Hospitality

  • February 14, 2024

    Insurer Wants Out Of Covering SC Club Shooting

    A Nationwide unit has told a South Carolina federal court it doesn't have to defend a nightclub operator against a former patron's negligence suit, arguing that an assault and battery exclusion in its liquor liability policy bars coverage for the claimant's shooting-related injuries.

  • February 14, 2024

    Hospitality Cos. Seek To Sink Trafficking Survivor's Suit

    Choice Hotels International Inc., Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. and other hotel companies are urging an Ohio federal judge to end a suit from a sex trafficking survivor alleging they allowed crimes against her to continue, with Choice Hotels eyeing dismissal and the other defendants seeking early wins.

  • February 13, 2024

    Hilton And Franchisee Defeat NC Sex Trafficking Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge on Tuesday threw out a suit by an anonymous accuser who says she was the victim of sex trafficking at a Hampton Inn, finding she did not allege in her complaint any wrongdoing under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act by the hotel's franchisee and its Hilton franchisor.

  • February 13, 2024

    Wyndham Gets Default Win In Timeshare Exit Suit

    A Florida federal judge has granted Wyndham Vacation Ownership Inc. a default victory in its lawsuit accusing multiple companies of levying unnecessary fees to help customers exit their timeshares, after adopting a magistrate's report and recommendation when one company failed to respond.

  • February 13, 2024

    Insurer Can't Toss Claims As Sanctions In Hotel Fire Suit

    A Colorado federal judge has rejected an insurer's request to toss a construction contractor's counterclaims as sanctions for discovery failures in a dispute over a $3 million hotel fire, with the judge finding no problems with a magistrate judge's decision to instead award attorney fees and costs.

  • February 13, 2024

    Fla. Casinos Ask Justices To Undo Seminole Gaming Compact

    Two Florida casino operators are asking the Supreme Court to reverse a lower federal court's decision that said a compact allowing online sports betting off tribal lands between the Sunshine State and the Seminole Tribe is lawful, arguing that the outcome of the case could set a nationwide precedent as an end-run around state and federal limitations in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

  • February 13, 2024

    Restaurants Trying To Derail Chicken Deals, 7th Circ. Told

    Direct broiler chicken purchasers who've inked nearly $285 million in price-fixing settlements blasted Boston Market and other restaurants' attempts to stop an $8 million deal from Simmons Foods, telling the Seventh Circuit the companies are trying to illegally unwind a strategic mistake. 

  • February 13, 2024

    Colo. Justice Says Something 'Wrong' With Ski Lift Waivers

    A Colorado Supreme Court justice appeared unsettled on Monday by a ski resort's argument that it could free itself from most liability by requiring guests to sign waivers before riding a ski lift, saying the industry seems to be subverting the will of state lawmakers.

  • February 13, 2024

    Hotel Rental Co. Hid Litigation And Failed Deal, Suit Says

    Real estate company LuxUrban Hotels has been hit with a proposed class action alleging it lied about a 25-year deal with the Royalton Hotel in New York and multiple lawsuits over unpaid rent, which it says caused shares to decline after a short-seller report disclosed the issues.

  • February 13, 2024

    Starbucks Made Statements With Actual Malice, Union Says

    Workers United accused Starbucks of posting statements with actual malice that relate to the union's now-deleted tweet saying "Solidarity with Palestine," telling a Pennsylvania federal court that the coffee chain implied that the union "committed a felony."

  • February 13, 2024

    NY Court Refuses To Toss E. Coli Suit Against Salad Chain

    A New York appellate panel on Tuesday refused to toss a suit seeking to hold Chopt Creative Salad Co. LLC liable for a woman's E. coli food poisoning, allegedly due to eating contaminated spinach in a sandwich, saying that she had shown sufficient testimony and tests to go to trial.

  • February 13, 2024

    ESPN Bet To Launch In NY After Sports Betting Licenses Deal

    Penn Entertainment Inc. revealed Tuesday that it is acquiring New York mobile sports wagering licenses from Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised Wynn Interactive Holdings for $25 million, allowing the entertainment giant to launch ESPN Bet in the state.

  • February 13, 2024

    Ex-DraftKings Exec's Attys Seek $310K For Court Pingpong

    Lawyers for a former DraftKings Inc. executive who recently defected to rival Fanatics are seeking more than $310,000 in attorney fees, arguing the amount is reasonable and would cover their work for two "objectively unreasonable" removals of the case to federal court by DraftKings, behavior they called "disturbing litigation conduct."

  • February 13, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    A pizza chain, an energy company, a medical-device maker and a Manila casino were all hit with book-and-record demands last week in Delaware's Court of Chancery. A shoe company also walked away from a shareholder suit, two cryptocurrency companies tallied the costs of a broken merger, and three cigarette giants argued over Florida settlement payments.

  • February 13, 2024

    Insurer Says Fire Co. Owes $3.7M For Hotel Water Damage

    A fire protection and security services company must pay more than $3.7 million for water damage at an Ohio hotel, a Liberty Mutual unit told an Ohio federal court, arguing that the damage was caused by the company's negligence in maintaining a fire sprinkler system.

