Commercial Contracts

  • April 23, 2024

    BNSF Lowballing Oil Train Trespass Payout, Tribe Says

    A Washington tribe said Monday that BNSF Railway Co. raked in $500 million for shipping crude oil across its reservation for nearly a decade, calling the railroad's calculation that it should pay less than $175,000 for the illegal trespass an affront to the tribe's sovereign and treaty rights.

  • April 23, 2024

    EV Co.'s SPAC Suit Gets Final OK For $1.9M Settlement

    Lightning eMotors Inc., which made electric commercial vehicles and has announced liquidation of its assets, has received final approval for a $1.85 million settlement of shareholder derivative claims against its brass alleging they hid supply chain issues that would keep it from scaling after going public via merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

  • April 23, 2024

    Ex-Takeda Worker, Boyfriend To Plead Guilty In Invoice Scam

    A former Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. employee and her boyfriend plan to plead guilty to a $2.3 million phony invoice scheme, their lawyers told a Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday.

  • April 23, 2024

    Insurer Wants Out Of Skate Rink Rape Suit Coverage

    A Selective Insurance Group affiliate on Monday asked a Georgia federal court to find it has no duty to defend an Atlanta-area skate rink where an employee allegedly kidnapped and raped an unaccompanied child in the aftermath of a shooting last year.

  • April 23, 2024

    Judge Quiets NY Outdoor Stadium For Frazzled Neighbors

    A state judge has temporarily muffled the activities of a century-old outdoor stadium in New York, ordering it to hire an independent contractor to monitor noise levels and to place barricades that prevent concert-goers from wandering into nearby neighborhoods.

  • April 23, 2024

    Virtua Says Trinity Health Won't Pay $12M ER Fight Legal Bill

    Virtua claimed Monday in New Jersey federal court that Trinity Health has backed out of an agreement to cover $12 million in counsel fees and costs incurred in a legal fight with a rival healthcare system over Virtua's acquisition of Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care Services from Trinity.

  • April 23, 2024

    Locke Lord Wins Appellate Review Of Malpractice Suit

    Locke Lord LLP has convinced a New Jersey state appellate court to review a trial court's ruling rejecting the firm's attempt to evade a malpractice suit alleging that it mishandled a transaction involving an oil refinery project in North Dakota.

  • April 23, 2024

    BofA Nears Deal Over 'Hidden' Wire Transfer Junk Fees

    Bank of America has agreed to resolve a proposed class action accusing it of tacking on $15 "junk fees" for incoming wire transfers, and a North Carolina federal judge on Monday gave the parties until May 24 to submit a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement.

  • April 23, 2024

    FTC Bars Employers From Imposing Noncompete Contracts

    The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 on Tuesday to ban essentially all noncompete agreements that employers frequently impose on workers, leaving an earlier draft of the ban mostly unchanged other than to allow existing noncompete agreements with senior executives to remain while banning future ones for top corporate officials.

  • April 23, 2024

    Embattled Ex-Animal Rescue Executive Hit With TM Suit

    Last Chance Ranch, a nonprofit animal shelter and rescue based in Pennsylvania, has sued its former executive director — who was accused of stealing a kangaroo — and a new nonprofit she created, alleging unauthorized use of the shelter's name and trademarks.

  • April 23, 2024

    Terminated Sale Of NBA's T-Wolves Looks Like A Power Play

    The canceled $1.5 billion sale of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves to a group featuring Alex Rodriguez can be attributed, in part, to explosive growth in team valuations over the last three years, but just as large a factor is the owner's hesitance to surrender the power inherent in major franchise ownership, legal experts say.

  • April 22, 2024

    Pornhub Cos. Urge Judge To Drop Trafficking Suit Claims

    Attorneys for companies associated with Pornhub urged a California federal judge Monday to trim a lawsuit brought by a woman who claims she was sex trafficked by the defunct website GirlsDoPorn, saying it is full of excessive claims and that the court lacks jurisdiction over some defendants.

  • April 22, 2024

    Judge Finds Feds Own Historic Virgin Islands Resort

    A U.S. Virgin Islands federal judge has found the government owns the title to the historic Caneel Bay resort on a St. John peninsula, ruling against an operator in a dispute that arose after the resort suffered damage from back-to-back Category 5 hurricanes in 2017.

  • April 22, 2024

    $1 Awarded To Software Co. Splunk In Copyright Fight

    A California federal jury on Monday awarded software company Splunk a single dollar in damages in a suit accusing rival Cribl of copyright infringement.

  • April 22, 2024

    Mich. Panel Drains $1.3M 1-800-Bathtub Arbitration Award

    A Michigan appellate court affirmed slashing most of a $1.3 million arbitration award for the owner of the toll-free number 1-800-BATHTUB, pulling the plug on the owner's claim that a bathroom remodeling company stole the number.

  • April 22, 2024

    Chamber Planning Prompt Challenge Of FTC Noncompete Ban

    U.S. Chamber of Commerce officials vowed Monday to immediately challenge an impending Federal Trade Commission rule that would ban essentially all noncompete agreements that employers impose on their workers, raising concerns focused principally on opening a "Pandora's box" of rulemaking they say is beyond FTC authority.

  • April 22, 2024

    Palo Alto Networks Execs Face Suit Over Misleading Outlook

    Executives and directors of cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in California federal court alleging they misled investors about the success of its platform consolidation strategy, which was expected to result in lucrative government contracts.

  • April 22, 2024

    Lessee Axed From NC Doctor's Quarrel With Ex-Partner

    The North Carolina Business Court has purged a defendant from an ophthalmologist's lawsuit claiming his former partner has reneged on a settlement to buy out the ophthalmologist's half of the practice, finding the defendant wasn't a party to the settlement and can't now be bound to it.

