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Commercial Contracts
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May 7, 2013
QEP Puts Up $155M To Settle Gas Royalties Suit
The QEP Energy Co. on Tuesday urged an Oklahoma federal court to grant final approval to a $155 million settlement that would end claims from a class of landowners who say the company underpaid royalties on the production of fuel extracted from their wells.
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May 7, 2013
Sara Lee Defeats Distributors' Price-Fixing Claims
A California judge on Monday threw out antitrust class action claims alleging Sara Lee Corp. engaged in price-fixing, finding that its agreements with distributors gave it the right to negotiate the prices of its baked goods with retailers.
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May 7, 2013
BofA Win In $200M Loan Suit Upheld By NY Appeals Court
A New York state appeals court on Tuesday denied real estate mogul Joseph Moinian's motion to appeal the court's January approval of the dismissal of his case accusing Bank of America Corp. and others of conspiring with The Related Cos. LP to foreclose on and take control of his Manhattan building.
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May 7, 2013
Cushman Ordered To Fairly Bargain With Electrical Union
Cushman & Wakefield Inc. must bargain in good faith with a Delaware electricians union after a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge on Monday said Cushman had violated federal labor law by negotiating to an impasse over internal union affairs, which aren't subject to mandatory bargaining.
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May 7, 2013
EU Nudges High Court With Slap Of Motorola In Apple IP Case
In its preliminary complaint against Motorola Mobility Inc., the European Commission on Monday detailed for the first time its criteria for antitrust disputes involving standard-essential patents, an unusual move perhaps aimed at influencing the European Union's highest court, which is currently weighing the issue.
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May 7, 2013
Marsh, Kroll Dodge Ex-Veep's Malicious Prosecution Suit
A New York federal judge on Tuesday granted bids by Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. and Kroll Associates Inc. to dismiss a suit brought by a former Marsh vice president alleging his ex-employer unfairly drew him into a bid-rigging and commission investigation that led to criminal charges.
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May 7, 2013
Citibank Wants $141M From Barclays For Lehman Losses
Citibank NA on Monday hit Barclays Bank PLC with a $141 million breach of contract suit in New York alleging the bank owes indemnity payments tied to losses on foreign-exchange settlement services provided to bankrupt Lehman Brothers Inc. at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.
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May 7, 2013
Canadian Health Officials Hushed Drug Research, Suit Says
A Canadian health economist on Monday sued British Columbia's health ministry, claiming it wrongfully terminated his research contract in order to suppress his findings that some anti-psychotic medications covered by the country's health system had harmful side effects.
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May 7, 2013
NJ Firm Double-Dipped In Contract Row, Malpractice Suit Says
New Jersey law firm Brach Eichler LLC has been hit with a legal malpractice suit in state court alleging it duplicitously represented both parties, an anesthesiology practice and an ambulatory surgery center, in their dispute over a medical services contract.
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May 7, 2013
'Dora' Actress, Viacom Settlement Stands, 2nd Circ. Says
The Second Circuit said Tuesday it would not reverse a settlement between Viacom International Inc. and the young actress who voiced the title character of its “Dora the Explorer” show, rejecting the girl’s complaint that her status as a minor was not properly considered.
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May 7, 2013
Starck-Led Design Firm Sues Developer Over Unpaid Fees
An interior design firm run by renowned French designer Philippe Starck sued Miami-based developer The Related Group of Florida and a development unit over allegedly unpaid fees for the firm's designs for three luxury condominium towers in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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May 7, 2013
Ala. High Court Finds No Coverage For Faulty Work
Alabama's Supreme Court ruled Friday that American Resources Insurance Co. Inc. did not have a duty to defend a contractor against allegations of faulty work, deciding there had been no "occurrence" under the contractor's liability policy.
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May 7, 2013
Guggenheim Funding Must Return 4.8M Valerus Shares
A Texas judge has ruled that Guggenheim Corporate Funding LLC must release 4.8 million Valerus Compression Services LP shares after Valerus mistakenly traded a larger than anticipated equity stake in the oil and gas company for a $165 million credit facility, an attorney familiar with the case said Tuesday.
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May 7, 2013
BofA Can't Shake AIG's $10.5B Countrywide RMBS Suit
A California federal judge on Monday said American International Group Inc. can move forward with its $10.5 billion lawsuit accusing Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide Financial Corp. of lying about the quality of residential mortgage-backed securities it sold to the insurer, tossing Bank of America's jurisdictional challenge.
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May 7, 2013
Viacom Must Pay Rapper's Perkins Coie Bills: Appeals Court
A California appeals court on Monday reinstated a $115,000 default judgment that Perkins Coie LLP had won against Viacom Inc. over an unpaid legal debt owed by the rap pioneer Master P, finding Viacom was not reasonably diligent in challenging it.
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May 7, 2013
Owner Begs Judge To Boot Marriott From Miami Beach Hotel
A Miami Beach boutique hotel owner asked a New York state judge Monday to order Marriott International Inc. to stop managing the property in light of a state appeals court decision finding the owner could terminate their management agreement.
