Commercial Contracts

  • March 26, 2024

    REIT Exec Tells 2nd Circ. To Toss $3.2M Judgment

    The co-founder of a real estate investment trust told the Second Circuit to toss the $3.2 million judgment awarded in a former partner's 2014 suit, arguing that related jury instructions were "too confusing and prejudicial."

  • March 26, 2024

    Ailing Health Co. Steward Owes Attys $600K, Firm Says

    A small Boston law firm that represented Steward Health Care System in a variety of cases says the beleaguered healthcare provider has strung it along with promises to pay fees that now total more than $600,000.

  • March 25, 2024

    Something In The Way Of Nirvana Logo Trial, Judge Told

    Counsel for a former record company employee who claims he created Nirvana's "smiley face" logo urged a California federal judge Monday to let him immediately appeal a ruling denying his ownership claim, and argued the band's copyright suit against designer Marc Jacobs over the logo should be delayed in the meanwhile.

  • March 25, 2024

    Merchants Hit AmEx With Antitrust Claims Over Its Fee Rules

    American Express faces a proposed merchant class action alleging it violated federal antitrust law by barring businesses from taking certain measures to keep their credit card swipe costs down.

  • March 25, 2024

    Calif. Judge Sick Of VLSI, Intel Filing Without Permission

    A California federal judge has chastised VLSI and Intel for overflowing the court with endless "repetitive and unhelpful" briefs, which they were never authorized to file.

  • March 25, 2024

    Lender Wins $44M Award In Shanghai Real Estate Feud

    A California federal court has enforced a $44 million arbitral award issued to a British Virgin Islands lender as repayment for a loan to a Chinese entity to finance a Shanghai real estate project, rejecting arguments that the arbitration violated the parties' underlying agreement.

  • March 25, 2024

    X Corp.'s Suit Against Hate Speech Watchdog Axed For Good

    A California federal judge firmly rejected X Corp.'s suit against a hate speech watchdog Monday, slamming the case as an attempt to punish the group for exercising its free speech rights and permanently dismissing X's claims.

  • March 25, 2024

    Subcontractor Sues Tech Co. For $1.8M Over RTX Project

    A subcontractor hired to move data when RTX Corp. sold a training business to Vertex Aerospace says it plummeted into financial turmoil because master contractor Delaware North America LLC underestimated the scope and cost of the project and asked it to shoulder extra responsibilities without additional compensation.

  • March 25, 2024

    Berkshire Hathaway Unit's Patent Must Undergo 3 PGRs

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has instituted three post-grant reviews challenging a single Columbia Insurance Co. fire wall hanger patent, following petitions from Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc.

  • March 25, 2024

    Arbitration Agreement Scrapped In NJ Doc's Sex Assault Suit

    A New Jersey appeals court on Monday undid an order compelling arbitration in a pain management physician's suit alleging a fellow doctor sexually assaulted her, finding the arbitration agreement in her employment contract ambiguous and unenforceable.

  • March 25, 2024

    InBev's Modelo Loses 2nd Circ. Appeal In Hard Seltzer Fight

    The Second Circuit said Monday that a licensing agreement between Anheuser-Busch InBev SA and Constellation Brands was ambiguous about whether hard seltzers are beer, affirming a New York federal judge's order to let jurors decide the question at a trial where Constellation Brands prevailed against claims of trademark infringement.

  • March 25, 2024

    Truist Says Plastic Co. Trying To Dodge $20M Default

    Faced with the threat of a Georgia plastics company absconding with millions in assets after defaulting on a series of loans, Truist Financial Corp. has asked a federal court to halt an alleged fraud in progress by the manufacturer by appointing a receiver to take control of its property.

  • March 25, 2024

    Prior Deal Bars Issues-Only Classes In NCAA Football MDL

    An Illinois federal judge has denied a bid by former NCAA football players for issue-only classes in multidistrict litigation over concussion injuries, saying a settlement from a prior MDL specifically prohibits issue-only classes.

  • March 25, 2024

    'Infested Slum' Suit Warrants Class Cert., Conn. Justices Told

    Former tenants of a Hartford apartment complex are urging the Connecticut Supreme Court to let them pursue class claims that the complex turned into a "mold and cockroach infested slum," arguing in a hearing Monday that a lower court focused too heavily on the differences between the conditions of each unit.

  • March 25, 2024

    OSU, WSU Finalize $65M Deal With Departing Pac-12 Schools

    Oregon State University and Washington State University finalized the terms of their settlement with the departing members of the Pac-12 conference Monday, splitting $65 million in fees and securing additional protections for their slimmed-down partnership.

  • March 25, 2024

    No Coverage for Pa. ATV Accident, Insurer Says

    Truck Insurance Exchange has told a Pennsylvania state court it should owe no coverage to a policyholder facing a personal injury suit over an all-terrain vehicle accident, saying the policyholder's insurance agent "intentionally" failed to disclose the accident before Truck issued the policy.

  • March 25, 2024

    LA Firm Can't Beat Damages For Leaving Criminal Case

    A California appeals court on Friday ruled that a Los Angeles law firm cannot escape breach-of-contract damages for withdrawing from an attempted murder case, but also said its former client isn't entitled to a larger award.

  • March 25, 2024

    Steelers Owner Says Partner's Silence Is Stalling TD Air Sale

    The majority owner and president of the Pittsburgh Steelers — who is also a consultant at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC — wants a Pennsylvania state court to make a purportedly nonresponsive business partner sell his one-third share of a company that formerly owned and operated private jets.

  • March 25, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Last week in Delaware's Court of Chancery, litigants battled as Truth Social went public, Carl Icahn and Tripadvisor hit a roadblock, and more shareholders wailed about "invasive" bylaws. Oil drilling and pharmaceutical mergers sparked new lawsuits, and a sewing machine trademark owner sued to end a contract.

