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Commercial Contracts
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May 24, 2013
Blank Rome Hit With $25M Malpractice Suit Over Conflict
Blank Rome LLP was hit with a $25 million malpractice suit in New York state court Friday by a former client who claiming the firm represented her in divorce proceedings while simultaneously representing her husband's employer, Morgan Stanley, leading to a conflict and a mishandling of the divorce.
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May 24, 2013
Fiduciary Duty To IPO Clients Hangs By Thread In NY Appeal
In taking claims that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fleeced a now-defunct toy maker by undervaluing its $178 million initial public offering, legal experts say New York's top court has the chance to put to rest doubts over the notion that bankers owe a fiduciary duty to clients dipping into equities markets.
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May 24, 2013
Arbitration Bias Claim In Drug Row Premature, Judge Says
A California judge on Friday tossed a lawsuit asking her to find that the American Arbitration Association is biased against an attorney for drugmaker PeriCor Therapeutics Inc., saying judicial review would be premature before an AAA panel issues an award in PeriCor's underlying contract dispute with Merck & Co.
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May 24, 2013
US Bank Sued Over Robosigning, Mismanaged RMBS Trusts
Banks and asset managers in Missouri, Arkansas and South Carolina have sued U.S. Bank NA for allegedly mismanaging 28 residential mortgage-backed securities trusts by ignoring robosigning practices that ultimately derailed their investments, according to a complaint removed to Missouri federal court on Friday.
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May 24, 2013
Greenberg Traurig Settles Atty's $200M Gender Bias Action
Greenberg Traurig LLP has settled a proposed $200 million employee gender bias class action alleging the firm discriminated against its female shareholders, according to joint motions to dismiss filed by the parties in New York and Pennsylvania federal courts on Friday.
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May 24, 2013
Oppenheimer Suit Against Trans Energy Gets Judge's OK
A federal judge on Friday greenlighted a contract suit that investment firm Oppenheimer & Co. brought against natural gas producer Trans Energy Inc. over fees on a $50 million loan, denying Trans Energy’s request to throw the case out.
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May 24, 2013
Developers Can Arbitrate Defect Claims, Pa. Court Says
A Pennsylvania appeals court on Thursday overturned a lower court's decision that the developers of a planned residential community facing homeowners' claims over shoddy construction work and water damage was not entitled to arbitration.
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May 24, 2013
American Apparel Can't Arbitrate Claim CEO Choked Employee
American Apparel Inc. on Friday lost a bid to force into arbitration a suit alleging CEO Dov Charney choked a former store manager and tried to rub dirt in his face, when a California judge ruled that the arbitration agreement the plaintiff signed was invalid.
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May 24, 2013
Houston Pension Rules Can't Be Reviewed: Appeals Court
A Texas appellate court on Thursday affirmed a lower court ruling that former Houston city employees who were transferred out of Houston's system to a nonprofit can't challenge a city pension system ruling about their benefits eligibility because the system has broad legal authority.
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May 24, 2013
Countrywide Gets Mortgage Pool Contract Suit Pared
A Washington federal judge on Thursday trimmed Washington Federal's suit accusing Countrywide Home Loans Inc. of breaching a mortgage loan purchase and servicing agreement and then refusing to buy back the loans when the alleged breaches were revealed, finding their relationship lacked the required fiduciary characteristics.
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May 24, 2013
IT Co. Can't Shake False Claims Suit Over DOJ Work
Information technology company Satory Global LLC must face allegations it billed the U.S. Department of Justice for work it did on its own behalf and wrongly fired a pair of whistleblowers, a Washington federal judge ruled Thursday.
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May 23, 2013
Miami Heat Star's Dad Sued In Sports Agency Dispute
A Miami Beach sports agency on Tuesday hit former partner Ronnie Chalmers, the father of Miami Heat point guard Mario Chalmers, with a trade secrets and contract suit in Florida state court claiming he exploited his partnership stake to advance his own career as an agent, at the expense of the agency.
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May 23, 2013
Cigna Gets Heart Device Coverage Fight Sent To Arbitration
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday dismissed a pair of cardiac telemetry makers' suit alleging Cigna Health Corp.'s decision to stop covering the device violates federal pension and unfair competition laws, finding the claims are subject to arbitration under each plaintiff's provider agreement with Cigna.
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May 23, 2013
Trump Wins Fraud Trial Over Chicago Condos
A federal jury in Chicago sided with Donald Trump's companies at a consumer fraud trial Thursday, rejecting claims that they deceptively lured prospective buyers of hotel condominiums at Trump's downtown luxury tower by offering a revenue-sharing deal that they later withdrew.
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May 23, 2013
Fish Can’t Duck Fraud Suit Over $28M Award, Texas Court Told
A now-dissolved title services law firm told a Texas appeals court last week that Fish & Richardson PC and JAMS Inc. aren’t immune from fraud claims over a $28 million arbitration award handed out by an arbitrator allegedly biased toward Fish & Richardson.
