Analysis

In AI Race, Trade Secret Suits Become Popular Safeguard

By Theresa Schliep

Fierce competition for artificial intelligence engineers and the relative paucity of intellectual property protections for AI technologies have companies turning to trade secret litigation as a powerful tool they can wield against competitors and former employees, attorneys say.

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Interscope Sues Summer Walker For $50M Over Record Deal

By Craig Clough

Interscope Records sued R&B star Summer Walker in Los Angeles state court, seeking at least $50 million and alleging she failed to deliver two albums and an EP before invoking California law to exit her recording agreement on the grounds that it was no longer enforceable.

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5th Circ. Backs Ginnie Mae On Reverse Mortgage Liens

By Katryna Perera

A unanimous Fifth Circuit panel affirmed a lower court's ruling in favor of Ginnie Mae in a suit Texas Capital Bank brought over the extinguishment of its lien on reverse mortgage assets, saying there is a "sound statutory basis to conclude" that Ginnie Mae has authority over the entire mortgage once an issuer defaults.

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Biotech Co.'s Egg Protein Patent Case Flops In Del. Court

By Elliot Weld

A Delaware federal judge found cracks in a biotechnology company's jurisdictional arguments in a case it brought seeking a declaration that it wasn't infringing a rival's patent covering animal-free egg protein, ruling Friday there was no imminent controversy between the companies when the lawsuit was filed.

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Qualcomm Secures $2 In License Breach, Interference Trial

By Dani Kass

Arm Holdings should pay Qualcomm $2 for breaching a licensing agreement and interfering in Qualcomm's economic relationship with Meta, a Delaware federal jury found Tuesday.

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US Steel Says Insurers Must Cover $120M Mill Cleanup

By Danielle Ferguson

U.S. Steel said several insurers must indemnify the steelmaker for costs it has incurred investigating and cleaning up contamination from a long-demolished Minnesota steel plant, telling a Pennsylvania state court the insurers have refused to pay out multiple layers of policy.

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Sen. Justice Must Cover Coal Cos.' $25M Surety Bond Debt

By Hope Patti

U.S. Senator Jim Justice must pay a surety more than $25 million after he personally promised to cover collateral and past-due premiums owed by his coal companies if they failed to stay current on their payment obligations, the Sixth Circuit ruled.

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Conn. Atty Sues Ga. Firm Over Fees From Sig Sauer Suit

By Mike Curley

An attorney who has been helping clients sue Sig Sauer Inc. for years over pistols that allegedly discharge without a trigger pull is suing a Georgia firm that he says recruited him for one such case, saying he was removed from the case and is likely to be cut out of his share of attorney fees.

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Brief

Boston Not Required To Recut Uncashed 1998 Check

By Julie Manganis

A Rhode Island company can't force the city of Boston to reissue a $150,000 check from 1998 that got lost for a quarter of a century, an intermediate Massachusetts appellate court ruled Tuesday.

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Fed. Circ. Pressed To Undo $61M IP Verdict Against Samsung

By Adam Lidgett

A nonprofit representing tech giants including Amazon, Google and Intel told the Federal Circuit on Friday the court should overturn a $61 million jury verdict against Samsung for infringing a single standard-essential 5G patent.

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Nvidia Faces Suit Over AI Training Music Data

By Adam Lidgett

An independent music licensing company has brought a lawsuit accusing Nvidia of infringing its copyrights to train its artificial intelligence models, days after dropping a nearly identical suit in the same court.

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Dolby Loses Bid To Ax InterDigital Patent From Disney Case

By Ryan Davis

A California federal judge has denied Dolby's motion seeking to invalidate an InterDigital video patent that is at issue in a related infringement suit against Disney over its streaming services, ruling that Dolby failed to show that the patent covers only an abstract idea.

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Justices Turn Away Ex-Ruby Tuesday Execs' Benefits Case

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected former Ruby Tuesday executives' bid for review of their claims that Regions Bank underpaid them after their deferred compensation benefits were liquidated in bankruptcy, turning away a case the ex-executives said presented a circuit split.

