Commercial Contracts

  • September 08, 2026

    5th Circ. Backs Ax Of $125M Judgment Over Judge Friendship

    A split Fifth Circuit panel Tuesday affirmed the vacatur of a trial by a magistrate judge that resulted in a $125 million judgment against Port of Lake Charles, finding the district court correctly found that the magistrate judge didn't fully disclose her 40-year, "close, multifaceted, and personal friendship" with IFG Port Holdings LLC's attorney.

  • September 08, 2026

    Fla. Court Misread Complex's Mural Rights Claim, Panel Told

    A Miami property owner on Tuesday urged a Florida state appellate panel to remand its case for a trial on damages over hosting exterior advertisements, arguing that a lower court misapplied the law when it found the complex couldn't establish liability after the city excluded it from a mural district.

  • September 08, 2026

    Boeing Avoids Broad Financial Discovery In IP Suit

    A Washington federal judge has ordered The Boeing Co. to provide some, but far from all, of the information Wilson Aerospace LLC sought for its suit accusing the aerospace giant of stealing patented technology for a NASA moon program.

  • September 08, 2026

    Auto Tools Trade Org. Says Antitrust Claims Are Baseless

    An automotive lift trade association and several lift manufacturers asked a Texas federal court to toss antitrust claims brought by a Texas manufacturer, saying that the manufacturer failed to state a viable claim under the Sherman Act.

  • September 08, 2026

    Conn. Justice Says $87M Telecom Bid 'Hard To Take Seriously'

    A once-bankrupt telecommunications company's bid for more than $80 million in interest on top of a $3.6 million judgment seemed "absurd" to one Connecticut Supreme Court justice hearing a 16-year-old contract dispute Tuesday, though he later said the party that hasn't paid shouldn't escape entirely unscathed.

  • September 08, 2026

    Contractor Can't Send Arbitration Pact To $162M Wage Class

    A contractor that helps administer a New York state Medicaid program cannot send arbitration agreements to members of a $162 million settlement class in a suit alleging it failed to pay personal assistants accurately or on time, a federal magistrate judge ruled, finding the move could confuse workers about the deal.

  • September 08, 2026

    NC Supreme Court Considers Reviving 'Cardiac Pack' NIL Suit

    The North Carolina Supreme Court pointedly questioned the NCAA over its refusal to compensate members of the 1983 North Carolina State University championship basketball team Tuesday, expressing skepticism that the dispute was entirely snuffed out over late claims.

  • September 08, 2026

    NC Brokerage Loses Injunction Bid Against Ex-Directors

    A judge with North Carolina's business court has declined to impose an injunction enforcing restrictive covenants on three former real estate brokerage directors who left to join a competitor, ruling that their former employer's suit had not produced evidence of wrongdoing.

  • September 08, 2026

    Womble Bond Says No Need To Share Rift Details In Exit Bid

    Attorneys from Womble Bond Dickinson, seeking to withdraw as counsel of record for a Dutch software company embroiled in a trademark dispute with an American rival, told a North Carolina federal judge that they are not obligated under professional conduct rules to disclose the "substance of a confidential disagreement" underlying their withdrawal request.

  • September 08, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court this past week saw disputes involving a former NFL star and a $2.5 million solar venture, Morgan Stanley's role in Fox Corp.'s planned $22 billion acquisition of Roku Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s effort to pause more than $20 million in legal-fee payments to former Frank executives.

  • September 08, 2026

    Mich. Lawyer Can't Shake Cybersecurity Firm's $550K Claim

    A Detroit attorney who promoted voter fraud claims after the 2020 election must face a cybersecurity company's breach of contract and defamation suit after a Michigan federal judge found the company plausibly alleged the attorney and her law firm retaliated against its investigators after they found no evidence of election fraud and allegedly declined a request to report otherwise.

  • September 04, 2026

    Making Up For Lost Timepiece: FedEx Wins $250K Watch Row

    The disappearance of a $250,000 watch purchased for a major GOP donor will cost FedEx less than it charged to ship the wristwear, according to a new Eighth Circuit decision backing broad immunity for alleged negligence or theft by the delivery giant's workers.

  • September 04, 2026

    Humana Says $7.3B Roundup Deal Sidelines Health Insurers

    Humana Inc. alleged in New Jersey federal court that Monsanto Co. is attempting to skirt its obligation to reimburse health insurers for medical expenses stemming from exposure to its Roundup product.

