Commercial Contracts

  • August 31, 2026

    Paul Mitchell Urges 9th Circ. To Untangle False Ad Class

    Paul Mitchell urged the Ninth Circuit Monday to decertify a class of customers alleging the company deceptively concealed its animal testing in China while touting its U.S. haircare products as cruelty-free, arguing there's no evidence that all class members saw and relied on its cruelty-free labels before their purchases.

  • August 31, 2026

    Juul Sublicense Ends Reynolds' Altria Vape Royalty Tab

    A sublicensing agreement between R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and Juul Labs Inc. relieves Reynolds of its obligation to pay ongoing royalties to Philip Morris parent company Altria Client Services LLC after a federal jury found that Reynolds infringed Altria's vape pen design, a North Carolina federal judge has ruled.

  • August 31, 2026

    NFL Legend Emmitt Smith, Partners Sued Over Solar Venture

    A Native American economic development entity Monday sued former NFL star running back Emmitt Smith and several business partners in the Delaware Chancery Court, accusing them of diverting a $2.5 million loan meant for a Texas solar project and leaving the joint venture unable to repay the money.

  • August 31, 2026

    11th Circ. Upholds $800K Award In Venezuelan Takeover Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Monday upheld an $800,000 jury verdict that found two former Miami bank directors accused of working for the Venezuelan government were liable for the bank's financial difficulties.

  • August 31, 2026

    Ramey Wants Full Fed. Circ. To Reconsider $207K Sanctions

    William Ramey of Ramey LLP has urged the full Federal Circuit to review his liability for more than $207,000 in sanctions in a client's patent infringement suit against Volkswagen, arguing that his notices of appeal were faulty but still adequately identified him as a party.

  • August 31, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Affirms Samsung Didn't Infringe Mobile Tech Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Monday upheld a lower court's decision to deny a new trial in a case accusing Samsung of infringing a mobile device technology patent, saying Samsung had shown "ample" evidence cutting against infringement.

  • August 31, 2026

    Ex-Clifford Chance Attys Fight Bid To Toss Clawback Suit

    The two partners facing a $6 million clawback demand by Clifford Chance LLP have again asked a federal judge to decide whether English or New York law should govern the arbitration, claiming the firm's partnership agreement is unclear.

  • August 31, 2026

    Meyer Unkovic Discovery Bid Partly Granted

    A Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge partly granted Meyer Unkovic & Scott LLP's bid for discovery in a malpractice suit over a $3.3 million default judgment that was later thrown out, ruling the firm can obtain documents about defenses raised in the underlying landlord-tenant case.

  • August 31, 2026

    Viks Seek Split Trial To Save Deutsche Bank Suit Injunction

    Billionaire Alexander Vik and his daughter on Monday asked a Connecticut state court judge to order multiple trials on claims they are pursuing against Deutsche Bank AG, which demand the bank hand over proceeds from a $65 million asset sale and permanently end a related lawsuit against them in Norway.

  • August 31, 2026

    Law Firm's Calif. Claims Stayed Over AI Comms Co.'s NY Suit

    A California federal judge ruled that AI communications company Connex One cannot escape claims brought by a personal injury law firm alleging it faced harassment and threats of litigation after it declined to renew their contract, saying the case will be stayed until a New York lawsuit brought by Connex against the firm runs its course.

  • August 31, 2026

    Feds' Crackdown Targets Commercial Trucking Fraud

    The Trump administration said Monday it is immediately shutting down 110 commercial driver's license schools for certifying truck drivers who can't read or speak English, and pledged to aggressively prosecute accused "fraudsters" who knowingly put untrained or unskilled truck drivers on American roads.

  • August 31, 2026

    Shareholders Say Generator Co. Overhyped Data Center Deal

    A shareholder in Hyliion Holdings Corp. is accusing the linear generator manufacturer in Texas federal court of exaggerating the potential success of its business partnership with an AI infrastructure company that specializes in data centers.

  • August 31, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court this past week saw disputes over a $200 million federal grant, a $1.7 billion software take-private deal, the ouster of Better.com founder Vishal Garg and a proposed $4 million settlement stemming from an electric vehicle company's SPAC merger.

