Commercial Contracts

  • March 15, 2024

    Ohio Ambulance Co. Says HR Firm Botched Tax Returns

    An Ohio ambulance company accused its human resources management firm of failing to accurately prepare and submit amended tax returns that would have allowed the company to claim pandemic-era tax credits, according to a complaint filed in an Ohio federal court.

  • March 15, 2024

    Colo. Landowners File Fifth Oil Royalty Case After Dismissals

    A group of oil and gas lessors are hoping the fifth time will be the charm for their proposed class action in Colorado federal court against a pair of energy companies, after the Tenth Circuit gave them a window to refile claims dismissed four previous times. 

  • March 15, 2024

    Military Subcontractor Says Partner Tried To Poach Work

    A federal subcontractor tasked with building secure facilities for the Marine Corps hit its own subcontractor with a $7 million lawsuit on Friday, accusing its former partner of deliberately undermining that construction work, in an effort to "steal" related contracts.

  • March 15, 2024

    2nd Circ. OKs Mississippi River Charter For Swiss Cruise Co.

    The Second Circuit on Friday backed a federal maritime agency's granting of a Mississippi River charter to the U.S. arm of Swiss cruise line operator Viking Cruises Ltd., finding that the decision wasn't arbitrary or capricious, but the court declined to weigh in on the legality of such arrangements in general.

  • March 15, 2024

    'Needless Circuit Split' In Tribal COVID Row, 9th Circ. Told

    An AIG unit and other insurers are urging the Ninth Circuit to rethink its decision ordering them to litigate the Suquamish Tribe's COVID-19 business interruption claims in tribal court, arguing that a three-judge appeals panel's unanimous affirmation "creates a needless circuit split on the scope of tribal-court jurisdiction."

  • March 15, 2024

    Texas Tamale Beats Cross-State Rival In Trademark Fight

    Over three years of legal delays and a tortured case that was "actually arguing mere descriptiveness under the guise of genericness" somehow failed to persuade a judge in Houston to unseat a trademark owned by a small company on the phrase "Texas Tamale."

  • March 15, 2024

    Trade Secret Cases Are Up As Clients Eye Patent Alternatives

    Trade secret litigation has seen a gradual increase over the past decade, driven by the promise of substantial damages awards, a new federal law, and frustration over the challenges of patent litigation, according to intellectual property attorneys.

  • March 15, 2024

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

    The past week in London has seen Howard Kennedy face legal action by a London hotel chain, former racing boss Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One hit with a breach of contract claim by a Brazilian racecar driver, and a libel row between broadcaster Jeremy Vine and ex-footballer Joey Barton. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 14, 2024

    Gamers Seek To Block Microsoft From 'Dismantling' Activision

    Gamers who are still challenging Microsoft's now-completed union with gaming titan Activision Blizzard say a California federal court must hand down an order stopping further integration of the two businesses after Microsoft laid off 1,900 people from the gaming company.

  • March 14, 2024

    Exxon Beats Insurers' Bid To Arbitrate Over MTBE Claims

    A Texas appeals court sided with Exxon Mobil Corp. in the energy giant's attempt to forestall arbitration with an insurer over claims and lawsuits over exposure to methyl tertiary-butyl ether, ruling Wednesday that the trial court was right not to compel arbitration.

  • March 14, 2024

    UTA's Clash With MediaLink Founder Lands In Calif. Court

    United Talent Agency's bitter dispute with the founder of management consulting firm MediaLink spilled into Los Angeles County Superior Court this week, with UTA lobbing fraud and other claims at the executive shortly after he brought his own fraud claims against the agency in arbitration.

  • March 14, 2024

    Apple Federal Credit Union Can't Shake Overdraft Fee Suit

    A Virginia federal judge has declined to toss a proposed class action against Apple Federal Credit Union that challenges the bank's alleged policy of assessing additional overdraft fees on already-authorized transactions, saying the credit union has violated its own contract terms and did not properly disclose the fees to customers.

  • March 14, 2024

    US Urges High Court To Deny Petition In Soccer Antitrust Row

    The U.S. solicitor general told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that it should deny the U.S. Soccer Federation's efforts to stave off an antitrust lawsuit, saying the plaintiff correctly showed that the American organization worked with the international governing body to restrict certain events.

  • March 14, 2024

    DraftKings' Employment Feud With Former VP Heats Up

    The battle between DraftKings and one of its former vice presidents intensified in Massachusetts federal court Thursday, with the online sportsbook sharpening its allegations of corporate espionage and the erstwhile executive calling to wipe out the suit entirely.

  • March 14, 2024

    Colo. Surgery Center Can't Undo Contract Breach Verdict

    A Colorado appellate panel saw no reason to disturb a jury's half-million-dollar verdict finding a surgery center breached a contract with a management firm and failed to pay for work outside the contract, concluding that even if jurors got the wrong instructions, they wouldn't have made a different decision.

  • March 14, 2024

    Chancery Sends Drone-Maker's Claim To Sister Court

    A Delaware vice chancellor handed off to a regular civil court Thursday remaining claims in drone-maker Teal Drones Inc.'s suit accusing a software supplier and its owner of wrongly pulling the plug on Teal's license for autonomous-flight programming, after tossing claims against the supplier itself.

  • March 14, 2024

    Game Developer Seeks Class Cert. In Valve Antitrust Case

    Developer Wolfire Games is asking a Seattle federal judge for class certification in its consolidated antitrust suit against online game seller Valve, saying discovery has brought abundant evidence that the platform uses its most-favored-nation clause to stifle competition and maintain monopoly power.

