Commercial Contracts

  • March 11, 2024

    Judge Blasts Instagrammer's Bid To Upend $1.6M Ruling

    A lifestyle brand headed by Instagram celebrity Dan Bilzerian could face sanctions should it continue to recycle arguments for why it shouldn't be forced to pay a $1.6 million judgment to a consulting firm it was accused of cheating, a Nevada federal judge warned in an order denying the brand's motion for reconsideration.

  • March 11, 2024

    Cathay Pacific Airways Can Arbitrate Ticket Refund Fight

    A divided Ninth Circuit on Monday reversed an order denying airline Cathay Pacific's bid to arbitrate a proposed class action over its refusal to issue refunds for canceled tickets bought through a third-party vendor, finding equitable estoppel applies since Cathay's refusal is intertwined with the vendor's terms that contained an arbitration clause.

  • March 11, 2024

    Court Mulls Fees, Potential Sanctions In NFL Poaching Case

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has ordered sports agency powerhouse CAA to pay legal fees to a rival shop for slow-walking discovery in a case over the alleged poaching of former NFL wide receiver Kenny Golladay, holding off on firmer penalties until trial.

  • March 11, 2024

    FERC Says Nixing Power Market Revision Was Right Move

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday defended its rejection of a regional grid operator's revision of its capacity market rules due to competition worries, telling the D.C. Circuit that utility giant Entergy Inc. has no basis to challenge the decision.

  • March 11, 2024

    3 Firms Seek To Lead, Combine Axos 'Bait And Switch' Cases

    Two consumers who separately sued Axos Bank over its handling of interest rates on savings deposit accounts offered through one of its online divisions have urged a California federal judge to consolidate their lawsuits and appoint three law firms representing them as interim co-lead counsel in the combined case.

  • March 08, 2024

    Justices Urged To Take Up 'Who Decides' Arbitration Question

    An international arbitration scholar has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve whether a court or an arbitrator should decide a dispute's proper venue in cases involving nonsignatories to an arbitration agreement, an issue that's arisen in antitrust litigation over National Association of Realtor rules.

  • March 08, 2024

    Split NC High Court Reopens Embattled Realty Firm

    The North Carolina Supreme Court has temporarily lifted a business shutdown order on MV Realty amid the state's claims that the company imposed predatory fees, with a dissenting justice fearing that unshackling it could put homeowners at risk of losing their homes.

  • March 08, 2024

    Lizzo, WME's Win Upheld In Calif. COVID Force Majeure Fight

    California appellate justices upheld Lizzo, Ellie Goulding and William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC's win against an organizer's breach suit over COVID-19 cancellations, finding the artists could keep their secured deposits under the contracts' force majeure provision as they showed they were ready to perform but for the force majeure event.

  • March 08, 2024

    Lizzo Seeks $85K In Fees For Partial Win In Dancers' Suit

    Pop star Lizzo has asked a California state judge for nearly $85,000 in fees to fend off her former dancers' disability discrimination and tortious interference claims, arguing that she significantly streamlined the scope of the dispute, which wasn't a "straightforward matter" and dealt with complex First Amendment issues.

  • March 08, 2024

    Abercrombie Ex-CEO Gets Legal Fees For NY Sex Assault Suit

    Abercrombie & Fitch Co. must front the legal fees of a former CEO accused of using his position to sexually abuse aspiring male models, a Delaware Court of Chancery judge ruled Friday, finding the allegations raised in a New York federal lawsuit were tied to his corporate role.

  • March 08, 2024

    Deadline Drama Briefly Threatens Suit Against Insurer VSP

    A California federal judge threatened Thursday to toss Total Vision's antitrust claims accusing eye care insurance giant VSP of hamstringing it, in what appears to be a misreading of the schedule over missed deadlines that were actually pushed back, prompting the threat's retraction the next day.