  • February 12, 2024

    Justices Asked To Ignore 'Unremarkable' McDonald's Ruling

    Former McDonald's workers urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to review the hamburger chain's appeal of a Seventh Circuit ruling reviving a proposed class action targeting the company's since-discontinued franchise agreement's no-poach provisions.

  • February 12, 2024

    Activists Ask Justices To Reverse Calif. Tribal Casino Approval

    An anti-casino advocacy group has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit decision that upholds the dismissal of its suit, claiming the federal government erred when finding that the Ione Band of Miwok Indians is eligible to open a casino in California.

  • February 12, 2024

    Judge Amends Camp Operator's $1M Surety Bond Order

    A federal district judge has agreed to modify a Montana campground operator's $1 million surety bond stay order pending an appeal to the Ninth Circuit, saying the company's proposed substitution of its projected net income for 2024 raises questions about its reported principal income.

  • February 12, 2024

    Customer Can Sue Closed Bowling Alley For Slip-And-Fall

    A Michigan appeals court won't spare the former operator of a Detroit-area bowling alley from a man's slip-and-fall lawsuit, saying she missed her opportunity to shutter her companies in such a way as to shorten the window when civil liability claims could be filed.

  • February 09, 2024

    2 Women Get $24.5M Award In Philly Motel Trafficking Claims

    An arbitrator has awarded $24.5 million to two women forced into prostitution as teenagers at the Philadelphia motel where they were subject to human trafficking, their lawyers said Friday, which the motel's owner will have to pay.

  • February 09, 2024

    Fla. Judge Won't Halt Alleged 'Payback' By Miami Official

    A Florida federal judge on Friday declined to issue an injunction against a Miami city commissioner who's accused of continuing his campaign of retaliation against two business owners despite a $63.5 million judgment against him for the same conduct, saying the proposed order is too vague.

  • February 09, 2024

    DC Circ. Mulls NLRB Finding That Starbucks Broke Labor Law

    The D.C. Circuit seemed split Friday morning on whether Starbucks had stepped on labor law by barring a worker from passing out pro-union pins on the store floor during company time, which the manager said included paid breaks.

  • February 09, 2024

    Insurer Settles $1.7M Fluorescent Sign Fire Damage Suit

    United Fire & Casualty Co. reached a settlement in its $1.7 million suit against a Texas sign-making company, resolving its bid to recover funds paid to a bed and breakfast after a fluorescent sign caught fire and damaged the property.

  • February 09, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Restore Sex Trafficking Suit Against Ga. Hotel

    The Eleventh Circuit on Friday rejected a woman's attempt to revive her lawsuit claiming that a Georgia hotel owner knowingly benefited from years of her forced prostitution, ruling there wasn't enough evidence to show the company took part in sex trafficking.

  • February 09, 2024

    Texas Hilton Hotel Tells DOJ It Will Comply With ADA

    An Austin, Texas, hotel has inked an agreement with the federal government to train its staff to provide equal services to guests after a disabled woman complained about her alleged treatment to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Expert Analysis

  • ChatGPT Can't Predict The Future Of Antitrust And AI (Yet)

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    Though OpenAI's ChatGPT has made artificial intelligence a popular topic of conversation recently, the subject of AI and antitrust has been around for years, raising the question of what other competitive concerns might arise as the technology becomes more sophisticated and ubiquitous in our marketplace, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification

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    With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.

  • Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled

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    In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.

  • 5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World

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    As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.

  • Opinion

    Bar Score Is Best Hiring Metric Post-Affirmative Action

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies, law firms looking to foster diversity in hiring should view an applicant's Multistate Bar Examination score as the best metric of legal ability — over law school name or GPA, says attorney Alice Griffin.

  • How End Of Forced Arb. Is Affecting Sex Harassment Cases

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    A little over a year after the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault Act became effective, we have started seeing substantive interpretation of the EFAA, almost exclusively from the U.S. district courts in New York, and there are two key takeaways for employers, says Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • 5 Strategies For Restructuring Underperforming CRE Loans

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    With commercial real estate industry conditions expected to deteriorate further in the coming months, market participants should consider a number of strategies to help resolve challenged investments, ranging from financial restructurings to project phasing, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback

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    Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.

  • Steps To Success For Senior Associates

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.

  • How To Avoid A Zombie Office Building Apocalypse

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    With national office vacancy rates approaching 20%, policymakers, investors and developers will need to come together in order to prevent this troubling trend from sucking the life out of business districts or contaminating the broader real estate market, say Ryan Sommers and Robyn Minter Smyers at Thompson Hine.

  • Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities

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    At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.

  • Calif. Whistleblower Decision Signals Change For Employers

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    Because the California Supreme Court's recent The People v. Kolla's decision significantly expands employee whistleblower protections, employers should ensure that internal reporting procedures clearly communicate the appropriate methods of reporting and elevating suspected violations of law, say Alison Tsao and Sophia Jimenez at CDF Labor Law.

  • Opinion

    Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice

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    The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • Avoiding Negative Tax Consequences In Loan Modifications

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    Borrowers who may be caught in the dramatic uptick in nonperforming commercial real estate loans should consider strategies to avoid income and capital gains tax that may be triggered by loan modifications, says Aman Badyal at Glaser Weil.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks

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    Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.

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