Commercial Contracts

  • September 06, 2024

    Earthlink Investors Accept $85M Deal To End Merger Suit

    Earthlink investors who say they were duped into approving a $1.1 billion merger with failing telecommunications company Windstream Holdings Inc. told an Arkansas federal judge Friday that they've reached an $85 million deal to end the lawsuit two months before the case was scheduled to go to trial.

  • September 06, 2024

    AstraZeneca Unit Owes $130M In Chancery Scuttled-Drug Suit

    The Delaware Chancery Court awarded $130 million to former shareholders of biopharmaceutical company Syntimmune in their breach of contract fight against AstraZeneca PLC unit Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., finding that Alexion failed to make promised payments after it acquired Syntimmune in 2018 and breached key terms of their merger agreement.

  • September 06, 2024

    Texas Biz Court Will Be A Brave New World For Energy Cos.

    Energy companies gained a new forum to hash out their legal fights Sept. 1 when the Texas business court recently started hearing cases, but questions about the court and how it'll operate might give companies pause before they take the plunge. Here's what energy companies and energy attorneys should know as the new court gets up and running.

  • September 06, 2024

    Ex-CEO Of Defunct Solar Co. Seeks Sanctions In Fraud Suit

    The former CEO of a bankrupt solar energy firm filed a motion for sanctions Friday in Michigan federal court, alleging the plaintiffs' counsel misrepresented the ex-CEO's inability to produce information during a discovery meeting regarding claims he defrauded customers by selling faulty solar systems.

  • September 06, 2024

    2nd Circ. Won't Revive Solar Cos.' National Grid Tax Suit

    The Second Circuit declined to revive one of two proposed class actions brought by solar companies against National Grid alleging it illegally charged them for taxes in an effort to dampen competition from renewables, finding on Friday that the district court properly determined it lacked subject matter jurisdiction.

  • September 06, 2024

    NJ Medical Co. Claims Ex-Employees Conspired To Form Rival

    A New Jersey medical communications agency said Friday that four of its former employees and the onetime U.S. president of biopharmaceutical company PharmaEssentia used its confidential information in a scheme to form a rival firm and steal millions of dollars of work from it.

  • September 06, 2024

    Appeals Court Says Nursing Home Seller Keeps Atty Fees

    An entity that sold a nursing home is entitled to keep attorney fees because the underlying contract spelled out that it was entitled to them, a Texas appeals court found, even though the eventual buyer was not a party to the contract granting attorney fees.

  • September 06, 2024

    Ingersoll Rand Blocks Rival From Hiring Ex-Exec In NDA Fight

    A Colorado state court has preliminarily blocked the former chief executive of a company acquired by industrial products giant Ingersoll Rand Inc. from working for rival Avantor, finding Ingersoll Rand will likely win its claims that the executive specifically agreed not to work for Avantor as a condition of the acquisition.

  • September 06, 2024

    Investment Co. Appeals Sanction In Highland Ch. 11

    An alternative investment company has asked a Texas federal court to overturn a sanctions order it received in defunct hedge fund Highland Capital's Chapter 11 case after the bankruptcy court concluded that it filed a claim in bad faith.

  • September 06, 2024

    Payroll Co. Didn't Pay For Cannabis Client Referrals, Suit Says

    The founder of a now-closed payroll and human resources provider that largely served the cannabis industry claims he was never compensated for selling its client list to a Colorado rival, Comploy Inc., and is now demanding $161,000 and interest.

  • September 06, 2024

    Property Co. Not Covered By Excess Carriers In Antitrust Row

    A property management company is not owed coverage from two excess insurers in an underlying multidistrict litigation surrounding allegations of a price-fixing conspiracy involving software company RealPage Inc., a Massachusetts federal judge ruled, finding the excess insurers had no obligations under the management company's primary policy.

  • September 06, 2024

    Doctor Pulls Discovery Demands Against WWE Accuser

    Celebrity doctor Carlon Colker has withdrawn his demands seeking pre-litigation discovery materials from the woman who has accused Vince McMahon and former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. executives of sexually assaulting and trafficking her.

  • September 06, 2024

    Off The Bench: NCAA Flops, NBA Trial, Sunday Ticket Appeal

    In this week's Off The Bench, the $2.78 billion deal to settle a vast class action targeting the NCAA's name, image and likeness compensation rules hits a snag, the NBA and Warner Bros. aim for an April trial in their media rights fight, and NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers look to reinstate their $4.7 billion antitrust victory over the league.

  • September 06, 2024

    NC Restoration Co. Wants Out Of Rival's Noncompete Fight

    The new owner of a property restoration company caught in the crosshairs of a fight between its founders and their former employer has asked for a quick exit from the dispute, saying it can't be held liable for the founders' actions when the parties' real beef is with each other.

