Commercial Contracts

  • July 24, 2025

    NJ Mall Says Insurers Owe $20M For Prop Helicopter Damage

    The owner of the American Dream mall in New Jersey said its insurers wrongfully reduced a $20.5 million claim for loss and damage caused by a decorative 2-ton helicopter falling from the ceiling of its indoor water park, according to a suit removed to federal court Thursday.

  • July 24, 2025

    Waste Management Unit Sues PE Fund Over Eviction Threat

    A Waste Management Inc. subsidiary accused its private equity fund landlord in Colorado state court of wrongfully threatening the company with eviction from its local large waste recycling facility in north Denver.

  • July 24, 2025

    Kraft Must Face Claims It Stole Overseas Distributor Database

    The Kraft Heinz Co. cannot escape a lawsuit accusing it of stealing confidential information from a business that helps U.S.-based consumer goods brands expand their markets internationally by identifying foreign distributors, an Atlanta federal judge has ruled.

  • July 24, 2025

    Columbia Sportswear Says University Breached Name Deal

    Columbia Sportswear Co. has sued Columbia University in Oregon federal court, claiming the university breached a trademark deal over their shared name by making apparel that only said "Columbia" with no other university insignia.

  • July 24, 2025

    Talent Exec Says Firm Took OnlyFans Clients, Ousted Her

    A Massachusetts talent management agency is facing a lawsuit in state court alleging it convinced a smaller competitor to bring her clients, including multiple OnlyFans performers, to the firm, then sidelined her and later broke an agreement to continue paying her commissions after she quit in frustration over her treatment.

  • July 24, 2025

    Trump Says AI Needs Free Content For Global Competition

    President Donald Trump has expressed support for letting large language model developers use copyrighted material for training their systems without payment, saying during the unveiling of his artificial intelligence action plan that licensing requirements would impede the technology's progress and give China an unfair advantage.

  • July 24, 2025

    Post-Gazette Says Union Attys Can't Get 'Market Rate' Fees

    The law firm of Jubelirer Pass & Intrieri PC should not be able to recover "market rate" attorney fees when it charged several unions at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "low bono" prices to defend pickets, the newspaper publisher told a state court.

  • July 23, 2025

    8th Circ. Hands MyPillow CEO Win In 'Prove Mike Wrong' Fight

    The Eighth Circuit on Wednesday unwound a software developer's success in forcing Mike Lindell to pay up on the $5 million "Prove Mike Wrong Challenge" by showing the MyPillow CEO was wrong about the 2020 presidential election, saying an arbitration panel overstepped in awarding the prize money.

  • July 23, 2025

    France Must Pay For Historic Fla. Shipwreck, 11th Circ. Told

    An underwater salvage outfit urged the Eleventh Circuit Wednesday to revive its suit against the French government seeking compensation for finding a 16th-century shipwreck off the Florida coast, claiming it remains disputed whether the wreck is covered by a federal bar against salvage awards.

  • July 23, 2025

    Vietnamese Investors Seek Funds Back From EB-5 Project

    Fourteen Vietnamese nationals have sued a Virginia law firm and its head attorney, seeking to cancel their $500,000 investments in a hotel redevelopment project after the federal government said it was denying their petitions for conditional permanent residency. 

  • July 23, 2025

    Texas Appeals Court Says TCPA Motion Was Filed Too Late

    A Texas appeals court on Wednesday found a company that was supposed to buy several orthodontic business assets filed a bid for dismissal under the state's anti-SLAPP laws too late, saying the motion was filed outside the 60-day window outlined in the statute.

  • July 23, 2025

    Wells Fargo Gets Partial Early Win In Processing Servicer Suit

    A Tennessee federal judge has granted a partial early win to Wells Fargo and a merchant services provider in a breach of contract suit brought by so-called independent sales organization TX Direct, finding that the contract between the parties had already been terminated when TX Direct was allegedly locked out of a merchant onboarding portal.

  • July 23, 2025

    Tendit Accuses Ex-CEO Of Illegally Raising Rent Before Exit

    A facility services company sued its former CEO this week in Colorado state court, aiming to void a lease she created with her real estate business a day before resigning that increased the company's rent by more than $7,000 per month.

  • July 23, 2025

    'No Prenup': David Geffen Accused Of Exploiting Ex-Husband

    "Masquerading as a white knight," billionaire film producer David Geffen ensnared his now-estranged, decades-younger husband Donovan Michaels with promises of love, equality and life partnership, but Geffen broke all those promises when Michaels sought independence and equal footing in their marriage, according to a complaint filed in California state court.

  • July 23, 2025

    Amazon Shoppers Protest Proposed 'Mini-Trial' On Class Cert.