  • March 14, 2024

    Mass. High Court Says Tufts Win In Tenure Case 'Premature'

    Tenured professors at Tufts University whose salaries were slashed under a newly enacted requirement that they bring in at least half their income through research grants will have another chance to prove those pay cuts undermine academic freedom, Massachusetts' highest court said Thursday.

  • March 14, 2024

    Water Treatment Co. Must Face Rival's Trade Secrets Suit

    A Tennessee federal judge has found that certain issues in a trade secrets suit against industrial water treatment service company ChemTreat need to go before a jury, shooting down arguments including that no trade secret was adequately identified.

  • March 14, 2024

    Locke Lord Must Face Oil Co.'s Malpractice Suit In NJ

    A New Jersey state judge rejected Locke Lord LLP's attempt to evade an oil company's malpractice suit alleging that the firm and one of its former attorneys mishandled a transaction involving an oil refinery project in North Dakota, causing the company to lose $2.5 million

  • March 14, 2024

    Italy Fines TikTok €10M For Harmful Content

    Italy's antitrust authority fined TikTok €10 million ($11 million) on Thursday for failing to protect children from potentially dangerous content on the platform.

  • March 13, 2024

    Jury Awards Photog $3.1M In Licensing Fight Against Otter

    A Colorado federal jury has said a California photographer is entitled to about $3.1 million in a copyright suit after finding that cellphone case maker Otter Products LLC wrongly copied various images.

  • March 13, 2024

    Versata Wants Axed $105M Ford Verdict Revived Or Expanded

    Versata Software has urged the Federal Circuit to undo a Michigan federal judge's decision erasing a nearly $105 million trade secrets and breach of contract verdict it won against Ford, and argued that it was wrongly barred from presenting damages theories seeking up to $1.3 billion.

  • March 13, 2024

    NJ Justices Craft Framework For Support Pet Accommodation

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Wednesday outlined how courts should assess accommodation requests for emotional support animals, reviving condo owners' claims that they were entitled to keep a dog more than double the weight limit allowed under the condominium association's policy.

  • March 13, 2024

    Hospital Manager Cements $3.5M Gabon Arbitration Award

    The Gabonese Republic must pay a $3.5 million arbitration award obtained by an Austrian healthcare management company, a D.C. federal judge ruled after the central African nation failed to appear in court.

Expert Analysis

  • HHS Advisory Highlights Free Product Inducement Risks

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    A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advisory opinion highlights concerns that valuable free products and other inducements may influence patients and providers to choose one manufacturer’s product over another, notwithstanding that such free healthcare products may be a benefit, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

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    Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.

  • In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

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    Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.

  • Del. Dispatch: The 2023 Corporate Cases You Need To Know

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    Corporate and mergers and acquisitions litigation has continued at a fevered pace this year, with the Delaware courts addressing numerous novel issues with important practical implications, including officer exculpation and buyer aiding-and-abetting liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Termination and Accrual

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    Edward Arnold and Bret Marfut at Seyfarth Shaw examine three recent decisions that illustrate why contractors should consider, during the bidding process, impediments to their ability to meet contract requirements, and the need to track the accrual dates of individual claims that may arise during performance to avoid being time-barred.

  • The Year In FRAND: What To Know Heading Into 2024

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    In 2023, there were eight significant developments concerning the fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory patent licensing regime that undergirds technical standardization, say Tom Millikan and Kevin Zeck at Perkins Coie.

  • How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

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    Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • What DOD Commercial Product Rule Means For Contractors

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    A recent amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, along with forthcoming changes to the definition of what constitutes a subcontract, will offer some relief for commercial products and services contractors, but the U.S. Department of Defense should do more to reduce regulatory burdens, say Daniel Ramish and Jonathan Shaffer at Haynes Boone.

  • How Int'l Student-Athlete Law Would Change The NIL Game

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    Recently proposed legislation to allow international student-athletes the opportunity to profit from their name, image and likeness without violating their F-1 nonimmigrant student visa status represents a pivotal step in NIL policy, and universities must assess and adapt their approaches to accommodate unique immigration concerns, say attorneys at Phelps Dunbar.

  • A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 2023 High Court Rulings

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    In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued four bankruptcy law opinions — an extraordinary number — and a close look at these cases signals that changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will have to come from Congress, not the courts, says Phillip Shefferly at the University of Michigan Law School.

  • Series

    Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 5 Steps For Healthcare Companies After Biden's AI Order

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    Rather than simply monitoring for the issuance of agency guidelines on artificial intelligence in the wake of President Joe Biden's October executive order, health and life sciences companies should take action now and begin building internal operational and technical infrastructures designed to govern the use of AI, says Joy Sharp at Faegre Drinker.

  • 7 Ways To Address Unknowns In Outsourcing Contracts

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    Amid rising business uncertainty, companies outsourcing critical functions should build flexibility into their contracts and adopt several contracting approaches to be prepared for a large range of unknown conditions, say Brad Peterson and Laura Buchanan at Mayer Brown.

  • How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • When Patients Have Standing For Hospital Antitrust Suits

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    Brown v. Hartford Healthcare Corp., recently decided by a Connecticut state court, provides a useful examination of how antitrust standing issues may be analyzed when patients directly sue a healthcare system for anti-competitive conduct, says Charles Honart at Stevens & Lee.

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