5th Circ. Backs 'Geek Therapy' Co. In Roleplay Game IP Battle

By Adam Lidgett

The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday sided with a "geek therapy" company in a suit claiming it infringed the intellectual property rights of a role-playing game developer after their partnership soured, saying a licensing agreement allowed the company to use the content of the game.

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1st Circ. Revives Temu Suit Against IP Atty, Citing Jurisdiction

By Hailey Konnath

The First Circuit has revived Chinese e-commerce company Temu's lawsuit accusing an intellectual property attorney of lying to secure settlements with a pair of clients, finding that the lower court failed to consider jurisdictional questions.

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Woman Tells 11th Circ. Sexual Assault Gag Clause Is Invalid

By Carolina Bolado

A woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted by her former intimate partner asked the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to overturn a $2.7 million judgment against her for breaching a confidential agreement with the ex-partner, arguing the question of the contract's validity is one for a jury.

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NJ Justices Skeptical Court Can Void Jersey City Sewer Pact

By George Woolston

The New Jersey Supreme Court appeared skeptical Wednesday that it had the authority to void a decades-old settlement agreement requiring Jersey City to pay for the water treatment costs of nine municipalities, with justices questioning whether they were being asked to overrule the state's sewage authority law.

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Insurers Must Face Roofer's Contract Claims, Split Panel Says

By Hope Patti

A split North Carolina state appeals court on Wednesday revived 41 lawsuits brought by a commercial roofing contractor accusing insurers of wrongfully refusing to pay out storm damage repair claims that homeowners assigned under their policies, saying the company adequately pled valid assignments of rights.

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Fla. Jury Hears Suit Over Pact To Sell Mike Tyson-Brand THC

By David Minsky

A Florida state court trial commenced Wednesday in a dispute involving a company licensed to sell Mike Tyson-brand cannabis products, with former business partners telling jurors differing accounts on whether a valid agreement splitting ownership was formed. 

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Analysis

Attys Consider Corporate Implications Of Blue Texas

By Spencer Brewer

Texas attorneys have already started weighing new strategies in the wake of Texas' historic blue shift, led by a new attorney general and a new governor who have pledged to bring more industry regulation and consumer protections to the Lone Star State.

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Delta Can't Toss Flyers' Windowless 'Window' Seat Fee Suit

By Lauren Berg

Delta Air Lines Inc. cannot shutter a proposed breach of contract class action brought by flyers who accuse it of charging premium fees for windowless seats that are misleadingly advertised as having windows, a New York federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying their claims are not preempted by federal law.

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Colo. Co. Accused Of Misusing $400K Loan For HHS Deal

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado public benefit corporation breached a loan agreement by failing to use the $400,000 loan for its intended purpose and instead diverting the loan to settle a nearly $600,000 civil penalty with a federal government agency, according to a lender's lawsuit in Colorado state court.

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Lender Says Del. Court Wrongly Voided $20M Loan Liens

By Jarek Rutz

A lender urged the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive its claim to $20.4 million in security interests tied to loans to collapsed technology company Bitwise Industries, saying a contract protected it even if the company's executives lacked authority to pledge real estate as collateral.

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Brands Urge 5th Circ. Not To Revive X's Ad Boycott Suit

By Matthew Perlman

Mars, CVS, Nestlé and other brands have told the Fifth Circuit a lower court was right to toss X Corp.'s advertising boycott case, arguing the social media platform sued only because it lost customers to competitors after being acquired by Elon Musk.

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Anthem Fights Rework Of Neurosurgery Group Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

A pair of Anthem units are pushing back against a Long Island, New York, neurosurgery practice's bid to file an amended complaint accusing the insurer of driving down reimbursement rates, telling a New York federal court the changes fail to fix the problems that resulted in a previous dismissal.

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Hemp Vape Maker Ditches Most Claims In THC Content Suit

By Mike Curley

A Texas federal judge has dismissed most of the claims from a smoke shop and its owners alleging Delta Munchies LLC misrepresented the THC content of its vape products, leaving only a breach of implied warranty claim to go forward.

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Full Policy Payment May Not Bar Insurer Bad Faith In 9th Circ.

Establishing that an insurer acted within its contractual rights likely disposes of a breach-of-contract claim, however, following the Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Quilbillies v. First American Title Insurance, the same showing may not dispose of bad faith, says Tracy Garcia at Cozen O'Connor.

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How Contracts Can Address Agentic AI Monitoring Risk

In light of two recent OpenAI incidents of artificial intelligence agents disabling their monitoring safeguards, companies deploying agentic AI should draft contracts reflecting the possibility that controls can fail, and identify who controls each safeguard, whether the AI agent can interfere, and how a failure will be detected, say attorneys at Zova Law.

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Opinion

The Invisible AI Danger That May Undermine Legal Profession

A public database tracking cases involving hallucinations generated by artificial intelligence recently surpassed 2,200 entries, but the bigger risk underlying attorneys’ use of such tools is that they will slowly surrender their judgment to AI and lose analytical skills, says Massachusetts District Court Associate Justice Brian Palmucci.

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Faegre Drinker Hires Morgan Lewis Tax Specialist In Philly

By Jack Rodgers

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP has hired a Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP tax associate to join its Philadelphia office as a partner working on federal income tax and other tax matters, according to a Wednesday announcement.

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Controversial DOJ Civil Rights Division Leader Steps Down

By Alison Knezevich

Harmeet K. Dhillon, a U.S. Department of Justice official who instituted dramatic changes as leader of the Civil Rights Division, has stepped down from her role.

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Analysis

Racing Against Whistleblowers Could Cost Companies

By Phillip Bantz

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud threatens to ramp up the pressure on companies to hurry internal investigations and quickly report suspected misconduct to the government before whistleblowers do, which could backfire in some cases, according to experts.

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Which GCs Sold Stock In Oct.? Chevron, Micron & More

By Sue Reisinger

If Halloween threw a scare into legal chiefs, it didn't keep them from selling company stock in October. Chevron's R. Hewitt Pate and United Therapeutics' Paul Mahon each sold nearly $10 million worth, while Michael Ray of Micron was a distant third with $5.88 million in sales last month.

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Maynard Nexsen Adds 9 Constangy Attys Across 3 States

By Christine DeRosa

Maynard Nexsen PC said Thursday the firm has added nine labor and employment attorneys from Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete LLP, expanding its presence in New York, New Jersey and Missouri.

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Sullivan & Cromwell Brings On Weil Capital Markets Leader

By Isaac Monterose

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has hired the co-leader of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's capital markets team for a capital markets partner role in its New York City office, the firm announced Thursday.

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Toshiba, DTE Are Worlds Apart On Bond For $394M Judgment

By Melanie Dorsey

Toshiba Corp. urged a Michigan federal judge Thursday to limit its appeal bond to $37 million rather than the $549 million sought by two Michigan utilities, arguing that a state law capping appeal bonds should apply as the company challenges a $394 million judgment over a botched power plant overhaul.

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Trump's Hush Money Conviction Examined By Wary NY Panel

By Frank G. Runyeon

A New York State appellate court Thursday quizzed attorneys for President Donald Trump and state prosecutors over his hush-money conviction, exploring defense counsel's claims that the district attorney trespassed into federal jurisdiction by charging election violations and trampled on presidential immunity in a case "infected with multiple fatal errors."

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