AstraZeneca Immune In Vax Trial Contract Suit, 10th Circ. Says

By Rae Ann Varona

The Tenth Circuit on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling that AstraZeneca lacked immunity from an experimental COVID-19 vaccine trial participant's lawsuit seeking medical compensation after she suffered debilitating injuries, saying a federal statute providing immunity for vaccine developers covers her contract breach claims.

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8th Circ. Says Vendor Didn't Show Major Harm In Bank IP Fight

By Ivan Moreno

The Eighth Circuit on Thursday upheld a Missouri federal judge's refusal to block Commerce Bank from using software that a vendor alleges was developed with its trade secrets, ruling the vendor failed to show it was likely to suffer harm that could not be remedied later.

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Panel Says Interest Must Wait Until Drilling Costs Are Repaid

By Zach Dupont

A Colorado appellate panel unanimously held Thursday in a first impression ruling that the holder of an overriding royalty interest carved out of a nonconsenting oil and gas owner's stake can't collect payments until consenting owners who fronted development costs have recovered those costs and a statutory penalty.

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Judge OKs $27.5M Cost Agreement For Calif. Cleanup Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

A California federal judge Wednesday approved a $27.5 million agreement a Golden State regulator and seven companies submitted for litigation over the cleanup of a former lead smelting and battery recycling facility near Los Angeles.

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Colo. Panel Clarifies Reach Of Insurer Responsibility Law

By Hope Patti

The Colorado Insurance Code's reference to "unfair business practices" in a statute governing insurers' responsibility for the acts of their producers is not limited to various "unfair methods of competition" and "unfair or deceptive acts or practices," a state appeals court said in a matter of first impression Thursday.

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Ga. Insurer Row Can't Precede $600K Appeal, Client Says

By Emily Johnson

A sushi chef appealing a nearly $600,000 default judgment in an underlying action urged a Georgia federal court to toss an insurer's suit against him and his former counsel, arguing that his appeal should be handled first.

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Elavon, Paychex Hit With Suit Over 'Junk' Fees

By Kia Fatahi

Two payment services providers systematically charged North Carolina businesses "junk" fees totaling almost $100 every month, according to a new proposed class action.

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Asset Management Exec Sues To Void 2008 Noncompete

By Julie Manganis

The former president of Boston-based Weiss Asset Management asked a Massachusetts court on Wednesday to invalidate a three-year noncompete and five-year trading restriction he signed fresh out of college in 2008, as the company seeks to block him from taking a new job with Millennium Management.

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'Internal Affairs' Doctrine Trims Pa. Gas Investors' Lawsuit

By Matthew Santoni

A federal judge trimmed a Pennsylvania family's lawsuit claiming two oil and gas companies wrongly failed to pay out dividends for their shares, reasoning that while the family could make some claims as individual investors, they could not demand to oust board members and shut down one company because those were "internal affairs" under Delaware law.

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Chemours Tells 4th Circ. To Deny Refrigerant Antitrust Suit

By Bryan Koenig

DuPont spinoff The Chemours Co. FC LLC urged the Fourth Circuit not to revive an antitrust suit from a refrigerant distributor alleging it was effectively denied access to a key refrigerant, arguing Wednesday that there's nothing monopolistic about refusing to sell "on the plaintiff's own preferred terms."

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RTX Contractor's Defenses Trimmed In $1.8M Contract Case

By Madeline Lyskawa

A Connecticut state judge dismissed most of consulting firm Delaware North America LLC's counterclaims against its subcontractor as unripe in litigation accusing the firm of failing to pay $1.8 million for out-of-scope data extraction work completed under an IT services contract with RTX Corp.

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Team Systems Execs Seek Recusal In Ch. 7 Clawback Suit

By Ben Zigterman

Former executives of bankrupt government contractor Team Systems International asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to recuse himself from the contractor's Chapter 7 case and a $14 million clawback case against the executives by the Chapter 7 trustee.

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$1.26M Cannabis Retail Dispute Headed To Mediation

By Jonathan Capriel

The cannabis companies behind the Stiiizy brand have agreed to take into mediation a $1.26 million dispute with a San Diego-based retailer, with a Los Angeles County judge ordering a pause in the pending litigation.

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Series

Being A Singer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Before law school, I spent seven years trying to make it as a professional singer in Los Angeles, and nearly everything I learned about preparation, humility, confidence and more has followed me into my legal practice, says Jessica Caterina at Moses & Singer.

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How Does In-House Pay Compare? Take The Law360 Survey

How do in-house salaries vary across industries, roles, and organizational revenue? What compensation tools are companies using to lure top talent? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Compensation Survey.

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Simpson Thacher Warned Co. About Deal Terms, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

A retired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner who handled the fundraising vehicle alleged to have destroyed Patriot National Inc. told a Florida jury Thursday that he flagged deal terms that later became detrimental to the insurance services company.

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ABA Rips DOJ's 'Absurd' Firm Subpoenas In Documents Fight

By Emily Sawicki

The American Bar Association has blasted as "absurd" the government's move to subpoena law firms as an attempt to avoid a documents request from the organization amid allegations the Trump administration worked to intimidate law firms into conforming with his policy goals through executive orders last year.

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Judge's Deportation Probe 'Off The Rails,' DOJ Tells DC Circ.

By Britain Eakin

The Trump administration urged the full D.C. Circuit to either order U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to terminate his criminal contempt inquiry into the administration's Alien Enemies Act removals last year, or order him to forgo live testimony in the probe.

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Jack Smith's Lawyers Say Criminal Referral Twists Testimony

By Courtney Bublé

Former special counsel Jack Smith's legal team has said the criminal referral a U.S. Congress member sent the Department of Justice to investigate Smith is based on a "spurious claim."

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500-Member NYC Public Defender Union Ends Strike

By Andrea Keckley

The first and so far only New York City public defender union to go on strike this year announced on Wednesday that its approximately 500 members are returning to work after reaching a tentative agreement with their managers.

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Patent Atty Sues USPTO Over 'Flawed' Disciplinary Procedure

By Hailey Konnath

An Ohio patent lawyer Thursday accused the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office of using an unlawful "pay for play" system for its disciplinary proceedings against attorneys, claiming the disciplinary proceedings are "inherently biased" and rigged against him and others facing discipline.

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Senate Confirms 2 Judges, Advances Ohio And Colo. Picks

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Thursday voted 48-47 to confirm Judge Daniel Traynor of the District of North Dakota to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and 49-44 to confirm Antonio M. Pozos, a partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, as a judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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