  • September 04, 2026

    4 Texas Supreme Court Oil & Gas Cases To Watch This Term

    The new term of the Texas Supreme Court initially appears light on oil and gas litigation, but Lone Star State attorneys told Law360 there are still a handful of cases that could have broad implications for the industry.

  • September 04, 2026

    3rd Circ. Preview: Penn State TM Row, NFL Agent Poaching Suit

    The Third Circuit in September is set to decide whether a print-on-demand company's collegiate apparel counts as counterfeit Penn State merchandise and if two former Philadelphia detectives can escape a $16 million judgment for a wrongfully convicted murder suspect.

  • September 04, 2026

    Judge Asks Atty To Explain Absences In Nurses' Wage Suit

    A Colorado federal magistrate judge ordered Friday that an attorney for nearly 40 nurses in a wage lawsuit against Colorado-based U.S. Nursing Corp. explain why he has not appeared in the case for months and why the court should not therefore toss the suit.

  • September 04, 2026

    Electric Co. And Zurich Settle $5M Airport Dispute

    An electric company that sought damages in Colorado state court over a contractor's decision to withhold over $5 million in payments for work completed in an expansion project at the Denver International Airport reached a settlement this week with four defendant insurers.

  • September 04, 2026

    NC High Court Snapshot: TikTok, DuPont, NCAA Top Sept.

    North Carolina's highest court is returning from its summer hiatus with a stacked September lineup of cases for oral argument, starting with a name, image and likeness suit brought by members of N.C. State University's 1983 championship basketball team against the NCAA.

  • September 04, 2026

    ERISA Recap: 5 Appellate Rulings To Know From August

    The Seventh Circuit kept an Arkansas pharmacy benefit manager rule in place as not preempted by federal benefits law, the Fourth Circuit revived an Altria ex-worker's dispute over benefit plan documents, and the Eleventh Circuit reversed a pretrial win for Royal Caribbean in cruise workers' suit challenging 401(k) funds. Here, Law360 looks at those and two other major appellate decisions from August involving ERISA that benefits attorneys may want to know.

  • September 04, 2026

    Court Slams 'Half-Hearted Compliance' In Crab Price-Fix Suit

    A California federal magistrate judge has given a seafood company until Sept. 11 to meet the discovery obligations it has repeatedly fallen short of in a proposed class action accusing it of fixing prices for Dungeness crabs.

  • September 04, 2026

    NC Judge Says Insurer Must Cover COVID Biz Losses

    A North Carolina federal judge has ruled that four Durham restaurants are entitled to coverage for losses they experienced during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, while calling out their insurer for its "superficial" and "perfunctory" attempts to argue it did not owe coverage.

  • September 04, 2026

    3rd Circ. Revives Malpractice Claim Against Kirkland Atty

    A New Jersey divorcee may once again pursue a legal malpractice claim against a Kirkland & Ellis LLP attorney who she said lost her millions by mishandling estate documents, after the Third Circuit found it could be possible to link her alleged damages to the lawyer's work.

  • September 03, 2026

    Fox's Supposed $500M Offer For Parler Was Fake, Jury Told

    Billionaire Rebekah Mercer testified Thursday that Parler's later-ousted CEO made her think falsely that Fox was offering $500 million for the social app, one example of the supposed misconduct she has said was the reason he was forced out.

  • September 03, 2026

    Wash. Justices To Hear Gordon Rees Malpractice Transfer Suit

    Washington's Supreme Court will consider whether a Great American insurance unit can inherit an equipment manufacturer's legal malpractice claims against two law firms in what the insurance company has called an issue of first impression, according to a high court order published Wednesday.

  • September 03, 2026

    Dutch Software Co. Asks Justices To Halt TM Trial

    A Dutch software company has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a rapidly approaching trial in a trademark dispute with an American rival while it petitions for review of an injunction and contempt order that it said threaten to taint the entire proceedings.

Expert Analysis

  • How The New Tariff Landscape May Unfold

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    To replace tariffs formerly imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the administration will rely on a patchwork of statutes, potentially leading to procedural challenges and a complex tariff landscape with varying levels, durations and applicability, says Joseph Grossman-Trawick at King & Spalding.

