Commercial Contracts

  • October 03, 2025

    DC Circ. Affirms Immunity Denial For Venezuela Oil Co.

    A D.C. Circuit panel ruled Petroleos de Venezuela SA must face claims it unlawfully took over an Oklahoma business's rigs and property, backing a district court's decision to deny the state-owned oil company's bid for sovereign immunity.

  • October 03, 2025

    Deceased IP Attys' Names Worth $55K, Conn. Judge Rules

    A Connecticut federal judge has declined to upend an expert's valuation amounting to $54,775 in a trademark infringement suit over the names of deceased law partners that appear in the masthead of intellectual property firm Ohlandt Greeley Ruggiero & Perle LLP, determining such a change is unwarranted.

  • October 03, 2025

    Insurer Fends Off Bad Faith Claim Over $1.8M Crash Award

    A man injured in a car crash cannot bring a bad faith action against the other driver's insurer, a Florida federal court ruled, finding that the insurer's prompt tender of its policy limits to the man means it is protected under Florida's statutory "safe harbor" provision.

  • October 03, 2025

    The Roberts Court At 20: How The Chief Is Reshaping America

    Twenty years after John Roberts became the 17th chief justice of the United States, he faces a U.S. Supreme Court term that's looking transformative for the country and its institutions. How Justice Roberts and his colleagues navigate mounting distrust in the judiciary and set the boundaries of presidential authority appear increasingly likely to define his time leading the court.

  • October 03, 2025

    Ga. Insurer Can't Skirt Suit Over NC Captive Insurer's Collapse

    A Georgia insurance company can't slip out early from a fight over a defunct captive insurer's demise, a North Carolina Business Court judge has ruled, finding the company's owners directed actions into the Tar Heel state sufficient for it to be pulled into litigation there.

  • October 03, 2025

    Off The Bench: QB Wins In Court, 'Poaching' Feud Heats Up

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA's bid to overturn a football player's eligibility falls short, a transgender athlete wants a potential landmark U.S. Supreme Court case stopped, and a $55 million feud between two athletic conferences continues.

  • October 03, 2025

    $1T Tesla Pay Proposal Sets Ambitious Goals For Musk

    A massive pay proposal for Tesla CEO Elon Musk contains performance metrics that would make it tough for Musk to pull in the maximum pay available, even if the deal gets a green light from shareholders in November. Here are four things about the $1 trillion pitch that have caught attorneys' attention.

  • October 03, 2025

    United Aims To Ground Passengers' 'Window Seat' Suit

    United Airlines Inc. is asking a California federal court to throw out a proposed class action from two passengers alleging that the airline misled them by promising window seats, only to give them seats without windows, saying the complaint is preempted entirely by federal law.

  • October 03, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen billionaire Michael Platt sue his former tax lawyer, five former Deutsche Bank staffers file claims against the German bank and an Italian financier issue a commercial fraud claim against the Vatican and UBS.

  • October 03, 2025

    NCUA, US Bank Settle Crisis-Era RMBS Trustee Lawsuit

    The National Credit Union Administration Board and U.S. Bank told a New York federal judge that they have reached a settlement in principle in a suit over U.S. Bank's role as trustee for crisis-era residential mortgage-backed securities trusts.

  • October 03, 2025

    Justices Agree To Hear Freight Broker Negligence Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to address conflicting appellate court decisions on whether federal law shields freight brokers from state-based negligence and personal injury claims.

  • October 02, 2025

    Jury Clears T-Mobile In Tower Builder's $20M Contract Suit

    T-Mobile owes nothing to a cell tower company that sought more than $20 million over claims the wireless carrier broke a contract that allegedly guaranteed the company rights to develop 100 tower sites, a Washington state jury said in a verdict Thursday.

  • October 02, 2025

    NC Chief Judge Scolds Medical Supply Co.'s 'Rude' Demand

    A North Carolina federal judge on Wednesday threw out a medical supply company's suit over COVID-19 test kit profits based on the Chinese citizenship of one party, adding that the plaintiff's impatience with the court amid a judge shortage was "rude."

  • October 02, 2025

    Peach State Panel Tosses $500K Verdict In Peach Picking Spat

    The Georgia Court of Appeals ordered a new trial in a case where a jury awarded $500,000 worth of punitive damages to a peach grower who said his crop was ruined by another farmer, ruling that inadmissible evidence about their settlement talks was "likely significant" in securing the verdict.

  • October 02, 2025

    Ex-Fla. Rep Fights To Cut Tax Charges From Lobbying Case

    A former Florida congressman on Thursday asked a federal judge in Miami to sever tax evasion charges from a criminal indictment alleging he and a political consultant failed to register as foreign agents while lobbying on behalf of Venezuela's state oil company.

  • October 02, 2025

    Polish Airline's Boeing 737 Max Fraud Suit Bound For Trial

    A Washington federal judge on Thursday teed up for trial LOT Polish Airlines' suit alleging Boeing duped it into leasing defective 737 Max jets that were later grounded after two deadly crashes overseas, saying a jury should consider whether Boeing misrepresented risks about the jets to airline customers.