  • March 08, 2024

    No Sanctions Yet For 'Wrong More Than Right' BigLaw Atty

    A Harris County judge on Friday denied a Houston firm's request to sanction a former associate despite noting that the now-BigLaw partner "has been wrong more than he's been right" during a suit he brought over $32,000 in back wages.

  • March 08, 2024

    State Farm Beats Spas' COVID Shutdown Suit At 4th Circ.

    The Fourth Circuit sided with State Farm insurance entities Friday in tossing a coverage dispute brought by a class of spa businesses alleging they were owed under "all risk" policies after COVID shutdown orders, with the court holding that recent precedent determined similar policies dealt with physical damage, not business closings.

  • March 08, 2024

    Feds, Tribes Say Marine Cos., DOT Polluted Duwamish River

    Two companies and Washington's transportation department would collectively pay about $275,000 to settle claims they polluted the Lower Duwamish River and Elliott Bay in Seattle under a proposed consent decree filed by the U.S. government, the Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Washington state.

  • March 08, 2024

    Colo. Dispensary And Tracking Vendor Settle Fee Suit

    A Colorado state judge has called off a trial between a dispensary chain and Metrc LLC, the company contracted by the state to track cannabis sales, after the two agreed to settle a lawsuit the retailer filed over monthly fees the vendor charged for its state-mandated services.

  • March 08, 2024

    League Of Legends Maker Facing $1B Suit Over FTX Promos

    League of Legends video-game maker Riot Games has been hit with a potential billion-dollar class action accusing the company of fraud and conspiracy for its alleged role in helping deceive investors of the collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange platform.

  • March 08, 2024

    Widener U. Hit With COVID Campus Fee Refund Suit

    Pennsylvania private school Widener University has been hit with a proposed class action seeking prorated tuition and fee reimbursements over its decision to close its campus in spring 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a move which the suit says deprived students of resources they paid for.

  • March 08, 2024

    Judge Questions A La Carte Approach To Juice Tax Refunds

    Kroger and Safeway argued Friday that a plaintiff who accused them of illegally charging sales tax on juice could only seek refunds from a state agency, prompting a Washington appeals judge to ask whether customers would have to recoup payments "one juice box at a time."

  • March 08, 2024

    Colorado Firm Must Face Atty's Claim Over Alleged Retaliation

    A Colorado state judge has ruled that a personal injury firm that sued a former attorney for allegedly trying to dodge a prior judgment must face her counterclaim accusing the firm of filing a retaliatory action after she accused it of unfair labor practices.

  • March 08, 2024

    Colo. Judge Sends Pot Co. Receivership Dispute To Arbitration

    A member of a struggling cannabis cultivation and dispensary business alleging mismanagement by other owners must take its receivership battle to arbitration, after a Colorado state judge found that the company's operating agreement requires it.

  • March 08, 2024

    Coverage Capped At $300K In Crash Suit, 4th Circ. Told

    An insurer urged the Fourth Circuit to uphold a lower court's ruling restricting a couple's underinsured motorist coverage to $300,000 following a wreck, arguing that the policy's language prevails over a North Carolina statute and, as such, its payout is offset by three primary insurers' contributions.

  • March 08, 2024

    Greenberg Traurig, Attys Face Music Exec's Malpractice Suit

    A music producer has alleged in a Georgia malpractice suit that his former legal team — Greenberg Traurig LLP and a now-Barnes & Thornburg LLP attorney — actively worked against him, causing him to lose a $2.1 million deal with Warner Music Group Corp.

  • March 08, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen Barclays initiate legal proceedings against top Russian private bank JSC Alfa-Bank; Lex Greensill, founder of the collapsed Greensill Capital, suing the U.K.'s Department for Business and Trade; Wikipedia's parent company hit with a libel claim; and a sports journalism teacher filing a data protection claim against Manchester United FC. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 07, 2024

    $285M Panama Canal Case Must Be Reviewed, Justices Told

    A contractor enlisted on a multibillion-dollar project to widen the Panama Canal is urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to ignore an "open conflict" among lower courts over the vacatur standard for evident partiality, as the justices get ready to issue a certiorari decision that will likely come later this month.

