Commercial Contracts

  • October 02, 2025

    Ex-NFL Player Claims Signature Forged In Arbitration Clause

    A North Carolina Business Court judge was befuddled Thursday by an arbitration clause that retired NFL defensive lineman Mike Rucker says he has no memory of signing, stopping short arguments on its enforceability to instead give the parties time to dig into its authenticity.

  • October 02, 2025

    Healthcare AI Co. Says Biz Partner Holding IP 'Hostage'

    A company creating artificial intelligence-powered tools meant for skin image analysis has alleged in Massachusetts federal court that another firm it entered into a business deal with was holding data and intellectual property "hostage" after its CEO ordered his staff to cease a planned data migration.

  • October 02, 2025

    Emory, Student Urged To Mediate Pro-Palestine Speech Suit

    A Georgia federal judge on Thursday encouraged the parties to seek mediation in a Muslim Palestinian American student's suit alleging that her rights were violated when she was suspended from Emory University's medical school after expressing support for Palestinians in Israel's attacks on Gaza. 

  • October 02, 2025

    Vet Co. Buyers Win $8M Interest On Top Of $40M Award In Del.

    A Delaware Superior Court judge has awarded buyers of what is now Veterinary Orthopedic Implants more than $8 million in prejudgment interest in a dispute over payouts still due after they won $40 million in a patent-related settlement, rejecting arguments the $8 million would amount to a double recovery.

  • October 02, 2025

    Agency Ex-Exec Says He Was Misled About CEO Agreement

    A former executive at a company providing assistance to people with intellectual disabilities and autism claimed in a lawsuit that he was misled over whether he was officially promoted, even as the company held him out to state regulators and banks as the chief executive officer.

  • October 02, 2025

    McCarter & English Won't Face Pretrial Win Bid In $22M Suit

    A Connecticut Superior Court judge has denied requests by Phoenix Life Insurance Co. and PHL Variable Insurance Co. to file late partial summary judgment motions in a $22.3 million professional negligence lawsuit against McCarter & English LLP over the law firm's work on a Long Island loan deal.

  • October 01, 2025

    NYT Wants Justin Baldoni To Cough Up Defamation Suit Fees

    The New York Times on Tuesday sued "It Ends With Us" director and star Justin Baldoni's production company, claiming the company must cover the $150,000 in legal fees and court costs the paper racked up while defending itself in defamation litigation that "had no basis in law or fact."

  • October 01, 2025

    Drone Maker Can't Arbitrate Minor's Suit Over Eye Injuries

    A Texas federal judge on Tuesday rejected a motion to compel arbitration in a case brought by a minor who was legally blinded in one eye by a drone, finding that the minor had disavowed the arbitration agreement both when he was underage and when he turned 18.

  • October 01, 2025

    Amazon Must Cough Up Return Records In Consumer Suit

    Amazon must hand over certain information about its returns system to a group of consumers who claim that the company wrongfully denied them refunds for products they sent back, a Washington federal judge has determined, calling some of the company's objections "evasive" and "borderline frivolous."

  • October 01, 2025

    Wash. Appeals Panel Reopens Teachers' Pension Interest Suit

    A Washington state appeals court unanimously revived a class action claim that accuses a state pension agency of unlawfully skimming interest from teachers' retirement accounts, holding that a lower court was wrong to decide that it couldn't take up the matter.

  • October 01, 2025

    Judge Orders Contempt Proceedings After $3.7M IP Judgment

    A Washington federal judge has agreed to open contempt proceedings against the leaders of a company that was hit with a $3.7 million judgment in a suit over fire-resistant construction assembly product patents.

  • October 01, 2025

    DC Circ. Deems FERC-Approved Pipeline Rates Unjustly High

    The D.C. Circuit wiped out FERC's approval of fuel rates charged by a Kinder Morgan unit's pipeline following an expansion project, saying the agency unfairly saddled gas producer Antero Resources Corp. with higher rates than other pipeline customers.

  • October 01, 2025

    Ship Manager Says Liability Shield Applies In Baltimore Wreck

    The manager of the container ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last year has told a Maryland federal judge that it should be allowed to invoke a nearly two-centuries-old maritime law to limit its liability for the wreck.

  • October 01, 2025

    Inventor's $11M Award Slashed To $5M Over Pet Device IP

    A New Jersey federal judge has hit two pet supply companies with a $5 million damages bill for misappropriating a woman's idea for a skin medicine applicator for dogs and cats, more than four years after the Federal Circuit faulted the original $11 million award in the long-running case.

  • October 01, 2025

    NASCAR Exec Says Team Was Warned About LGB Sponsors

    A NASCAR executive told jurors on Wednesday that driver Brandon Brown's team had previously been warned the league would not sign off on any on-track promotion of the "Let's Go Brandon" phrase, but pursued approval of an LGBCoin sponsorship anyway in a manner the executive said was "disingenuous."

  • October 01, 2025

    States Accuse Zillow, Redfin Of Deal To End Competition

    A coalition of states followed their federal counterparts with an antitrust lawsuit in Virginia federal court Wednesday accusing Zillow of paying Redfin more than $100 million to stop competing for the sale of rental housing advertisements on their listing services.