    Consumers are fighting Amazon's bid for an evidentiary hearing in parallel antitrust suits before a Washington federal judge decides a pending class certification motion, insisting the company has had plenty of time to vet key opinions from the plaintiffs' economics expert.

  • July 23, 2025

    DC Co. Sues Société Générale Over $29M Loan Deal

    A District of Columbia property owner has accused Société Générale Financial Corp. in D.C. federal court of violating an agreement related to a $29 million refinancing loan when the bank corporation refused to fund the loan after realizing that it couldn't find a favorable secondary market buyer for the loan.

  • July 23, 2025

    Alaska Airlines Hit With False Ad Suit Over Reduced Flights

    Alaska Airlines was hit with a putative false advertising class action in California federal court Tuesday alleging its Flight Pass program promised cheap, fixed flight rates in return for monthly subscription payments, while hiding additional taxes, fees and significant premium charges for desirable flights and punishing cancellation policies. 

  • July 23, 2025

    Yale Wins Bid To Keep $435M Hospital Sale Suit In State Court

    A Connecticut federal judge has sided with Yale New Haven Health Services Corp., the state's largest hospital system, in sending a contract suit with a bankrupt hospital seller back to state court, finding that remand would best preserve court resources rather than transferring it to a bankruptcy judge in Texas.

  • July 23, 2025

    Chancery Denies Toss Of AT&T Cos.' Investor Payout Suits

    A Delaware vice chancellor sent toward trial Wednesday a fleet of coordinated, derivative suits seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from AT&T and affiliates for allegedly claiming excessive shares of partnership revenues, in a ruling that also limited time windows for some claims.

  • July 23, 2025

    Firm Can't Arbitrate After Filing Suit, 4th Circ. Says

    A Maryland law firm and a debt buyer cannot force a debt collection dispute into arbitration, the Fourth Circuit ruled Wednesday, finding they waived their right to arbitrate when they filed their own collective action.

  • July 23, 2025

    7th Circ. Revives Part Of Solar Firm's Panama Grid Suit

    The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday largely upheld an Illinois federal judge's ruling that Spanish energy company Avanzalia Solar could not pursue its claims that Goldwind Americas blocked and delayed access to the Panamanian power grid.

  • July 23, 2025

    Bird Marella And Bioscience Client Accused Of $87M Fraud

    An investment group that includes a "Toy Story" screenwriter is suing a Culver City, California-headquartered bioscience company and its Bird Marella attorneys in California state court, accusing them of manipulating the valuation of a company whose acquisition they funded, in order to defraud investors of $87 million.

  • July 22, 2025

    Investor Sanctioned For Ignoring Telecom Arbitration Award

    A New York federal judge has sanctioned an investor in telecommunications infrastructure firm Continental Towers LATAM Holdings Ltd. for ignoring an arbitral award issued in a bitter, yearslong dispute over control of the company, saying he hasn't done enough to vacate offending judgments in the British Virgin Islands.

  • July 22, 2025

    Wash. Appeals Court Affirms Biz Tax Rule For Drop Shippers

    The Washington Court of Appeals upheld the state's rule on Tuesday that out-of-state wholesalers in drop shipment transactions are subject to a business tax when the customer that ultimately receives the product is within the Evergreen State's borders, rejecting a challenge from California IT distributor Synnex.

  • July 22, 2025

    NY Judge Backs Calif. Bioscience Co. In $15M Arbitration Row

    A New York federal judge has ruled that a California-based bioscience company can enforce an arbitration award rejecting a more than $15 million claim asserted by a Hong Kong biopharmaceutical firm, saying there is no genuine dispute since the biopharmaceutical firm failed to respond.

Expert Analysis

  • Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals

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    If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.

  • Series

    Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.

  • 10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks

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    The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    The first quarter of 2025 was filled with the refinement of old theories in the property and casualty space, including in vehicle valuation, time to seek appraisal and materials depreciation, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: The Value Of Unified State Licensing

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    Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.

  • 10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master

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    As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.

  • Reviving A Dormant Criminal Statute In Antitrust Prosecution

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    The U.S. Department of Justice is poised to revive a dormant misdemeanor statute to resolve bid-rigging charges against a foreign national, providing important context to a recent effort to entice foreign defendants to take responsibility for pending charges or face the risk of extradition, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

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    Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

  • Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

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    Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Series

    Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

  • Digesting A 2nd Circ. Ruling On Food Delivery App Arbitration

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    The Second Circuit recently rejected Grubhub's attempt to arbitrate price-fixing claims, while allowing Uber Eats to do so, reinforcing that even broad arbitration clauses must connect to the underlying dispute and suggesting that terms of service litigation may center on websites' design and content, say attorneys at Greenspoon Marder.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

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    Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • 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.

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