  • October 02, 2025

    Tesla Can't Nix Battery Maker's Arbitration Award, Judge Rules

    A California federal judge has confirmed an arbitration award that guarantees a battery maker's right to sell its dry battery electrode equipment to parties other than Tesla, rejecting Tesla's contention that an arbitrator disregarded the law when interpreting the companies' intellectual property rights in the equipment.

  • October 02, 2025

    No Pay Owed To Flooring Co.'s Fired CEO, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit won't revive a suit from the former CEO of flooring manufacturer Interface Inc. claiming he was bilked out of a severance package after allegedly going on a drunken tirade at a company function, ruling Thursday that the executive's appeal impermissibly tried to advance a new reading of his contract.

  • October 02, 2025

    Jordan's Team Seeks Partial Antitrust Win In NASCAR Suit

    The market for auto racing that NASCAR is accused of unjustly dominating has been clearly established and the organization's monopoly power is obvious, the two auto racing teams suing it told a North Carolina federal judge in asking for partial summary judgment in their antitrust suit.

  • October 02, 2025

    4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In September

    One attorney scored an early exit from a malpractice suit, another must face a long-delayed arbitration, and a judge has requested more information on a proposed settlement in a class action brought by gamblers at a Massachusetts casino. Here are four rulings from Suffolk Superior Court's business litigation session in September.

  • October 02, 2025

    Pac-12's Antitrust Suit Over Exit Fees Can Go On, Judge Says

    The Mountain West Conference cannot escape a lawsuit over its demand for $55 million in "poaching" fees from the Pac-12 for luring away five universities, with a California federal judge ruling that there are plausible claims that the exit fees violate antitrust laws.

  • October 02, 2025

    Exec Says Beauty Co. Owes Her More After $1B L'Oreal Sale

    A beauty brand that L'Oreal bought for around $1 billion plans to share less of the proceeds with its president than what she is owed, according to an anticipatory breach of contract suit filed in Connecticut state court.

  • October 02, 2025

    LinkedIn Sues Over Alleged 'Industrial-Scale' Data Scraping

    LinkedIn Corp. sued ProAPIs, Netswift and its co-founder Rehmat Alam in California federal court Thursday, alleging the software-makers operate "industrial-scale" data scraping mills that violate LinkedIn's terms and numerous other laws by continuously creating fake accounts to extract LinkedIn's member data, which they then sell without permission.

  • October 02, 2025

    Honeywell, Rival End 4th Circ. Barcode Royalty Clash

    A Japanese laser technology company and rival Honeywell International Inc. together concluded one chapter in a long-running patent and royalty battle over barcodes, just weeks before the case was slated for oral arguments at the Fourth Circuit.

  • October 02, 2025

    Ex-NFL Player Claims Signature Forged In Arbitration Clause

    A North Carolina Business Court judge was befuddled Thursday by an arbitration clause that retired NFL defensive lineman Mike Rucker says he has no memory of signing, stopping short arguments on its enforceability to instead give the parties time to dig into its authenticity.

Expert Analysis

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions

    Author Photo

    In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Opinion

    Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

    Author Photo

    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • Corp. Human Rights Regulatory Landscape Is Fragmented

    Author Photo

    Given the complexity of compliance with nations' overlapping human rights laws, multinational companies need to be cognizant of the evolving approaches to modern slavery transparency, and proposals that could reduce mandatory due diligence and reporting requirements, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Opinion

    Premerger Settlements Don't Meet Standard For Bribery

    Author Photo

    Claims that Paramount’s decision to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump while it was undergoing a premerger regulatory review amounts to a quid pro quo misconstrue bribery law and ignore how modern legal departments operate, says Ediberto Román at the Florida International University College of Law.

  • Series

    Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

  • Forced Labor Bans Hold Steady Amid Shifts In Global Trade

    Author Photo

    As businesses try to navigate shifting regulatory trends affecting human rights and sustainability, forced labor import bans present a zone of relative stability, notwithstanding outstanding questions about the future of enforcement, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

    Author Photo

    While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

  • Recent Decisions Caution Against Broad Indemnity Provisions

    Author Photo

    Two recent decisions in disparate jurisdictions are reminders that businesses and practitioners should be mindful of contractual indemnity rights and draft indemnity provisions that enhance the predictability of enforceability without being overly broad, says Gregory Jaske at Olshan Frome.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

    Author Photo

    As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

  • Tips For US Investors Eyeing Middle East Data Centers

    Author Photo

    While Middle East data center investment presents a compelling opportunity in light of renewed U.S.-Gulf cooperation on artificial intelligence and critical technologies, these projects require a nuanced understanding of regional legal and regulatory regimes, says Haykel Hajjaji at Covington.

  • 4th Circ. Favors Plain Meaning In Bump-Up D&O Ruling

    Author Photo

    The Fourth Circuit's latest denial of indemnity coverage in Towers Watson v. National Union Fire Insurance and its previous ruling in this case lay out a pragmatic approach to bump-up provisions that avoids hypertechnical constructions to limit the effect of a policy's plain meaning, say attorneys at Kennedys.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

    Author Photo

    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

    Author Photo

    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

    Author Photo

    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Commercial Contracts archive.