co. Sued Again; Earlier Data Breach Case Axed

    An Illinois-based golf course and hospitality management business faces a new lawsuit from a former employee for allegedly failing to protect its customers' personal information following an April breach, while a separate case against the business has been dismissed.

  • September 20, 2024

    Entrepreneur Says Partners Stiffed Him On Testing Site Deal

    A Pittsburgh entrepreneur says he had a deal with three Omaha, Nebraska-based businessmen to help them open COVID-19 testing labs in Ohio and Pennsylvania in the early days of the pandemic, but is still owed $2 million, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Pennsylvania state court.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • What 11th Circ. FCRA Ruling Means For Credit Furnishers

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    Credit furnishers should revisit their internal investigation and verification procedures after the Eleventh Circuit declined last month in Holden v. Holiday to impose a bright-line rule that only purely factual or transcription errors are actionable under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, say Diana Eng and Michael Esposito at Blank Rome.

  • 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.

  • Is The State Lottery The New Online Casino?

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    The traditional lines of demarcation between smartphone lottery games and online casino games are eroding since the difference is largely indistinguishable to the casual gambler — begging the question of how legal treatment may differ between state lotteries and the private-sector casino industry, says Michael Peacock at Holland & Knight.

  • 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.

  • Corporate Insurance Considerations For Trafficking Claims

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    With the surge in litigation over liability under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, corporate risk managers and in-house counsel need to ensure that appropriate insurance coverage is in place to provide for defense and indemnity against this liability, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Del. Dispatch: Chancery's Evolving Approach To Caremark

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    Though Caremark claims are historically the least likely corporate claims to lead to liability, such cases have been met in recent years with increased judicial receptivity — but the Delaware Court of Chancery still expressly discourages the reflexive filing of Caremark claims following corporate mishaps, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Leveraging Insurance Amid Microplastics Concerns

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    A pending microplastics lawsuit — New York v. PepsiCo Inc. — may be a harbinger of what is to come for companies whose products are exposed to the environment, so any company considering how to address microplastics liability should include a careful assessment of the potential for insurance coverage in its due diligence, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • 4 Sectors Will Likely Bear Initial Brunt Of FTC 'Junk Fees' Rule

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    If the Federal Trade Commission adopts its comprehensive proposed rule to ban unfair or deceptive fees across the U.S. economy, many businesses — including those in the lodging, event ticketing, dining and transportation sectors — will need to reexamine the way they market and price their products and services, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

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    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Is The Digital Accessibility Storm Almost Over?

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    Though private businesses have faced a decadelong deluge of digital accessibility complaints in the absence of clear regulations or uniformity among the courts, attorneys at Epstein Becker address how recent federal courts’ pushback against serial Americans with Disabilities Act plaintiffs and the U.S. Department of Justice’s proposed government accessibility standards may presage a break in the downpour.

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

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