  • April 22, 2024

    GM, Others Sued For Sharing Driver Data With Insurers

    Two New Jersey drivers say they saw increases in their insurance premiums after General Motors and its OnStar unit allegedly used apps installed in their vehicles to illegally share driver data with consumer reporting agencies and insurance carriers without their consent.

  • April 22, 2024

    Calif. High Court Says Pretrial Inmates Can't Get Min. Wage

    The California Supreme Court on Monday ruled that pretrial detainees who work while in jail are not entitled to minimum wage and overtime claims under California's labor law, finding the state's penal code permitting such work covers nonconvicted individuals.

  • April 22, 2024

    Ill. Panel Relieves Insurer Of $8.3M Cracker Caper Judgment

    An insurer was relieved of covering a dispute between cracker manufacturers, an Illinois state appeals panel affirmed, finding allegations of equipment theft that led to an $8.3 million judgment against Distinctive Foods LLC constituted non-covered intentional interference with RyKrisp LLC.

  • April 22, 2024

    Thermo Fisher Says Rival Is Raiding Its Workforce

    Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is seeking to block Repligen Corp. from hiring one of its top executives, according to a suit in Massachusetts state court accusing the rival of a "systematic raiding" of its workforce.

  • April 22, 2024

    High Court Denies US Soccer Petition In Antitrust Challenge

    The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by the U.S. Soccer Federation asking it to dismiss for good a suit by a sports promoter accusing it of violating antitrust law by refusing to sanction international pro soccer games on American soil.

  • April 22, 2024

    Justices Won't Probe Athlete's Interest In NCAA Eligibility

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left in place a Fourth Circuit decision finding student athletes lack a business or property interest in their eligibility to play on the college level even though they can now be compensated for it.

  • April 19, 2024

    Jane Street Denied TRO In Trade Theft Suit Against Millennium

    A New York federal judge on Friday refused Jane Street Group LLC's bid for an emergency order after the trading firm accused rival Millennium Management LLC and two former employees of stealing and misappropriating a confidential trading strategy.

Expert Analysis

  • NJ Ruling May Widen Plaintiff Opportunities In LLC Disputes

    Author Photo

    A New Jersey court’s recent decision in Flor v. GreenbergFarrow found that a court may consider a limited liability company member’s wrongful conduct when determining sale and compensation owed to a dissociate member, and may open doors for plaintiffs seeking relief from wrongful conduct, say Lowry Yankwich and Peter LeVan at LeVan Stapleton.

  • Will Justices Settle Decades-Old Split On Arbitrator Conflicts?

    Author Photo

    Whether an arbitrator's failure to disclose a potential conflict of interest is sufficient grounds to vacate an arbitration award is the subject of an almost 60-year-old circuit split that the U.S. Supreme Court is positioned to resolve if it grants cert in either of two writs pending before it, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Companies Should Beware Greater Scrutiny Of Subscriptions

    Author Photo

    The New York Attorney General's Office has been utilizing a severe interpretation of the law in enforcement against subscription services, as demonstrated in last month's Sirius XM complaint and Cerebral settlement — and this focus is representative of heightened subscription scrutiny in other states and at the federal level, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 5 Trade Secret Developments To Follow In 2024

    Author Photo

    Recent cases and trends in trade secret law indicate that significant developments are likely this year, and practitioners should be anticipating their impact on the business and legal landscape, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Series

    Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.

  • 3 Key Class Action Trends To Use As Guidance In 2024

    Author Photo

    Telephone Consumer Protection Act, privacy and false advertising class actions saw significant shifts last year — including a trend toward expanding the application of preexisting laws to current technologies — that businesses should keep in mind to navigate the class action landscape in 2024, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?

    Author Photo

    Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.

  • Wachtell-X Ruling Highlights Trend On Arbitrability Question

    Author Photo

    A growing body of case law, including a California state court's recent decision in X Corp. v. Wachtell, holds that incorporation of specific arbitral body rules in an arbitration provision may in and of itself constitute clear and unmistakable evidence of delegation of arbitrability to an arbitrator, and thus such clauses should be drafted carefully, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • 7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond

    Author Photo

    The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Trends That Tech Lawyers Should Keep An Eye On In 2024

    Author Photo

    Worldwide technology spending is projected to strengthen in 2024, spurred by artificial intelligence-driven solutions, and five areas of growth may affect lawyers' practice in this sector, says Sonia Baldia at Kilpatrick.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024

    Author Photo

    Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • A Look At Consumer Reporting In 2023, And What's To Come

    Author Photo

    The legal landscape of consumer reporting is evolving as courts, federal regulators and state legislatures continue to weigh in — and while last year may have seen a slight downtick in the overall volume of Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation, 2024 is set to be a watershed year for this area of the law, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Opinion

    Noncompete Report Misinterpreted Critique Of FTC Proposal

    Author Photo

    A recent report on core questions surrounding the use of employee noncompete agreements published by the Economic Innovation Group misconstrues our stated views on the issue — and we stand behind our conclusion that the Federal Trade Commission made misrepresentations when proposing a rule to ban such provisions nationwide, say Erik Weibust and Stuart Gerson at Epstein Becker.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

    Author Photo

    As 2023 came to an end, we continued to see developments in California that are certain to have an impact on the financial services industry in 2024, including the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation's request for comments on the state's new digital asset law and the state's continued enforcement actions against debt collectors, say Jennifer Olivestone and Juan Azel at Winston & Strawn.

  • 4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

    Author Photo

    As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Commercial Contracts archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!