Commercial Contracts

  • September 16, 2025

    4th Circ. Revives RICO Claims On Amazon Project Kickbacks

    The Fourth Circuit in a published decision Tuesday revived racketeering and other claims from Amazon.com Inc. after two former employees, a real estate developer and an attorney operated a kickback scheme as the company spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a set of data center projects in northern Virginia.

  • September 16, 2025

    'Incurably Premature': Suit Over Alleged EB-5 Rule Tossed

    A Seattle federal judge on Monday tossed an immigrant investor's lawsuit challenging an allegedly arbitrary action that resulted in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services revoking her visa petition, saying she could not sue since she did not first exhaust administrative remedies.

  • September 16, 2025

    Avalara Investors' Claims Pass Muster After 9th Circ. Revival

    A Washington federal judge has allowed a proposed class action to proceed accusing tax software company Avalara Inc. of misleading investors ahead of an $8.4 billion deal to take the company private, but said the suit failed to adequately allege negligence by individual board members, giving investors one week to amend those claims.

  • September 16, 2025

    4th Circ. Asked To Rehear 'Inspire' Dance Team Case

    A North Carolina charter school on Tuesday asked for the full Fourth Circuit to hear its claims that two former teachers should be barred from using the name "Inspire" for their dance company, arguing that declining to block the teachers is at odds with decades of circuit precedent.

  • September 16, 2025

    Casino Giant Urges Fla. Court To Toss Bahamas Fraud Suit

    U.S.-based casino operator Genting Americas Inc. has urged a Florida federal court to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it used a resort in the Bahamas to obscure fraudulent activities, saying the suing real estate company failed to deliver a proper amended derivative complaint ordered by a judge. 

  • September 16, 2025

    Judge Orders Bench Trial On Key Issue In Sirius Patent Case

    A Delaware federal judge has ordered a bench trial on the issue of whether Sirius XM relied on a German research foundation's five-year delay in bringing patent claims related to satellite radio technology in making business decisions around that tech.

  • September 16, 2025

    Travelers Must Cover Scholastic's IP Suit Costs, Not Damages

    A Manhattan federal judge has ruled that a Travelers unit must cover Scholastic Inc. for costs incurred in its defense and settlement of a trademark and copyright infringement suit, but not pay consequential damages Scholastic had sought.

  • September 16, 2025

    Wash. Charitable Limits Don't Apply To Firefighter House Sale

    The Seattle Black Firefighters' Association is not a charitable organization, the Washington Court of Appeals said, affirming a lower court ruling that found the house the association occupies is not subject to charitable purpose restrictions.

  • September 16, 2025

    USDOT Orders Scuttling Of Delta-Aeromexico Joint Venture

    The Trump administration has ordered Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico to scuttle their joint venture by Jan. 1, saying they gained an unfair advantage in the market after the Mexican government abruptly restricted flights from other carriers at Mexico City's primary airport.

  • September 16, 2025

    Insurer Says Overturned Truck In Fatal Crash Not Covered

    A Progressive unit that provided commercial auto insurance for a concrete company told a Texas state court it should owe no defense or indemnity in a wrongful death lawsuit involving an overturned cement truck, arguing the insurer did not directly insure the vehicle.

  • September 16, 2025

    NY Cannabis License At Center Of Suit Against Fla. Broker

    The entrepreneurs who secured one of the earliest New York cannabis retail licenses as part of a legal settlement with the state allege in a new California state lawsuit that a Florida cannabis franchise broker frustrated their effort to sell a share of the venture.

  • September 15, 2025

    Google Consumers' Attys Seek $85M In Fees For $700M Deal

    Attorneys who helped consumers reach a still-pending $700 million antitrust deal with Google in 2023 have urged a California federal judge to grant them $85 million in attorney fees, saying the settlement, reached alongside state attorneys general, was an "exceptional" result obtained in the "face of substantial litigation uncertainty."

  • September 15, 2025

    Rocket Mortgage Can't Defeat DOJ's Racial Bias Suit

    A Colorado federal judge has declined to toss the federal government's race discrimination suit against Rocket Mortgage, an appraisal management company and an appraiser, finding, among other things, that Rocket could have requested correction of the appraisal at the heart of the suit.

  • September 15, 2025

    Personal Injury Firm Looks To Nix $6.6M Fee Award

    A personal injury law firm is seeking the annulment of a $6.59 million arbitral award issued to its co-counsel in a dispute over fees owed in long-running litigation over a 1983 terrorist bombing in Lebanon, cases that ordered Iran to pay billions of dollars to victims' families.

  • September 15, 2025

    Insurer Asks Court To Deny Fla. Tree Co.'s Coverage After Fire

    An Ohio-based insurance company filed a lawsuit against a tree service and a funeral services business in Florida federal court, saying that it should not have to defend the company that was sued over cutting down the tree that caused a fire and resulted in $2 million in damage. 