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May 7, 2013
9th Circ. Urged To Revive BofA Debit Card Fee Suit
A putative class of Bank of America NA customers urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to revive their lawsuit alleging the bank hid service fees for payroll debit cards, arguing that a lower court erroneously ruled that the National Bank Act blocked state law fraud and unfair competition claims.
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May 6, 2013
Long-Running AmEx, Citi Collusion Suit Nears Finish Line
American Express Co., Citigroup Inc. and Discover Financial Services plotted to change their customer agreements to stop consumer class actions against them, a plaintiff’s lawyer said Monday, wrapping up their case in the lengthy antitrust trial against the credit card giants in New York federal court.
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May 6, 2013
DirecTV Fraud Case Should Avoid Arbitration, 9th Circ. Hears
Consumers who allege DirecTV Inc. deceived them into leasing satellite television equipment told the Ninth Circuit on Monday that their class action should not be forced into arbitration, saying language in DirecTV's contract makes its arbitration clause unenforceable despite the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Concepcion decision.
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May 6, 2013
NJ Casino Owners Can't Abandon PokerStars Sale
Online gaming company PokerStars on Monday revived its bid to purchase Atlantic City’s the Atlantic Club after a New Jersey state court judge granted an injunction blocking the casino’s owners from selling it to anyone else.
Expert Analysis
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Stillwater Runs Deep For Investment Redemptions
In one of the first decisions from a United States court involving alleged overreaching by an offshore fund — In re Stillwater Asset Backed Offshore Fund Ltd. — the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York recently denied a motion by the putative debtor, an offshore fund incorporated in the Cayman Islands, to dismiss an involuntary petition filed under U.S. bankruptcy laws. With the liquidity crisis ongoing, courts are likely to see more challenges of this sort by creditors, say attorneys with Foley & Lardner LLP.
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A New Duty Of Care Owed To Calif. Borrowers
In light of the California Court of Appeal opinion in Jolley v. Chase Home Finance LLC, borrowers embroiled in disputes with their lenders with respect to the lenders’ performance under a construction loan agreement — especially where the bank representatives indicated the likelihood of a loan modification — may be able to state a cause of action for negligence, misrepresentation and/or promissory estoppel, says Andrew Howard of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP.
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Duration Of Damages: Can Lost Profits Continue Forever?
If a business is financially harmed, but not ruined, by the acts of another party, it may seek damages based on some measure of lost profit. But for how long? An expert offering an opinion that financial harm will continue well into the future should consider the potential hesitancy of a judge or jury to award uncertain, long-term future damages, say Rodney Bosco and David Ottenbreit of Navigant Consulting Inc.
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Stay Tuned For Celebrity Endorser Social Media Flubs
As more and more instances arise in which a celebrity endorser uses social media in a way that an advertiser finds objectionable, it is important that advertisers consider whether and how to tighten up contract termination language, say Howard Weingrad and Anne DiGiovanni of Davis & Gilbert LLP.
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Tips For Defending Against Data Breach Class Actions
Faced with negligence, fraud, breach of contract and a slew of other claims typically asserted in consumer class action data breach litigation following hacking or a cyberattack, companies should consider a number of best practices to better defend themselves, says Gerry Silver of Sullivan & Worcester LLP.
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Riverisland Erodes Calif. 'Parol Evidence Rule'
Lenders and counsel will likely devise a number of provisions making it difficult for borrowers to be believed in court if they come up with claims of fraud contrary to the terms of written contracts they have signed. The lesson from the California Supreme Court decision in Riverisland Cold Storage Inc. v. Fresno-Madera Production Credit Association, however, is that doing so at the contract drafting and execution stage is more important than ever, says Perry Mocciaro of Cox Castle & Nicholson LLP.
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Why Can A Librarian Make Unlocking Cellphones Illegal?
On March 4, the Obama administration said that consumers should be able to unlock their cellphones without risking penalties — a response to the librarian of Congress making unlocking illegal by altering a Digital Millennium Copyright Act exemption. The DMCA provides for a triennial exemption review process by the librarian, which has resulted in irrational results that often have little to do with protecting copyrights and significant impact on consumers, says Danica Mathes of Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP.
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How PE Firms Can Avoid Getting Blindsided By The FCPA
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are now training their attention on how private equity firms exert oversight and control over their portfolios, with a particular emphasis on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues. PE firms should consider compliance strategies that reflect the specific anti-corruption risks of each part of the deal's life cycle, say attorneys with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
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6 Areas Often Underestimated In Law Firm Mergers
While mergers in other industries are driven by cost efficiencies or economies of scale, law firm mergers are typically focused on the potential to leverage clients and the overall quality of the attorney population, branding and market position. As a result, full disclosure of third-party vendor or support function operating costs can be a secondary concern until after the deal closes. Firms need to hit the ground running the moment the merger is inked, says Matthew Sunderman of HBR Consulting LLC.
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Don't Go Down With The Shipping Bankruptcy
Bankruptcies of international shipping companies involve unique legal and practical issues given the transitory nature of ships, the foreign domicile of most shipping companies, and the awkward intersection of bankruptcy and admiralty law. With the shipping industry depressed, and the number of major shipping insolvencies increasing, lawyers should realize that there are traps for the unwary, say Bruce Paulsen and John Ashmead of Seward & Kissel LLP.