  • March 07, 2024

    Petition Watch: Student Athletes, Oil Spills & Preemption

    The U.S. Supreme Court receives thousands of petitions for review each term, but only a few make the news. Here, Law360 looks at four petitions filed in the past three weeks that you might've missed: questions over whether student athletes have a business interest in being eligible to play college sports, how much oil is needed to qualify as an oil spill, whether an exemption to the Fourth Amendment applies to artificial intelligence and whether consumers can sue drug companies under state law for violating federal regulations.

Expert Analysis

  • Rethinking Tech Contract Terms For Governance Of AI Use

    Author Photo

    Traditional considerations in technology deals are often inadequate for governing artificial intelligence use, which means lawyers should revisit and reimagine existing terms across the full spectrum of relevant contracts, ranging from procurement agreements and data licenses to customer agreements, say Marina Aronchik and Samuel Hartman at Mayer Brown.

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

    Author Photo

    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

    Author Photo

    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Best Practices For Defense Tech Startup Financing

    Author Photo

    Navigating the expanding and highly regulated defense technology sector requires careful planning and execution, starting at incorporation, so startups should prepare for foreign investor issues, choose their funding wisely and manage their funds carefully, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Questions Linger Over Texas Business Court's Jurisdiction

    Author Photo

    If parties to a case in Texas' new business court do not agree on whether the court has supplemental jurisdiction over their claims, then those claims may proceed concurrently in another court — creating significant challenges for litigants, and raising questions that have yet to be answered, says Ryan Sullivan at Reichman Jorgensen.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

    Author Photo

    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Harvard's Broker Fight Shows Active Risk Management Is Key

    Author Photo

    Harvard University’s recently filed suit against its insurance broker for alleged malpractice in handling the Students for Fair Admissions claim illustrates that risk management requires the concerted effort of policyholders, brokers and insurers to protect against disastrous losses, say William McMichael and David Klein at Pillsbury.

  • Transparency And Explainability Are Critical To AI Compliance

    Author Photo

    Although there is not yet a comprehensive law governing artificial intelligence, regulators have tools to hold businesses accountable, and companies need to focus on ensuring that consumers and key stakeholders understand how their AI systems operate and make decisions, say Chanley Howell and Lauren Hudon at Foley & Lardner.

  • What Texas Business Court Could Mean For Oil, Gas Cases

    Author Photo

    While the new business court in Texas might seem an ideal venue for the numerous oil and gas disputes litigated in that state, many of these cases may remain outside its reach under the rules governing the court's jurisdiction — at least for now, say Conrad Hester and Emily Fitzgerald at Alston & Bird.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

    Author Photo

    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • SEC Fines Mean Cos. Should Review Anti-Whistleblower Docs

    Author Photo

    The Securities and Exchange Commission’s expanding focus on violations of whistleblower protection laws — as seen in recent settlements where company contracts forbade workers from reporting securities misconduct — means companies should review their employment and separation agreements for language that may discourage reporting, says Caroline Henry at Maynard Nexsen.

  • Sellers Seeking Best Deal Should Focus On Terms And Price

    Author Photo

    Rising interest rates and a decline in the automotive mergers and acquisitions market mean that a failed deal carries greater stakes, and sellers therefore should pursue not only the optimum price but also the optimum terms to safeguard their agreement, says Joseph Aboyoun at Fox Rothschild.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

    Author Photo

    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Del. Dispatch: Refining M&A Terms After Twitter Investor Suit

    Author Photo

    The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Crispo v. Musk — invalidating a merger agreement provision that has been commonly used to disincentivize buyers from wrongful merger termination — should cause target companies to consider new approaches to ensure the payment of lost premium damages, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

    Author Photo

    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

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.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!