Commercial Contracts

  • January 15, 2025

    Boeing Vexes Judge In 737 Max Records Flap With Airline

    The Boeing Co. can't use a now-defunct South African airline's loss of records to dodge a suit over fallout from a 737 Max airplane deal, a Washington federal judge has said, chiding the aerospace giant for offering thin circumstantial evidence of intent without any "smoking gun."

  • January 15, 2025

    Duke Settles Retiree's Mortality Data Suit At 4th Circ.

    Duke University told the Fourth Circuit it has agreed to settle a retiree's proposed class action claiming the school used outdated mortality data to calculate retirement benefits and underpaid former employees by millions of dollars, ending the university's attempt to send the case to arbitration.

  • January 15, 2025

    Biz Court Calls Out Biogas Co. For 'Stack' Of Broken Promises

    A North Carolina Business Court judge pondered during a sanctions hearing Wednesday whether a biogas company should be held in contempt for allegedly violating a court order, saying the company has repeatedly fallen short of its promises in a fight with lenders over funding for renewable energy projects.

  • January 15, 2025

    SMU Can't Chuck 100-Year Ties To Church, Justices Suggest

    Texas Supreme Court justices piled questions on Southern Methodist University over its split with the United Methodist Church, saying during oral arguments Wednesday that the school seemingly used "clever lawyering" over a "hot button political issue" to wrestle control from the church.

  • January 15, 2025

    Jackson Lewis Grows In Atlanta With E-Commerce Biz Atty

    Jackson Lewis PC has gained a new principal in Atlanta who formerly worked in-house for e-commerce company StockX and previously practiced with Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC.

  • January 14, 2025

    Wells Fargo Fights To Drop Officers From Investors' Bias Suit

    Wells Fargo & Co. urged a California federal judge Tuesday to free three executives from a derivative lawsuit filed by shareholders claiming the bank's leadership failed to address the company's discriminatory lending and hiring practices, saying there are no allegations that explain why a presuit demand to the board would have been futile.

  • January 14, 2025

    Enbridge Beats Ducere's Oil Transport Antitrust Suit

    Enbridge Inc. beat Ducere LLC's suit accusing it of killing a pipeline terminal project to maintain its monopoly over crude oil transportation services in the Chicago area, after an Illinois federal judge pointed out Monday there are several non-Enbridge pipeline routes providing refineries with alternatives for moving oil.

  • January 14, 2025

    Colo. Panel Iffy Ski Waiver Ruling Allows Snowboarder's Claim

    A Colorado appellate panel was skeptical on Tuesday that precedent for cracking down on ski resort waivers could apply to claims by a snowboarder injured by a resort employee driving a snowmobile, pressing the victim's lawyer to explain why the matter is not a question for lawmakers.

  • January 14, 2025

    Justices Told 'Copyrightability' Issues Must Be Left To Judges

    The justices have been asked by a defense contractor to wade into a split among circuit courts over "whether questions of copyrightability" should be decided by judges or juries.

  • January 14, 2025

    Chancery Hits Co. With $2.9M Atty Fee Bill As Sanction

    A California medical device molding company that sought millions from a merger partner for breaches of contract in Delaware's Court of Chancery came away Tuesday with awards of $104,000 for its claims and $2.9 million in attorney fees as a sanction for contempt and spoliation by Symbient Product Development LLC founder Scott Castanon.

  • January 14, 2025

    Crypto Co.'s Lax Compliance Enabled Hackers, Suit Says

    A proposed class action in California federal court accused digital asset exchange OKX of flouting U.S. laws and allowing criminals to launder stolen funds through its platform, including $725,000 worth of crypto looted from the crypto investor leading the suit.

  • January 14, 2025

    Influencer Says Capital One Steals Link Commissions

    An online content creator has filed a proposed class action against Capital One over an alleged theft of commissions she says are rightfully owed to those responsible for connecting shoppers with products.

  • January 14, 2025

    NY Appeals Court OKs Arbitration Stay In $60M Hotel Fight

    A New York appeals court has affirmed a lower court order pausing an arbitration initiated by a hotel co-owner in a $60 million dispute with another co-owner over the purported mismanagement of eight hotels nationwide.

  • January 14, 2025

    Dispute Over Eli Lilly Weight Loss Drug Reignited

    Compounding pharmacies have reignited a suit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the removal of a lucrative weight loss drug from the shortage list, with a Texas federal judge ordering both sides to turn in briefing on injunctive relief during a Tuesday hearing.

  • January 14, 2025

    Resort Developer Asks To Wind Up Chinese Co. In Bahamas

    The developer of the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas filed a petition Tuesday to liquidate a Chinese-owned construction firm that was hit with a $1.6 billion judgment last year by a New York court over its fraud tied to the construction of the resort project.

  • January 14, 2025

    Mercedes Urges 6th Circ. Redo Of Fire Coverage Ruling

    The research group for Mercedes-Benz North America has told the Sixth Circuit it should not have to reimburse the insurer of an Ann Arbor, Michigan, property it rented for a fire it inadvertently set, saying a clause in its lease prevents subrogation.

