Commercial Contracts

Expert Analysis

• OPINION: Lawyers Should Think In Terms Of Big Data

  

  The vast majority of civil cases in the United States settle before trial. Knowing how many on a particular topic were filed, how many settled, when they settled, and on what terms clearly would be useful to a lawyer advising a client. Big Data could make it possible — yet this type of research is generally ignored by lawyers, says James Wendell of Riddell Williams PS.

• A Texan Framework For Extending The Economic Loss Rule

  

  Incredibly, LAN/STV v. Martin K. Eby Construction Company is the first Texas Supreme Court decision to address the economic loss rule involving the recovery of economic loss in a negligence suit between contractual strangers, providing the court an opportunity to explicate the interaction of the rule and torts, says John Hawkins of Porter Hedges LLP.

• 4 Termination Considerations Before Signing A Contract

  

  For in-house counsel who are under increasing pressure to "get the deal done" and do more with less, it's important to give due consideration to termination provisions when drafting and negotiating commercial agreements — and there are four questions that shouldn’t be ignored, say Susan Hartman and Emily Lowe of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC.

• Twists And Turns For Texas' Health Care Employers

  

  While Texas has a reputation for being an employer-friendly state, for health care employers it’s a mixed bag as physicians garner special treatment under state law regarding noncompete covenants, says Robert Kilgore of Fisher & Phillips LLP.

• Death Rattle For Unfinished Business Claims?

  

  In a departure from Jewel v. Boxer, the decisions in the cases of Thelen LLP and Heller Ehrman LLP reflect a shift in the manner by which courts treat trustees’ claims for post-dissolution fees, say Angelo Savino and Julie Moeller Albright of Cozen O'Connor.

• And Now A Word From The Panel: Top 10 Venue Arguments

  

  As the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation heads to the “Heart of America” for its July 31 hearing, this column will take a bit of a detour from its regular format and present a top 10 list of arguments — some strange, yet true — made in support of a particular MDL venue, says Alan Rothman of Kaye Scholer LLP.

• VNA V. Jupiter Reflects Dramatic Shift By Fla. Courts

  

  In Visiting Nurse Association of Florida Inc. v. Jupiter Medical Center, the Florida Supreme Court entered a unanimous decision that falls in line with a growing trend providing further certainty in using arbitration as a speedy and cost-effective vehicle for resolving commercial disputes, say attorneys with Berger Singerman LLP.

• Litigator’s Perspective: 5 Tips On Arbitration Provisions

  

  It happens all the time. When a dispute arises, two parties find themselves in arbitration, realizing that they might have had more leverage to dictate the terms of the process when they were negotiating the arbitration provision — but missed the opportunity, says Daniel McCloskey of Duane Morris LLP.

• 6 Years In, Why Haven't FRE 502(d) Orders Caught On?

  

  In this e-discovery era, why aren't more litigants using Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) orders and affording themselves basic protection of their most sensitive information? Or, if they are moving for such orders, why are they doing it wrong? asks John Rosans of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP.

• Code Trumps Contract In The 5th Circ.

  

  The Fifth Circuit opinion in Goldsby v. 804 Congress suggests that even where parties agree upon foreclosure-related fees, costs and charges before a bankruptcy, Section 506(b) of the Bankruptcy Code may still trump the provisions of their contract, says Debra McElligott of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.