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Ex-AmTrust Atty Says Insurer Targeted Older Employees

By George Woolston

A former staff attorney for AmTrust Financial Services Inc. is suing his former employer in New Jersey state court, alleging that his firing was the result of a deliberate, yearslong campaign to purge the litigation department of older attorneys.

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Judge Probes Ex-Joe Gibbs Racing Director's Acts After Exit

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina federal judge said she had concerns Tuesday about whether the previous competition director for Joe Gibbs Racing LLC disclosed his former employer's trade secrets to a rival team in violation of a court order placing certain restrictions on his employment.

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Indicted Ex-Housing Boss Pleads 5th In Bond Fracas

By Brian Steele

The indicted former leader of two Connecticut housing authorities invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination Tuesday during a civil hearing in state court that sought to bar him from using his home to secure a $500,000 federal appearance bond.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week saw stockholders challenge Nvidia Corp.'s roughly $20 billion deal with artificial intelligence chipmaker Groq Inc., Hertz Global Holdings Inc.'s electric vehicle strategy and more than $1.5 billion in Humana Inc. stock buybacks.

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Bay Point Sues Del. Fund For Books And Records

By Jarek Rutz

Bay Point Capital Partners II LP has sued a Delaware investment fund and its general partner in the Delaware Chancery Court, seeking access to financial records and other documents after Bay Point acquired a limited partnership interest through a foreclosure earlier this year.

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Colo. Court Orders Contempt Citation Over $4.4M Hemp Debt

By Jonathan Capriel

A businessman who allegedly skipped out on a hemp seeds contract and now has an outstanding $4 million judgment against him must explain to a Colorado state court why he shouldn't be penalized for not answering questions regarding his income, bank accounts and assets, a judge said on Tuesday.

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How Evergreen Language Can Sink Landlord Credit Support

A recent pattern in court decisions interpreting letters of credit underscores the importance of using precise language when seeking evergreen protection, so landlords should seek explicit successive-renewal terms, verify issuer forms and calendar deadlines in order to preserve credit support, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

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Nelson Mullins Sued In SC Over October Data Breach

By Jake Maher

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has been hit with a proposed class action in South Carolina federal court over a data breach that took place in early October.

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Justices Won't Eye 'Weaponized' Sanctions Of Election Attys

By Jeff Overley

Despite outrage among Ninth Circuit conservatives, the U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to scrutinize six-figure sanctions of lawyers who challenged Arizona election protocols, leaving intact discipline designed to "send a message."

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Reddit Fights Proskauer's 'Hot Potato' AI Client Bid In IP Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

Reddit Inc. has urged a New York federal judge to block its former law firm Proskauer Rose from defending Perplexity AI in Reddit's suit over alleged data scraping used to train artificial intelligence models, arguing the firm can't represent Perplexity after dropping Reddit as a client like ‌a "hot potato."

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Pa. Firm Can't Toss Uber's RICO Claims Over Insurer Payouts

By Linda Chiem

A Pennsylvania federal judge allowed Uber to pursue Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims alleging a Philadelphia personal injury firm schemed with healthcare providers to fabricate medical records and inflate accident claims involving Uber and FedEx drivers, saying Uber doesn't lose standing just because its insurer paid its legal fees in underlying litigation.

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DOJ Cites Privacy Concerns In Rejecting NM Epstein Files Bid

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Department of Justice has rebuffed the state of New Mexico's request for the unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files for its investigation into possible crimes at Epstein's Zorro Ranch, saying it would hinder law enforcement operations.

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Case Dropped Against Judge Accused Of Endorsing Violence

By Madison Arnold

Ethics charges against a Florida state court judge in Jacksonville alleging he made comments appearing to endorse violence, convey bias and demean individuals during several proceedings last year have been dropped.

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What The Justices Won't Hear: A Roundup Of Cert Denials

By Taylor Bowie

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant a writ of certiorari to another batch of applications Tuesday, including cases involving six-figure sanctions, wine shipment laws and overtime claims. 

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