  • September 15, 2025

    Investor Says $16M Ouraring Fight Shouldn't Go To Finland

    An early investor in the Oura health and fitness tracker is fighting Ouraring Inc.'s attempt to send his $16 million dispute to arbitration in Finland, saying there is no underlying agreement to arbitrate and his lawsuit should stay in California federal court.

  • September 15, 2025

    Appeals Panel Says Wash. Spam Law Covers Recruiter Texts

    A Washington Court of Appeals panel said Monday that the state's commercial email prohibition extends to "text messages sent to further the growth or prosperity of a business," finding logistics company CRST broke the law by sending unsolicited recruitment texts to contractors.

  • September 15, 2025

    Brands Say X Corp. Can't Prove Ad Suit Belongs In Texas

    Several big-name brands, including Nestlé and Lego, asked a Texas federal judge to deny X Corp.'s bid to conduct jurisdictional discovery in its sprawling antitrust suit accusing advertisers of boycotting X, saying the company was merely trying to conduct a "fishing expedition."

  • September 15, 2025

    Fired DOJ Deputy Says Lobbyists 'Playing Dangerous Game'

    A former top Justice Department Antitrust Division deputy, allegedly fired for opposing the "pay-to-play" settlement clearing Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks, had a warning Monday for the lobbyists he said made the deal possible: there are only so many times they can go over division leadership.

  • September 15, 2025

    NBA's Trail Blazers Sold To Owner Of NHL's Hurricanes

    The estate of Paul Allen has reached an agreement to sell the NBA Portland Trail Blazers to a group led by Tom Dundon, the chair of Dundon Capital Partners, who has had notable success in sports ownership in the National Hockey League and in professional pickleball but also is in the midst of a legal fight over the collapse of a spring football league.

  • September 15, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs Jimmy Kimmel In George Santos IP Fight

    The Second Circuit on Monday declined to revive George Santos' claims against Jimmy Kimmel, ABC and Disney over video clips the late night host tricked the now-imprisoned former congressman into making, agreeing the fair use doctrine bars the copyright suit.

  • September 15, 2025

    Robinhood Seeks Legal Shield After Mass. AG Sues KalshiEX

    Days after Massachusetts' attorney general sued so-called prediction market operator KalshiEX, accusing it of running an unlicensed sports betting platform, Robinhood, which provides access to the Kalshi system on its own platform, urged a federal judge Monday to grant it protection from similar claims.

  • September 15, 2025

    Jordan's Racing Team Looks To Nix NASCAR's Counterclaims

    Two teams that have accused NASCAR of monopolizing premier stock car racing are trying to stop the league's counterclaims from making it to trial in December, arguing that its assertions that the teams conspired against NASCAR are unsupported by the evidence after discovery.

  • September 15, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's governor weighed in on a challenge to recently approved state legislation that bars damages or "equitable" relief for some controlling stockholder or going-private deals. Meanwhile, Moelis told the Delaware Supreme Court that the struck-down stockholder agreement that triggered that legislation was valid. Additionally, one of two newly funded magistrates' posts in the Chancery Court has been filled.

  • September 15, 2025

    US, China Agree On TikTok Ownership Transfer, Bessent Says

    The U.S. and China established a commercial framework for a deal with video sharing giant TikTok to transfer ownership of the app to the U.S., just days before a deadline to sell the app or shut it down, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at a press conference in Madrid on Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Precision In Jurisdiction Clauses

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    The High Court recently held that a contract requiring disputes to be heard by U.K. courts superseded arbitration agreements between long-time business affiliates, reinforcing the importance of drafting precise jurisdiction clauses that international commercial parties in multiagreement relationships will use to resolve prior disputes, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

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    Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

  • Strategizing For Renewable Energy Project Success In Texas

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    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has long been a key market for renewable energy projects, but rising financial and regulatory uncertainty means that developers and investors must prepare for inflation and policy risks, secure robust insurance coverage, and leverage tax equity transferability to ensure success, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • 4th Circ. Health Data Ruling Opens Door To State Law Claims

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    In Real Time Medical v. PointClickCare, the Fourth Circuit recently clarified that state law claims can rest in part on violations of a federal law that prohibits electronic health information blocking, expanding legal risks for health IT companies and potentially creating exposure to a range of competitive implications, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • 5 Key Licensing Considerations For AI Innovations

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    As businesses increasingly integrate artificial intelligence technology into their operations, they must prepare to address complex intellectual property challenges and questions surrounding licensing AI-based innovations, which require careful consideration of ownership, usage rights and regulatory compliance, says Lestin Kenton at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

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    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • How The CRE Industry Is Adapting To Tariff Uncertainty

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    Amid uncertainty about pending tariffs and their potential ripple effects, including higher material costs, supply chain delays and tighter margins, commercial real estate industry players are focusing on strategic planning and risk mitigation, says Daniel Diaz Leyva at Day Pitney.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

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