Mass. Justices Say Gym's Waiver Not Valid In Child Injury Suit

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court ruled Tuesday that a children's gymnastics school cannot rely on a liability waiver to shield itself from claims brought on behalf of a child injured during a class, reviving a negligence lawsuit against the facility.

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JPMorgan Can't Reclaim $45M For Frank Fraud, Investors Say

By Jarek Rutz

Three investors in college financial aid startup Frank told the Delaware Chancery Court on Tuesday that JPMorgan Chase Bank NA waived the $45 million in claims it wants to recover from the fraudulent $175 million acquisition of Frank.

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Reynolds Says Delaware Ruling Didn't Cause Tobacco Loss

By Jarek Rutz

Reynolds American Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. urged the Delaware Chancery Court on Tuesday to dismiss Philip Morris' lawsuit over a $112 million tobacco settlement it called a windfall for Reynolds, arguing a Delaware indemnification ruling did not cause their rival to pay the state of Florida any more money.

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Josh Cellars Parent Owes Ex-President Royalties, Jury Told

By Aaron Keller

The companies behind Josh Cellars wines breached an agreement to distribute trademark royalties to a former company president who owned 20% of a holding entity, all because the family that controlled the brand wanted to keep the money for themselves, a Connecticut jury heard Tuesday.

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Huawei's Iran Dealings Were No Secret To Banks, Jury Hears

By Stewart Bishop

Counsel for Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. on Tuesday displayed a trove of documentary evidence as the company seeks to refute charges that it violated sanctions and defrauded banks, including HSBC Group and Standard Chartered PLC, suggesting that lenders were well aware of its business dealings in Iran.

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DaVita, Fresenius Sued By Wash. AG Over Noncompete Terms

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Attorney General's Office accused for-profit kidney dialysis providers DaVita and Fresenius of illegally barring specialists contracted as medical directors from taking on similar roles at other local dialysis centers, thwarting competition and ultimately diminishing patient options, according to a new lawsuit.

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Toyota Insurance Loses TRO Bid In Farmers Underwriting Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Delaware Chancery Court judge has denied Toyota Insurance's request to pause policy renewal letters slated to start rolling out this week from underwriter Farmers Insurance Exchange, saying the automaker waited too long before filing its contract breach suit against Farmers, and now there's insufficient time to craft a workable temporary restraining order.

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Colo. Justices To Resolve Split On Insurer Disclosure Law

By Rachel Konieczny

The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to resolve an appellate court split over whether state law imposes a penalty or damages against an insurer for failing to comply with a statute requiring it to provide certain policy information to claimants.

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Netflix Unable To Get Video IP Suit Thrown Out Under Alice

By Ryan Davis

A federal judge sitting in Delaware has rejected Netflix's attempt to escape a suit alleging that it infringed three video patents owned by an Irish licensing company, finding that the streaming giant hadn't shown that the claimed inventions are ineligible for patenting.

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Google Falls Short In Renewed SerpApi Scraping Suit

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has again found that Google's copyright infringement suit against internet scraping service SerpApi was deficient, saying the suit did not allege enough for the court to infer that the content at issue met the level of creativity for protection, but the judge allowed Google another chance to amend its case.

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Ex-NBA Player, Longtime Atty Settle Legal Malpractice Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

Former NBA player Chris "Birdman" Andersen and an attorney whom he claimed failed to protect his intellectual property in a documentary film deal about his life and ruined his in-laws' crepe business have settled the legal malpractice lawsuit, a joint notice filed Tuesday in Colorado state court shows.

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Ex-NASCAR Exec Says Discovery Shows He Stole No Secrets

By Nadia Dreid

The ex-competition director for one of NASCAR's biggest teams says he beats claims that he ran off to join the competition with his old employer's trade secrets in his pocket, telling a North Carolina federal court that Joe Gibbs Racing still can't show he ever shared anything he wasn't supposed to.

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Investment Firm Says Analyst Used AI To Steal Source Code

By Brian Steele

A research analyst for the quantitative trading arm of investment firm Point72 LP used company-provided artificial intelligence programs to extract proprietary source code so he could bring it to a competitor, according to a Connecticut state court lawsuit.

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Blue Cross Appeals Denial Of Ford Health Benefits Discovery

By Susan Smiley

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has asked a federal judge to reconsider a magistrate judge's ruling that rebuffed its attempt to obtain discovery from Ford Motor Co. and rejected its requests for additional depositions in an antitrust lawsuit brought by the automaker.

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Chinese Co. Asks Fla. Court To OK $1.5M Plane Parts Award

By David Minsky

A Chinese aviation company has asked a Florida federal court to confirm a $1.5 million foreign arbitration award in a dispute over undelivered aircraft parts, saying a tribunal found a Sunshine State company didn't fulfill its contract obligations. 

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Dechert Hires Alston & Bird Atty For NYC Global Finance Team

By Isaac Monterose

Dechert LLP has hired an Alston & Bird LLP partner who's worked on residential and commercial mortgage loan deals as a partner on its global finance team in its New York City office, the firm announced Tuesday.

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Planning Personal Phone Collections Before Discovery Begins

For counsel planning a personal phone collection as part of the litigation discovery process, it's important to take early steps to ensure that necessary information will be obtained without exposing unrelated information or running into access issues, says Jeremy Horowitz at MARA Forensics.

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How A Child Of Immigrants Defends Abrego Garcia

By Corey Rothauser

Hecker Fink attorney Jeffrey Then grew up translating English-language letters for customers at his Dominican immigrant family’s Bronx business. Decades later, he drew on that experience while defending Kilmar Abrego Garcia from federal human smuggling charges, becoming a lifeline for Abrego Garcia during his detention.

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Q&A

John Morgan On Why Luck Matters More Than Most Admit

By Y. Peter Kang

John Morgan, founder of personal injury giant Morgan & Morgan PA, built the largest personal injury firm in the U.S., with 1,110 attorneys in 140 locations. In his new memoir, "Life Is Luck," the attorney who Forbes estimates has a net worth of $1.5 billion argues that success is about more than talent, intelligence or determination. It is also about recognizing opportunities, taking risks and capitalizing on fortunate breaks when they appear.

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Wachtell To Probe Nvidia CEO's Affair With Alleged China Spy

By Anna Scott Farrell and Sue Reisinger

Nvidia has hired Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz to lead an investigation into allegations that its founder and CEO had an affair with a business executive who U.S. intelligence believes is a Chinese spy, the artificial intelligence chipmaker said Tuesday.

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Grassley Defends Rush To Confirm Trump Judicial Picks

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday defended how quickly the committee is moving to confirm President Donald Trump's judicial picks before Democrats control the Senate.

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Trump Swaps Out Blocked 8th Circ. Nominee With Ark. Justice

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Tuesday withdrew his pick for the Eighth Circuit and replaced him with a different nominee amid apparent opposition from Arkansas' senators. 

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Girardi Estate's $54M Claim Put Behind Other Creditors

By Craig Clough

The trustees overseeing Tom Girardi's and his former law firm's bankruptcies struck a deal to put their claims against each other behind other approved general unsecured claims, according to a California bankruptcy court filing, with the firm's trustee saying neither estate is expected to collect on those claims.

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