  • August 28, 2026

    'Troubled' 7th Circ. Finds No Harm From Benesch Atty Conflict

    While "troubled" by an ex-Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP partner's decision to take on a client's trade secrets suit while negotiating a move from Benesch to the defendant company's outside counsel, the Seventh Circuit agreed Friday that the displeased client cannot pursue her legal malpractice claim.

  • August 28, 2026

    Patent Marking Case Will Shape License Talks And Damages

    A Federal Circuit ruling that patent owners must ensure that all licensees mark their products with patent information in order to recover presuit damages will complicate licensing talks and give defendants a route to limit or escape damages in some cases, attorneys say.

  • August 28, 2026

    Uber Text Doesn't Bind Guest Rider To Arbitrate, DC Circ. Says

    Uber cannot force into arbitration a passenger who sued over a crash in which he was severely injured when the ride was requested by his wife since he never created an account or agreed to the ride-hailing company's terms of service, the D.C. Circuit said in a published opinion Friday.

  • August 28, 2026

    'Friday The 13th' Creators Say Game Publisher Hid Royalties

    Creators of the "Friday the 13th" franchise alleged in a Friday suit that a video game publisher withheld up to $4.5 million in royalties from sales of a "Friday the 13th" video game that it was licensed to distribute and destroyed reports that proved how much it owed.

  • August 28, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Nix Royal Caribbean Arbitration Appeal

    The Eleventh Circuit on Friday denied a bid to summarily affirm an order denying Royal Caribbean's motion to arbitration claims by passengers suing the cruise line over numerous incidents of voyeurism involving a former employee.

  • August 28, 2026

    Md. Pot Co. Evermore Faces Bid To Confirm $1.98M Award

    A California-based capital advisory firm is urging a state court to enforce a $1.98 million arbitration award it scored against Evermore Cannabis Company, which was found to have intentionally dodged fees it promised to pay the firm as part of a contract that helped the marijuana cultivator secure loans.

  • August 28, 2026

    NCAA Fights NC State Football Player's Demand For Eligibility

    The NCAA struck back at a football player's bid to play for North Carolina State University this year while he challenges the organization's eligibility rules, arguing that he was denied a waiver because his academic standing is under his control and thus can't be the basis for extending his eligibility.

  • August 28, 2026

    Amazon Beats Calif. AG's 'Ill-Conceived' Injunction Bid

    A California judge refused to block what the state attorney general's office has cast as Amazon's coercive price-fixing imposed on Walmart, Target and others via major brands like Levi Strauss, critiquing enforcers for the "last-minute request" targeting conduct they have not shown is ongoing.

  • August 28, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Shifts T-Mobile Patent Settlement Fight To 5th Circ.

    The Federal Circuit on Friday sent an appeal from T-Mobile stemming from a patent litigation settlement to the Fifth Circuit, ruling that is proper because the Eastern District of Texas had jurisdiction when the appeal was filed.

  • August 28, 2026

    Insurance Tech SPAC Investor Wins Fight To Resell 5M Shares

    The Delaware Chancery Court has handed asset manager Meteora Capital Partners LP a summary judgment win in its contract fight with auto insurance technology company Roadzen Inc., finding Roadzen breached a 2023 stock subscription agreement by failing to register shares and later failing to remove restrictions that kept Meteora from reselling them.

  • August 28, 2026

    Mass. Coke Bottler Misclassified Worker To Save OT, Suit Says

    A regional Coca-Cola bottler misclassified a worker as an exempt employee to avoid paying overtime, a new lawsuit in Massachusetts state court alleges.

  • August 28, 2026

    Financial Firm's $1.4M Asset Hold Against Adviser Upheld

    A Connecticut appeals court Friday said a financial services firm properly secured a nearly $1.4 million asset hold against an adviser, agreeing the company showed a likelihood of proving during underlying Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration that the adviser siphoned customers when transitioning to a new broker-dealer.