  • September 06, 2024

    NC Judge Orders MV Realty's CEO To Produce Emails

    A North Carolina Business Court judge on Friday ordered MV Realty to produce its CEO's emails as part of Attorney General Josh Stein's lawsuit accusing the company of locking homeowners in fraudulent deals to extract illegal fees.

  • September 06, 2024

    Cleveland-Cliffs Faces Trial Over Mining Co.'s Antitrust Claims

    A Delaware bankruptcy court has partially allowed claims accusing steelmaking giant Cleveland-Cliffs of engaging in anticompetitive behavior that harmed a mining venture's efforts to complete an iron mine and ore plant in northern Minnesota to go to trial by a jury in federal court.

  • September 06, 2024

    Insurer Tries To Stop Asset Transfers In $2.6M Builder Lawsuit

    An insurance company has urged a Montana federal court to temporarily block a group of construction companies from transferring assets, alleging they owe more than $2.6 million in payments, claims and attorney fees related to projects in Montana and Wyoming.

  • September 06, 2024

    4 ERISA Arguments To Watch In September

    The Ninth Circuit will weigh two cases involving whether class claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act can be forced into solo arbitration, and the Second Circuit will hear Yale University workers' bid to revive their retirement plan mismanagement suit. Here are four upcoming oral argument sessions that benefits attorneys should have on their radar.

  • September 06, 2024

    Atty Loses Bid To Revive NJ Malpratice Suit Against 2 Firms

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday upheld the dismissal of an attorney's common law fraud and negligence claims against two law firms for allegedly misrepresenting a debt he owed.

  • September 06, 2024

    $147.5M Life Insurance Class Deal Gets First OK In Conn.

    A Connecticut federal judge has given his initial approval to a $147.5 million settlement in a class action accusing two insurers of overcharging policyholders when deducting costs from savings accounts attached to universal life insurance plans, turning away objections from plaintiffs in parallel cases in other states.

  • September 06, 2024

    Judge Barnard Says It's 'About Time' For Texas Biz Court

    Law360 recently talked with Judge Marialyn Barnard, who transitioned this month from the 73rd District Court to Texas Business Court, about the newly created court.

  • September 06, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen Rockfire Capital sue its former director, Liam Kavanagh, after he was accused of cheating cash-strapped Thurrock Council out of £150 million ($197 million), FedEx launch a claim against an Israeli supply chain business, and a legal dispute between steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta and a former colleague. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • September 06, 2024

    Indicted Power Broker, Atty Brother Hit With Civil RICO Suit

    Philadelphia developer Carl Dranoff has accused the indicted brothers George E. Norcross III, a New Jersey power broker, and Parker McCay CEO Philip A. Norcross of causing him and his company millions of dollars in damages by intimidating and extorting him out of his property development rights in the city of Camden, New Jersey.

  • September 05, 2024

    MGA's O.M.G. Dolls Imitated Girl Group's Looks, Member Says

    Toy company MGA Entertainment Inc.'s line of O.M.G. dolls imitated the signature looks of a pop group created by rapper T.I. called OMG Girlz, a member of the singing group testified Thursday in a California federal court retrial of a long-running intellectual property fight.

  • September 05, 2024

    NC County Says Hospital 'Monopoly' Led To ER Understaffing

    A North Carolina county has accused an Asheville hospital of driving up taxpayer-funded ambulance expenses by understaffing its emergency department and forcing paramedics to step into the roles of emergency physicians.

Expert Analysis

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FTC's 'Unfair Competition' Actions In Jeopardy

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference will have limited effect on the Federal Trade Commission's merger guidelines, administrative enforcement actions and commission decisions on appeal, it could restrict the agency's expansive take on its rulemaking authority and threaten the noncompete ban, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Expect The Unexpected: Contracts For Underground Projects

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    Recent challenges encountered by the Mountain Valley Pipeline project underscore the importance of drafting contracts for underground construction to account for unexpected site conditions, associated risks and compliance with applicable laws, say Jill Jaffe and Brenda Lin at Nossaman.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Anticipating Disputes In Small Biz Partnerships And LLCs

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    In light of persistently high failures of small business partnerships and limited liability companies, mediator Frank Burke discusses proactive strategies for protecting and defining business rights and responsibilities, as well as reactive measures for owners.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Addressing Dispositive Motions

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    Stephanie Magnell and Bret Marfut at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Claims and the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals that provide interesting takeaways about the nuances of motion practice utilized by the government to dispose of cases brought under the Contract Disputes Act prior to substantive litigation

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

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