  • What GCs Should Keep In Mind When Developing AI Addenda

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    When general counsel develop their own customer-side artificial intelligence addenda to be used as the baseline for negotiations with AI vendors, they should take care to rightsize the addenda relative to their organization's size, complexity and bargaining power, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • 2nd Circ. Kazakh Ruling Clarifies RICO Rule, FSIA Exception

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    The Second Circuit's recent Yerkyn v. Yakovlevich ruling, dismissing a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claim, demonstrates that RICO's domestic injury requirement is a merits question, and reaffirms the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's commercial activity exception, says Brant Kuehn at Greenspoon Marder.

  • Character.AI Case Highlights Agentic AI Liability Questions

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    The recently settled litigation against Character Technologies Inc. provides an early case study for exploring salient legal issues related to agentic artificial intelligence, such as tort liability, strict liability, statutory liability and contractual liability, says Samuel Mitchells at Smith Gambrell.

  • How DOL Rule Would Preserve App-Based Contractor Work

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    The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed 2026 independent contractor rule reinforces the centrality of worker autonomy and entrepreneurial opportunity that characterize many app-based arrangements, and returns to a framework that may offer increased predictability for platforms and workers alike, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Volunteering With Scouts Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving as an assistant scoutmaster for my son’s troop reaffirmed several skills and principles crucial to lawyering — from the importance of disconnecting to the value of morality, says Michael Warren at McManis Faulkner.

  • Compliance Takeaways Amid Subscription Practices Scrutiny

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    The Federal Trade Commission's prioritization of enforcement regarding deceptive billing and cancellation practices in recurring subscriptions, and new click-to-cancel rulemaking expected on the horizon, carry key takeaways for companies using recurring subscriptions to sell products or services, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: In Court, It's About Storytelling

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    Law school provides doctrine, cases and hypotheticals, but when lawyers step into the courtroom, they must learn the importance of clarity, credibility, memorability and preparation — in other words, how to tell simple, effective stories, say Nicholas Steverson and Danielle Trujillo at Wheeler Trigg, and Lisa DeCaro at Courtroom Performance.

  • What Kalshi Cases Reveal About State Authority, Regulation

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    Prediction markets like Kalshi have ignited complex legal battles that get to the heart of how novel financial products intersect with traditional state enforcement authority, and courts are already beginning to divide over whether federal law preempts state enforcement authority restricting these offerings, say attorneys at Holtzman Vogel.

  • What US Arms Sales Reforms Mean For Defense Industry

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    A recent executive order with the goal of increasing U.S. arms sales transparency, speed and government-industry collaboration carries both promise and risk for the defense industry as the government seeks to leverage the private sector and use commercial products for defense purposes, say attorneys at Fluet.

  • How Recent Del. Rulings Clarify M&A Deal Fraud Carveouts

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    Two recent Delaware decisions have provided clarity regarding when a party can or cannot rely on representations made during the course of an M&A transaction, particularly on the scope and enforceability of antireliance provisions, and on representations they knew or should have known were false, says Anthony Boccamazzo at Olshan Frome.

  • Aligning Microsoft Tools With NYC Bar AI Recording Guidance

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    The New York City Bar Association’s recently issued formal opinion, providing ethical guidance on artificial intelligence-assisted recording, transcription and summarization, raises immediate questions about data governance and e-discovery for companies that use Microsoft 365 and Copilot, say Staci Kaliner, Martin Tully and John Collins at Redgrave.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four recent rulings from January and identifies practice tips from cases involving allegations of violations of consumer fraud regulations, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, employment law and breach of contract statutes.

  • 5 Different AI Systems Raise Distinct Privilege Issues

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    A New York federal court’s recent U.S. v. Heppner decision, holding that a defendant’s use of Claude was not privileged, only addressed one narrow artificial intelligence system, but lawyers must recognize that the spectrum of AI tools raises different confidentiality and privilege questions, says Heidi Nadel at HP.

  • After Learning Resources: A Practical Guide For US Importers

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Feb. 20 decision in Learning Resources v. Trump, U.S. importers and consumers on whom tariffs were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act can seek relief through existing administrative procedures or a yet-to-be-determined bespoke refund mechanism, and should plan for more changes in the tariff landscape, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

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