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May 23, 2013
Supervalu Sues Sunoco Over Gas Card Exclusivity Deal
Wholesale grocery supplier Supervalu Holdings LLC sued Sunoco Inc. in Pennsylvania state court Wednesday, accusing the gas station owner of breaching an agreement to give Pittsburgh-area Shop ‘n Save customers discounts on gasoline when they swiped their card at the pump.
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May 23, 2013
Superman Heirs Urge 9th Circ. To Reverse DC Comics Win
The heirs of Superman co-creator Joseph Shuster did not agree to release their statutory right to reclaim Superman copyrights in a 1992 deal with DC Comics, the heirs told the Ninth Circuit on Thursday in a bid to overturn a victory for the publisher in their long-running copyright fight.
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May 23, 2013
Miss USA Official Wants Sex Tape Interview Suit Shut Down
A Miss USA beauty pageant official urged a California appellate court Thursday to toss a breach of contract suit, arguing that a trial court erroneously greenlighted claims that she broke a secret agreement by talking to TMZ about a beauty queen's sex tape.
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May 23, 2013
Black Diamond Co-Founder Wins $6M Carried Interest Appeal
A Black Diamond Capital Management LLC co-founder can collect the final $6 million portion of the $17.5M in carried interest he earned there before he left to start another private equity firm, Z Capital Partners LLC, a New York appeals court ruled Thursday.
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May 23, 2013
6th Circ. Says $1.4M Atty Fee In Software IP Row Was Proper
The Sixth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a $1.4 million attorneys' fee award for a lawyer who represented Infocon Systems Inc. in a software-licensing dispute with Exact Software North America Inc., saying the lower court correctly exercised its jurisdiction over the matter.
Expert Analysis
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Good For Business: Florida's LLC Rewrite
Representing a substantial evolution in Florida law, the Florida Revised Limited Liability Company Act will make the state a more desirable location for business owners to use an LLC for their business activities. Companies and counsel should familiarize themselves with a number of key changes to existing law, say Philip Schwartz and Andrew Schwartz of Akerman Senterfitt LLP.
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Contrasting 363 And Out-Of-Court Sales
Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor
In most respects, a bankruptcy sale is nearly identical to a sale of assets outside of bankruptcy. The differences lie in five specific areas, says Neil Herman of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.
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A Twist In Terminating German Commercial Agreements
Commercial agreements usually provide for extraordinary termination rights or even automatic cancellation in the case of insolvency of one of the parties. Such a cancellation right may, however, contradict the general principles of German insolvency law, say Dr. Juergen van Kann and Dr. Rouven Redeker of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.
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Calif.'s Subcontractor Defense Regime: Order Or Chaos?
With the enactment of Civil Code Section 2782.05, the California Legislature has created a new regime to govern a subcontractor's duty to defend a general contractor or construction manager on most nonresidential projects. While this new regime appears intended to benefit construction participants, its lack of guidance will likely result in disagreements and litigation among the participants, say attorneys with Jones Day.
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4 UK Bribery Act Myths — Debunked
The U.K. Bribery Act is somewhat complicated. Not surprisingly, therefore, misperceptions have arisen regarding its provisions, especially regarding the requirements, scope and exclusivity of Section 7 corporate liability, says Eli Richardson of Bass Berry & Sims PLC.
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Rise Of The Machines — Predictive Coding Goes Mainstream
The pros of using predictive coding far outweigh the cons. Given the heavy pressure on law firms and in-house counsel to reduce discovery costs, as well as the Justice Department's recent stance on the subject, it appears predictive coding will continue to emerge from the obscure world of legal technology to the mainstream of legal practice, say Michael Moscato and Myles Bartley of Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP.
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The Oil And Gas Operator's Texas Advantage
The interpretation by the Supreme Court of Texas in Reeder v. Wood County Energy LLC grants vast protection to oil and gas operators, but by doing so, it is perceived by some as muddling the differences between tort and contract law, says Michael Bolton and Kate Kalanick of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.
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Not Subject To Ill. Court Jurisdiction? Think Again
The Illinois Supreme Court's ruling in Russell v. SNFA is troubling to part manufacturers as it suggests that an Illinois court can now find a part supplier bound to the marketing and distribution systems of its clients, regardless of where the end product is marketed, and find personal jurisdiction over the supplier, say attorneys with Locke Lord LLP.
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SEC Eyes Advisory Contract Approval Disclosures
A recent settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by mutual fund directors and service providers answers a number of questions for many in the mutual fund industry and provides insight into SEC enforcement priorities, say attorneys with Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.
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4 Takeaways From 2nd Highest FCPA Penalty
A New York federal court recently entered a final judgment against a former Siemens AG executive for his alleged role in a purported $100 million bribery scheme for Siemens to obtain a $1 billion contract from Argentina. Third-party sham contracts continue to be a prevalent theme in the alleged facts contained in corruption enforcement filings and resolutions, say attorneys with Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.