  • October 01, 2025

    UBS Says Ex-Advisers Poached $1.4B In Clients For New Firm

    UBS Financial Services has accused several of its former financial advisers of violating nonsolicitation and confidentiality agreements by plotting to launch a rival firm and poaching clients with $1.4 billion in assets, damaging UBS and its other former employees still entitled to client revenue.

  • October 01, 2025

    3rd Circ. Hints Forum Query Premature In $139M Award Row

    A Third Circuit panel wondered Wednesday whether a Delaware court asked the right question before it concluded that it lacked jurisdiction over a Chilean company's quest to rope an Italian contractor's U.S. assets into a bid to collect on a $139 million arbitration award.

  • October 01, 2025

    Fla. Judge Shuts Down Firm's Fee Fight With Film Producer

    A Florida judge on Tuesday dismissed a long-running suit by a Miami law firm against a Hollywood producer after finding the firm had abandoned its opportunity to pursue its claim over allegedly unpaid attorney fees by waiting two years to find successor counsel after its last attorney withdrew.

  • October 01, 2025

    NFL Arbitration In Coaches' Bias Suit Paused During Redo Bid

    The NFL's arbitration process in former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores' racial discrimination dispute will be paused while his motion to reconsider the ruling compelling the arbitration is being decided, a New York federal judge has ordered.

  • October 01, 2025

    Ford Loses Bid To Overturn $13M Verdict In IP Dispute

    A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday said he wouldn't touch a verdict awarding $13 million to a California-based vehicle technology supplier that alleged Ford Motor Co. profited from misappropriating a trade secret related to the supplier's interface module product, finding the jury had "substantial" evidence to find in favor of the tech company.

  • October 01, 2025

    Travelers Unit Owes $3M In Apartment Defect Settlement

    A Travelers unit owes $3 million to cover the bulk of a subcontractor's $4.5 million settlement over botched work at a Clemson University student housing development, a Georgia federal court ruled, finding the subcontractor's primary carrier responsible for only $1 million under a single policy period.

  • October 01, 2025

    InterDigital Wants Disney's Video Tech Antitrust Case Tossed

    Wireless technology company InterDigital Inc. has asked a Delaware federal judge to dismiss an antitrust suit brought by Disney that claims InterDigital isn't offering reasonable licenses on patents for streaming video, saying the entertainment giant's claims were either deficient or time-barred.

  • October 01, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Rethink Dance Teachers' Use Of 'Inspire' Name

    The Fourth Circuit has rejected a North Carolina charter school's request to reconsider blocking two former teachers from using the name "Inspire" for their dance company, dealing the school another blow in its trademark infringement and false advertising suit.

  • October 01, 2025

    Mass. Court May Reluctantly Back DQ In Cannabis Feud

    A "frustrated" intermediate appellate court in Massachusetts appeared unlikely Wednesday to second-guess a lower court's disqualification of counsel in a dispute over control of a cannabis business, even as it questioned whether it would make any difference in the ultimate outcome.

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing Jurisdictional Issues In 2nd Circ. Bank Audi Case

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    The Second Circuit's reasoning last month in Raad v. Bank Audi that the exercise of personal jurisdiction must be based on conduct taking place within the jurisdiction reminds foreign financial institutions to continually monitor how plaintiffs are advocating for an expansive view of personal jurisdiction in the U.S., say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    Teaching Business Law Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching business law to college students has rekindled my sense of purpose as a lawyer — I am more mindful of the importance of the rule of law and the benefits of our common law system, which helps me maintain a clearer perspective on work, says David Feldman at Feldman Legal Advisors.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

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    The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

  • Mitigating Import Risks Around Southeast Asian Solar Cells

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    The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent final determinations in its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations into solar cells produced in certain Southeast Asian countries make it important for U.S. purchasers to consider risk mitigation strategies, including modifying supply chains and contractually assigning import responsibilities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Playing Guitar Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a lawyer not only requires logic and hard work, but also belief, emotion, situational awareness and lots of natural energy — playing guitar enhances all of these qualities, increasing my capacity to do my best work, says Kosta Stojilkovic at Wilkinson Stekloff.

  • Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook

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    The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

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    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them

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    Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • Tracking The Evolution Of Liability Management Exercises

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    As liability management exercises face increasing legal scrutiny, understanding the history of these debt restructuring tools can help explain how the playbook keeps adapting — and why the next move is always just one ruling or transaction away, say attorneys at Weil.

  • 3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims

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    Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.

  • Negotiating Triparty Hotel Agreements To Withstand Risk

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    Brewing economic uncertainty in the hospitality industry underscores the importance of subordination, nondisturbance and attornment agreements, and hotel managers should tightly negotiate these agreements to ensure remedies will not disturb key rights, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law

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    Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Independent Contractor Rule Up In The Air Under New DOL

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    In several recent court challenges, the U.S. Department of Labor has indicated its intent to revoke the 2024 independent contractor rule, sending a clear signal that it will not defend the Biden-era rule on the merits in anticipation of further rulemaking, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

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