Commercial Contracts

  • April 28, 2026

    Duracell Loses Bid To Ax BASF's Lithium Battery Secrets Suit

    Battery-maker Duracell cannot escape chemical company BASF Corp.'s lawsuit accusing it of stealing trade secrets about its lithium battery technology after gaining access to the information through a cooperation agreement, a Delaware federal judge ruled Tuesday.

  • April 28, 2026

    Canoo's Ex-Internal Audit Head Settles Insider Trading Claims

    Bankrupt electric vehicle startup Canoo's former senior director of internal audit and controls has agreed to pay roughly $125,900 to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's insider trading allegations against him, according to a final judgment entered Tuesday in Texas federal court.

  • April 28, 2026

    Musk Testifies Altman 'Looting' OpenAI Charity For Own Gain

    Billionaire Elon Musk testified in a California federal jury trial Tuesday that OpenAI executives Sam Altman and Greg Brockman illegally converted OpenAI into a for-profit company after he invested $38 million under the condition the ChatGPT-maker would remain a nonprofit, creating a potential precedent for "looting in every charity in America."

  • April 28, 2026

    Smoke Shop Blames Vape Co. For Raids And Frozen $5M

    Two Texas smoke shop owners claim they suffered police raids, arrests and nearly $5 million of their business funds being frozen, all because one of their vape suppliers, Delta Munchies LLC, sold them products containing illicit levels of THC despite marketing them as legal hemp, according to a lawsuit filed in Texas state court.

  • April 28, 2026

    Islamic Charity Seeks Private Arbitration Of 'Smear Campaign'

    A U.K. Islamic relief charity has urged a New York federal judge to compel to confidential arbitration a lawsuit by a former U.S.-based partner that some of its members founded, claiming it is running a "smear campaign" against the charity due to political pressure from Congress.

  • April 28, 2026

    Parents Fight Phillies Player's MLB Pay Control Suit

    The parents of Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm have hit back against allegations that they mismanaged his finances, telling a Pennsylvania state court that they have taken only prudent steps to protect their son's earnings.

  • April 28, 2026

    SF Lands Deal With Oakland Over Airport Name IP Fight

    San Francisco has struck a deal with the Port of Oakland that ends a trademark infringement suit over Oakland's renaming of its airport that allows the East Bay city to use the name "Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport," the parties announced Tuesday.

  • April 28, 2026

    Citizens Bank Owed $470K After Case Went 'Off The Rails'

    Pittsburgh-area construction firm Marco Contractors Inc. must pay Citizens Bank approximately $470,000 in sanctions to remedy the harm the contractor caused by deleting emails that were key to its claims that the bank should have caught an $8.7 million embezzlement scheme, a Pennsylvania federal court ruled alongside an order tossing the litigation. 

  • April 28, 2026

    Ex-Rep.'s Anti-Maduro Stance Was 'Facade,' Jury Hears

    Former U.S. Rep. David Rivera's public opposition to the regime of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was just a "facade" as he secretly worked on behalf of the government under a $50 million contract with a unit of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, federal prosecutors told jurors on Tuesday.

  • April 28, 2026

    Hartford HealthCare Misused Privilege, Teamsters Plan Says

    Hartford HealthCare should be forced to produce 182 documents withheld under the attorney-client privilege from an antitrust lawsuit, say a Teamsters health plan and a transit district that claim the hospital group is exercising monopoly power over regional health services markets within Connecticut.

  • April 28, 2026

    Conn. Residential Project Investor Cries Fraud On EB-5 Deal

    A Connecticut-based real estate investment firm involved in plans to transform a 60-acre vacant lot into a multifamily complex has filed a lawsuit in state court against co-investors, alleging its stake in the project was transferred without its consent as part of a fraud settlement involving an immigrant investor program.

  • April 28, 2026

    Calif. Judge Trims Wells Fargo Mortgage Loss Mitigation Suit

    A California federal judge tossed most of a proposed class action accusing Wells Fargo of saddling homeowners with unjustified fees by running an automated mortgage loan loss mitigation and remediation process, dismissing the suit's unjust enrichment and consumer protection claims.