  • March 25, 2024

    M&T Bank Execs Seek Exit From Fla. Law Firm's $1.5M Suit

    Two M&T Bank Corp. representatives want out of a lawsuit claiming they participated in the unlawful restriction of a Florida law firm's trust account amid a chargeback dispute, arguing they are protected from such claims by Florida's corporate shield doctrine.

  • March 25, 2024

    Justices Won't Review 11th Circ. $285M Arbitrator Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review an Eleventh Circuit decision refusing to vacate $285 million in arbitral awards issued to the operator of the Panama Canal, a case that the petitioners said raised questions about the standard by which courts may nix awards over an arbitrator's "evident partiality."

  • March 22, 2024

    Golfers Demand City Of LA End Tee Time Black Market

    Los Angeles golfers have sued the city claiming it's failing to stop black-market brokers from snatching up affordable tee times on municipal courses and reselling them for a profit.

  • March 22, 2024

    US Bank Ends $3.5B RMBS Trusts Suits Against BofA, Others

    U.S. Bank on Friday notified a New York federal judge it permanently discontinued two lawsuits against First Franklin Financial, Merrill Lynch Mortgage and Bank of America relating to substandard loans in residential mortgage-backed securities trusts worth $3.5 billion, two years after the parties reached a conditional settlement.

  • March 22, 2024

    Md. University Says Psilocybin Trade Theft Suit Belongs In US

    A London-based biochemical company cannot be allowed to escape across the pond with trade secrets related to using psilocybin as a mental health treatment, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, told a federal court, saying the company's minimum contacts with the state was its "months-long fraudulent scheme" to swipe intellectual property.

  • March 22, 2024

    Telecom Shareholders Want Tribunal DQ'd Over 'Biased' Blog

    The majority shareholders in a Latin American telecommunications tower operator are urging a New York court to reconsider its bid to disqualify the entire tribunal overseeing an arbitration over an alleged corporate coup, saying a blog run by one of the arbiters shows proof of bias.

Expert Analysis

  • Perspectives

    More States Should Join Effort To Close Legal Services Gap

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    Colorado is the most recent state to allow other types of legal providers, not just attorneys, to offer specific services in certain circumstances — and more states should rethink the century-old assumptions that shape our current regulatory rules, say Natalie Anne Knowlton and Janet Drobinske at the University of Denver.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • How New Illinois Child Influencer Law Affects Advertisers

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    Although Illinois' recently amended child labor law puts the burden on vloggers to ensure minors under the age of 16 featured in online videos are properly compensated, lack of compliance could reflect negatively on advertisers by association, say Monique Bhargava and Edward Fultz at Reed Smith.

  • 10 Legal Subject Matters Popping Up In AI Litigation

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    The past five years have brought judicial opinions addressing artificial intelligence in many different legal areas, so a study of existing case law is an important first step for in-house counsel addressing how to advise on the uncertainty driving many of the AI legal disputes, says Mark Davies at Orrick.

  • The NIL Legislation Race: CAPCA And The PASS Act

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    Christina Stylianou and Gregg Clifton at Lewis Brisbois compare the College Athletes Protection and Compensation Act and the Protecting Athletes, Schools, and Sports Act — two of the latest bills introduced to federally regulate publicity rights for the name, image and likeness of college student-athletes.

  • Lenders Should Study New York's Biz Loan Disclosure Rules

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    Loan providers will need to dive deep into the detailed rules governing New York state’s new commercial financing disclosure requirements in order to successfully understand and comply with the recently implemented law, say Barry Hester and Gretchen von Dwingelo at BCLP.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • Keys To Robust AML Programs At Private Funds

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    Attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler explain why hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds should develop risk-based anti-money laundering compliance programs despite not being subject to the Bank Secrecy Act, and offer tips on setting up a program similar to those implemented by financial institutions.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Barbie Deals Should Remind Brands Of IP Licensing Benefits

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    Mattel Inc.'s recent licensing of the Barbie trademark — one of the biggest licensing campaigns of recent history — illustrates that, as long as risks are managed properly, intellectual property licensing can form part of the overall business strategy and benefit both parties, say Maria Peyman and Anousha Vasantha at Birketts.

  • Opinion

    Has The NCAA Not Learned NIL Policy Lessons Of The Past?

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    The NCAA has applied its heavy hand — which has been slapped back by courts and legislatures — again, saying that colleges must comply with its name, image and likeness policies even if they conflict with state laws, but recent antitrust decisions might caution against its reasoning, says Kenneth Jacobsen at Temple University.

  • Opinion

    3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point

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    The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

  • Counterfactual Models: A Key Tool In Energy Price Disputes

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    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent review of penalties assessed by PJM Interconnection during Winter Storm Elliott is just one example of how estimating the behavior of energy markets in counterfactual scenarios is an essential tool for settling contractual and regulatory disputes, say Kivanç Kirgiz and Manuel Vasconcelos at Cornerstone Research, and independent consultant Roy Shanker.

  • 5 Ways To Improve Commercial Arbitration Clauses

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    Arbitration clauses have become ubiquitous as parties hope to streamline disputes, but with boilerplate language leading to the same downsides as conventional litigation, commercial contract drafters should opt for custom-written terms, say Lauren Zimmerman and Jeff Zalesin at Selendy Gay.

  • Mitigating Risk In US Liquefied Natural Gas Contracts

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    Recent increases in demand for liquefied natural gas in both European and Asian markets will present logistical, economic and legal challenges for suppliers, which will need to mitigate risks posed by both short-term and long-term contracts, says C. Thomas Kruse at Arnold & Porter.

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