Commercial Contracts

  • April 29, 2025

    X Can't Escape Unjust Firing Claim In Severance Suit

    Three former Twitter executives can proceed with their claim that Elon Musk and the company owe them millions in severance benefits after falsely claiming they were fired justly, a California federal judge ruled, pointing to another suit mirroring nearly identical allegations.

  • April 29, 2025

    Boston Seafood Co. Says Salmon Exec Stole Trade Secrets

    A former C-suite executive and head of salmon accounts at a Boston-area seafood distributor spent months emailing sensitive trade secrets from his work account to a Norwegian competitor before joining it to launch a rival business in the U.S., according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. 

  • April 29, 2025

    3rd Circ. Denies Post-Gazette Bid To Tweak Benefits Order

    The publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette can't get the Third Circuit to clarify or tweak an order to put its newsroom employees back on their old health insurance plan, despite concerns from the newspaper company that it may not have been eligible to reenroll them in the plan and would rather go back to bargaining instead.

  • April 29, 2025

    Firm In Salmon Antitrust Case Owes Referral Fee, Suit Says

    A Boston law firm says another firm that served as co-lead counsel in a salmon purchaser antitrust case is refusing to honor a referral fee agreement for 15% of the attorney costs in the Florida litigation, according to a federal complaint filed Monday in Massachusetts.

  • April 29, 2025

    Ex-Homeland Security Secretary Joins Pillsbury As Consultant

    Former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will work as a strategic consultant at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where she'll be a senior policy adviser supporting a range of defense, national security and government practice groups, the firm recently announced.

  • April 29, 2025

    BCBS Wants Hospital Sanctioned For 'Cat-And-Mouse' Tactics

    Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina asked a federal judge to sanction a hospital company and its related entities for their purported "evasion, obfuscation, misdirection and outright misrepresentation" during discovery in a $32 million billing dispute that has gone on for seven years.

  • April 28, 2025

    Second Round Of Conn. Firm Windup Fight Sent To Arbitration

    A Connecticut state court judge has paused a derivative lawsuit that an attorney filed against his onetime 50-50 law partner at Connecticut Trial Firm LLC, sending it instead to arbitration.

  • April 28, 2025

    Wash. Judge Tosses Investor's $42M Real Estate Con Suit

    A federal judge in Seattle threw out a Las Vegas investment company's lawsuit accusing four businessmen of a $42 million fraud scheme, saying on Monday that the firm hasn't shown a "substantial part" of the allegations occurred in western Washington.

  • April 28, 2025

    Avis Hit With Investor Suit Over $2.3B Fleet Impairment

    Car rental company Avis Budget Group has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging it harmed investors when it concealed a strategy shift late last year that accelerated fleet rotation and led to a $2.3 billion impairment charge.

  • April 28, 2025

    Altice Must Show Arbitration Clause Was Sent, NJ Justices Told

    An Altice USA customer urged the New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday to revive his discrimination suit against the cellular provider, arguing that the company has provided no evidence of an arbitration agreement that precluded his claims in lower courts.

  • April 28, 2025

    FAIR Plan Failed To Pay For LA Fire Smoke Claims, Suit Says

    Another group of California homeowners has accused the state's insurer of last resort of illegally denying and underpaying claims for smoke damage following the Los Angeles wildfires despite its obligation to cover all fire-related damage under California law, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

  • April 28, 2025

    TD Bank's $3 Paper Statement Fee Breaks NY Law, Suit Says

    TD Bank faces a proposed customer class action alleging it violated New York state law with its practice of charging its customers $3 to mail them paper copies of their monthly billing statements.

  • April 28, 2025

    Wells Fargo Tells Judge Cash Sweep 'Conflict' Was Disclosed

    Wells Fargo said it should be allowed to escape customers' proposed class action alleging the bank's cash sweep investment program disproportionately benefits the bank, arguing it disclosed in its signed agreements with customers the bank's intentions to secure financial gains for itself through the program.

  • April 28, 2025

    Geico's Failure To Settle Caused $2.8M Judgment, Suit Says

    A court-appointed receiver for an at-fault driver has told a North Carolina federal court that Geico should be on the hook for a more than $2.8 million consent judgment against the driver stemming from an August 2020 crash, saying the insurer failed to settle underlying injury claims for the driver's $100,000 limit.

  • April 28, 2025

    Compass Calls Wash. Listing Service Rules Anticompetitive

    Compass told a Washington federal court that Northwest Multiple Listing Service and its broker-led board of directors have stifled competition, thwarting a product that allows home sellers to test home sales privately before registering them with the multiple listing service.

  • April 28, 2025

    'Shake & Bake': 4th Circ. Cites Ricky Bobby In NASCAR Ruling

    The Fourth Circuit on Monday called back to the satirical cult classic "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" in finding the former owners of a NASCAR team must cover the cost of a settlement involving a bank lien on their charter after they sold it to new owners.