Expert Analysis

  • Senior Housing Demands A Distinct Dealmaking Playbook

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    An aging population and evolving state regulations underscore a critical reality that senior housing assets can undergo operational or compliance shifts during dealmaking, highlighting the need for unique contractual safeguards like expanded disclosures, anchored notice obligations, and targeted closing conditions and remedies, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

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    My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

  • Apple Verdict May Inform Jury Instruction In Patent Suits

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    A Texas federal jury's recent verdict in Optis v. Apple provides an important example of how juries must be instructed when Step 2 of the Alice framework is submitted to them, with important implications for both litigators and courts in patent cases, says Joshua Reisberg at Blank Rome.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    As usual, California remained a hub for financial services activity in the first quarter of 2026, with key developments including the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation's eye on consumer issues, a bill targeting "pig butchering" schemes, and jam-packed courts, say attorneys at Joseph Cohen.

  • Justices May Hesitate To Limit Courts' Arbitration Review

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    Based on Monday's argument in Jules v. Andre Balazs, the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to preserve federal jurisdiction over arbitral award enforcement stemming from actions originated in federal court, a holding that would markedly limit the court's 2022 Walters v. Badgerow decision, says Ashwini Jayaratnam at DarrowEverett.

  • Series

    Ultramarathons Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Completing a 100-mile ultramarathon was tougher, more humbling and more rewarding than I ever imagined, and the experience highlighted how long-distance running has sharpened my ability to adapt to the evolving nature of antitrust law and strengthened my resolve to handle demanding, unforeseen challenges, says Dan Oakes at Axinn.

  • Proactive Risk Allocation Reduces Infrastructure Disputes

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    Recent wrangling between federal and state officials over the Gateway Program illustrates how quickly funding and project governance disputes can disrupt significant public infrastructure initiatives — and highlights that the way risks are contractually allocated can determine whether disagreements are resolved efficiently or lead to costly delays, says Thibaut Giret at Alstef Group.

  • Series

    Pa. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    The first quarter of 2026 brought several consequential developments for Pennsylvania financial institutions, including the state banking department's first assessment overhaul in 10 years, a bill prohibiting interchange fees on card transaction sales taxes and a federal appeals court's upholding of a $52 million enforcement action, say attorneys at Gross McGinley.

  • In First For DOJ, Action Signals New CFIUS Enforcement Era

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    The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking judicial enforcement of a divestment order, an unprecedented action for the agency that ushers in a new phase for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, one in which judicial proceedings complement administrative oversight and presidential divestment orders may be enforced through litigation, says attorney Sohan Dasgupta.

  • Getting The Most Out Of Learning And Development Programs

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Junior associates can better develop the legal, business and interpersonal skills they need for long-term success by approaching their firms’ learning and development programs armed with five tips for getting the most out of these resources, says Lauren Hakala at Reed Smith.

  • Del. Blackbaud Ruling Signals A New Era For Cyberinsurance

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    The recent Delaware Supreme Court ruling in Travelers v. Blackbaud shows that cyberinsurance is moving into a second maturity phase, in which insurers will increasingly attempt to recover their payments from vendors and insureds will face new pressure to justify cyber incident reimbursements, say Steven Teppler at Mandelbaum Barrett and Jade Davis at Shumaker.

  • Opinion

    AI Presents A Make-Or-Break Moment For Outside Counsel

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    The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence by corporate legal departments is forcing a long-overdue reset of the relationship between inside and outside counsel, and introducing a significant opportunity to shed frustrating inefficiencies and strengthen collaboration for firms willing to embrace the shift, says Intel Chief Legal Officer April Miller Boise.

  • State Carbon Cost Disparities Are Pivotal In Data Center Siting

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    When choosing U.S. data center locations, developers must carefully consider the patchwork of state and regional carbon emission pricing regimes that are layered on top of the federal permitting framework, creating compliance cost differentials that could add up to billions of dollars, say attorneys at Davis Graham.

  • Series

    Watching Hallmark Movies Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I realize you may be judging me for watching, and actually enjoying, Hallmark Channel movies, but the escapism and storylines actually demonstrate qualities and actions that lead to an efficient, productive and positive legal practice, says Karen Ross at Tucker Ellis.

  • Keys To Federal Carbon Compliance In Data Center Siting

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    Recent statements from the White House and state governors about making data centers pay for their own power infrastructure have underlined the importance of choosing locations, generation technologies and deal structures to optimize carbon, permitting and compliance costs, say attorneys at Davis Graham.

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