  • January 14, 2025

    Wynne Transportation Can Tap Some Of $6M DIP In Ch. 11

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge said Tuesday she will allow transportation service provider Wynne Transportation to borrow $2 million in initial debtor-in-possession financing on an interim basis, clearing the way to fund a Chapter 11 case the company launched in the wake of a nearly $33 million arbitration judgment.

  • January 13, 2025

    CFPB Eyes Rule To Rein In 'Forced' Financial Contract Terms

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday floated a new rule that calls for banning financial companies from using contractual fine print to limit consumers' legal rights or restrict their free expression.

  • January 13, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Told Google Making Up 'New Rules Of Evidence'

    A smart-home energy startup says Google and its supporters are trying to use a Federal Circuit appeal in a $20 million patent case to "craft entirely new rules of evidence out of whole cloth."

  • January 13, 2025

    Insurer Drops Dispute Over Private Equity Firm's Deals

    An excess insurer agreed Monday to drop its Massachusetts federal suit seeking to avoid coverage of two settlements made by its insured, the private equity firm Advent International, over supposed wrongful acts the company committed related to the sale of two portfolio companies to two different buyers.

  • January 13, 2025

    Blue Cross Can't Skirt NC Hospital's Defamation Claims

    A local hospital can pursue some of its defamation claims against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina in a suit alleging the health insurer wrongly denied millions of dollars in reimbursements and falsely accused the facility of fraud, a federal judge ruled Monday.

  • January 13, 2025

    Justices Seek SG Input On Private Investor Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked for the U.S. solicitor general's input on whether securities laws governing investment funds allow for a private right of action, as the high court considered weighing in on a fight between private capital investors and investment funds.

  • January 13, 2025

    CFPB Can't Get $43M Fine From Telemarketing Debt Co. Yet

    An Illinois federal judge Friday waited to order the owner of a defunct debt company to pay $43 million for misrepresenting to customers they could eliminate their student loans, pointing to a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding the accused has a right to a jury trial when financial penalties are on the line.

  • January 13, 2025

    Infowars Bidder Raises Offer As Attys Consider Auction

    A failed bidder for conspiracy-monger Alex Jones' Infowars has more than doubled the amount it would pay to acquire the website, and the parent company of satirical news site The Onion is preparing to submit its own revised bid, counsel for the trustee in Jones' Chapter 7 case said at a hearing in Texas bankruptcy court Monday.

  • January 13, 2025

    Contractor Drops Mich. Supreme Court 'Fees For Fees' Appeal

    A general contractor has moved to dismiss its Michigan Supreme Court appeal of an attorney-fee award that was slashed because the contractor was found responsible for dragging out litigation with a road agency after receiving the public records it sued the agency to obtain. 

Expert Analysis

  • Google And The Next Frontier Of Divestiture Antitrust Remedy

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    The possibility of a large-scale divestiture in the Google search case comes on the heels of recent requests of business breakups as remedies for anticompetitive conduct, and companies should prepare for the likelihood that courts may impose divestiture remedies in the event of a liability finding, say Lauren Weinstein and Nathaniel Rubin at MoloLamken.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • Exploring Practical Employer Alternatives To Noncompetes

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    With the Federal Trade Commission likely to appeal a federal court’s recent rejection of its noncompete ban, and more states limiting the enforceability of these agreements, employers should consider back-to-basics methods for protecting their business interests and safeguarding sensitive information, says Brendan Horgan at FordHarrison.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Service Agreement Lessons From July's Global Tech Outage

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    The worldwide outages recently caused by Crowdstrike Holdings' misconfigured software update highlight the need to evaluate potential IT vendors, negotiate certain service agreement terms, and review existing agreements and diligence forms to help prevent future disruptions and mitigate the fallout should one occur, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Rise Of Transpo Contractors Brings Insurance Disputes

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    As more independent contractors are contracted and subcontracted in the delivery industry, companies must be prepared to defend claims from drivers who are injured on the job as they are often seeking to establish an employment relationship with one of the entities in the chain, says Nathan Milner at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Co-Tenancy Clause Pointers For Shopping Center Landlords

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    Large retail tenants often require co-tenancy provisions in their leases, entitling them to remedies if a shopping center's occupancy drops in certain ways, but landlords must draft these provisions carefully to avoid giving tenants too much control, says Gary Glick at Cox Castle.

  • What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs

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    An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • New Lessons On Managing Earnout Provision Risks

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    Earnout provisions can be a useful tool for bridging valuation gaps in M&A, particularly in developmental-stage pharmaceutical transactions, but the Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision in Shareholder Representative Services v. Alexion sheds new light on the inherent risks and best practices for managing them, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

  • Employer Arbitration Lessons From Calif. Consumer Ruling

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    Although a California state appeals court’s recent arbitration ruling in Mahram v. Kroger involved a consumer transaction, the finding that the arbitration agreement at issue did not apply to a third-party beneficiary could influence how employment arbitration agreements are interpreted, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor Law.

  • Unpacking Jurisdiction Issues In 3rd Circ. Arbitration Ruling

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    The Third Circuit's recent ruling in George v. Rushmore Service Center could be interpreted to establish three principles regarding district courts' jurisdiction to enter arbitration-related orders under the Federal Arbitration Act, two of which may lead to confusion, says David Cinotti at Pashman Stein.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

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