  • April 28, 2026

    Insurer Says Loan Co. Not Covered In Ex-Atty Debt Dispute

    An insurer told a North Carolina federal court that it owes no coverage to a small business loan nonprofit accused of harming the reputation of a disbarred attorney through its allegations that he defaulted on a COVID-19 rapid recovery loan.

  • April 28, 2026

    Dispensary Owner Says Federal Pot Ban Bars Investor Suit

    A Michigan cannabis business owner on Tuesday urged a federal judge to toss a suit accusing him of running an investment scam, saying that because pot is still federally illegal, the court is barred from ordering him to pay restitution to the plaintiff because to do so would make the federal court complicit in an illegal transaction.

  • April 28, 2026

    Union Urges Toss Of Tobacco Co.'s Retiree Health Fight

    A North Carolina federal judge should let a tobacco workers' union keep its win in a retiree healthcare fight with the company that makes Winston and Salem cigarettes, the union argued, saying the company's challenge to a November arbitration award can't proceed because it wasn't properly filed.

  • April 28, 2026

    Yale University Wants Meal Plan Class Suit Chewed Up

    A proposed class action alleging Yale University students are forced to buy meal plans at artificially inflated prices is aimed at common practices and fails to support its claims of wrongdoing, the school told a Connecticut judge in seeking to have each count either dismissed or struck.

  • April 28, 2026

    QB Tells Court Ex-School Out To Punish Him For Transferring

    The University of Cincinnati's attempt to collect $1 million in damages from a transferring football star is an unreasonable and illegal penalty for breaking an employment agreement, alleges his bid to throw out the breach of contract suit.

  • April 28, 2026

    Solar Co. Attyx Is Accused Of Tricking Customers Into Loans

    A New York homeowner has hit solar energy company Attyx LLC and its lending partners with a proposed class action over an alleged deceptive financing scheme, echoing claims already brought by the state's attorney general that alleged hundreds of millions of dollars in potential consumer harm.

  • April 28, 2026

    UK Helicopter Co. Appeals $15M Sikorsky Judgment

    A British helicopter operator said Tuesday it will appeal a more than $15 million March judgment favoring Lockheed Martin-owned Sikorsky International Operations Inc., after the companies fought over a deal to purchase 16 aircraft, two of which were not accepted.

  • April 28, 2026

    $20M Hair Business Sale Dispute Hits Chancery Court

    A medical aesthetics technology company has sued a Korean buyer in the Delaware Chancery Court, accusing it of backing out of a $20 million deal to purchase a hair restoration business after attempting to slash the price at the last minute.

  • April 28, 2026

    Slack Hits Microsoft With Antitrust Case Over Teams Bundling

    Workplace messaging app Slack and its owner, Salesforce Inc., have hit Microsoft with an antitrust claim in London over allegations that the U.S. tech giant harmed competition by bundling its own Teams app with other products to limit customer choice.

  • April 28, 2026

    Italy Fines Chips Producers €23M Over Snack Cartel

    An Italian competition authority said Tuesday that it had handed out fines totaling more than €23 million ($27 million) to three savory food producers over their agreement to divide the supply of snacks produced for large-scale retail trade.

  • April 27, 2026

    DOJ Says Wash. 340B Drug Law Is Preempted In Novartis Suit

    The U.S. Department of Justice waded into a dispute between pharmaceutical giants and the state of Washington on Monday, arguing that federal law preempts a new state law that expands discounts that drugmakers must provide under the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program.

  • April 27, 2026

    Musk-OpenAI Jury Picked As Tech Billionaire Faces Juror Heat

    A California judge empaneled a nine-member jury Monday to help her decide Elon Musk's challenge to OpenAI's for-profit conversion in a jury selection process during which numerous prospective jurors criticized Musk, including one who called him a "world-class jerk," while they also expressed concerns that AI will replace jobs.

  • April 27, 2026

    Firms Seek $1.65M Fee In Interactive Brokers Settlement

    Counsel in a class action against Interactive Brokers LLC over allegedly faulty algorithms asked a federal judge to award about $1.65 million in attorney fees and $1.63 million in litigation expenses and approve a settlement worth $6.8 million.

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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