  • April 28, 2025

    Insurance Agency Says Carrier Can't End Car Policy Program

    An insurance agency that provides specialized policies for car rental companies asked a Pennsylvania federal court to halt an insurer's plan to abruptly cancel a program through which the agency writes the policies, saying the proposed termination would cause "major disruptions" to rental companies and their customers nationwide.

  • April 28, 2025

    Texas Law Firm Beats Sanctions Ruling In Barratry Suit

    A Lone Star State appellate court has tossed a $240,000 sanctions order for a Houston personal injury firm accused of leveling unfounded barratry claims against a client's former firm, finding that the trial court's order was issued after its jurisdiction had expired.

  • April 28, 2025

    Comair Seeks Boeing Sanctions Over 737 Max Refund Letter

    Defunct airline Comair Ltd. is asking a Washington federal judge to sanction The Boeing Co. for deleting evidence of a "side letter" assuring it that its deposits to buy seven 737 Max aircraft would be fully refundable and arguing the letter never existed.

  • April 28, 2025

    Conn. Insurer Dumped Agent For Raising Red Flags, Suit Says

    A Connecticut insurance company terminated one of its agents in retaliation for his complaints about alleged illegal activity, including a concern that Allstate agents were using company log-in information "to pull Progressive quotes," according to a lawsuit in state court.

  • April 28, 2025

    'Chicken Soup' Parent, Investor Settle Mismanagement Suit

    Chicken Soup for the Soul Holdings LLC has reached a settlement with a corporate investor that accused the Redbox owner and publisher of self-help books of mismanagement prior to a subsidiary's Chapter 7 liquidation.

  • April 25, 2025

    Sutter Health To Pay $228M In Years-Old Antitrust Suit

    A class of millions of health insurance premium payors asked a California federal judge Friday to greenlight an eleventh-hour $228.5 million settlement resolving their long-running claims that hospital chain Sutter Health drives up costs by pushing all-or-nothing network deals on insurers.

  • April 25, 2025

    ​​​​​​​Calif. Justices Say Sauce Cos. Can't Cap Willful Injury Liability

    The California Supreme Court held Thursday that New England Country Foods can seek unlimited damages against a competitor for allegedly stealing its barbecue sauce recipe, answering a certified question from the Ninth Circuit that a contract provision between the companies restricting liability for willful injury is unenforceable.

  • April 25, 2025

    Mondelez Says Ghost Can't Use Sour Patch, Other Snack TMs

    Two Mondelez International subsidiaries have filed suit in Illinois to halt Ghost LLC's marketing of energy products that feature Sour Patch Kids, Oreo and certain other iconic snack brand trademarks, claiming Ghost's license to do so ended when Keurig Dr. Pepper began controlling the company.

  • April 25, 2025

    Record Cos. Say Houston Rapper Can't Support 'Still Tippin'' Suit

    A pair of record companies accused of ripping off the unofficial Houston anthem "Still Tippin'" urged a federal court Friday to dismiss the lawsuit, writing that the rapper behind the song hasn't alleged a "plausible claim."

Expert Analysis

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Precision In Jurisdiction Clauses

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    The High Court recently held that a contract requiring disputes to be heard by U.K. courts superseded arbitration agreements between long-time business affiliates, reinforcing the importance of drafting precise jurisdiction clauses that international commercial parties in multiagreement relationships will use to resolve prior disputes, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

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    Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

  • Strategizing For Renewable Energy Project Success In Texas

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    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has long been a key market for renewable energy projects, but rising financial and regulatory uncertainty means that developers and investors must prepare for inflation and policy risks, secure robust insurance coverage, and leverage tax equity transferability to ensure success, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • 4th Circ. Health Data Ruling Opens Door To State Law Claims

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    In Real Time Medical v. PointClickCare, the Fourth Circuit recently clarified that state law claims can rest in part on violations of a federal law that prohibits electronic health information blocking, expanding legal risks for health IT companies and potentially creating exposure to a range of competitive implications, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • 5 Key Licensing Considerations For AI Innovations

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    As businesses increasingly integrate artificial intelligence technology into their operations, they must prepare to address complex intellectual property challenges and questions surrounding licensing AI-based innovations, which require careful consideration of ownership, usage rights and regulatory compliance, says Lestin Kenton at Sterne Kessler.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

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    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • How The CRE Industry Is Adapting To Tariff Uncertainty

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    Amid uncertainty about pending tariffs and their potential ripple effects, including higher material costs, supply chain delays and tighter margins, commercial real estate industry players are focusing on strategic planning and risk mitigation, says Daniel Diaz Leyva at Day Pitney.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

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