Commercial Contracts

  • December 05, 2024

    Jane Street Ends Trade Secret Fight With Rival Investing Firm

    Jane Street Group LLC and Millennium Management LLC have agreed to put to rest their trade secrets dispute over a proprietary trading strategy, according to a joint stipulation of dismissal filed Thursday in New York federal court.

  • December 05, 2024

    Money Services Co.'s Arbitration Bid Revived In $9M Fraud Suit

    The Eighth Circuit on Thursday reversed an Arkansas federal judge's order denying money service business EZBanc Corp.'s motion to arbitrate financial services company BSI Group's $9 million fraud suit over alleged unauthorized withdrawals, finding there to be material factual disputes over whether an agreement to arbitrate was effectively communicated to BSI.

  • December 05, 2024

    Netgear Seeks Anti-Suit Injunction Over Huawei's Wi-Fi SEPs

    Netgear is urging a California federal judge to block Chinese router-maker Huawei Technologies from seeking injunctions through Wi-Fi patent infringement actions the company pursued in foreign courts, arguing that Huawei is trying to impose excessive royalty rates and is avoiding its commitment to license its patents on reasonable terms.

  • December 05, 2024

    Fla. Labs Say Cigna's Trial 'Confession' Erases $7.3M Verdict

    Three Florida drug testing laboratories have urged a Connecticut federal court to undo a $7.3 million jury verdict for Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. over unjustified billings, arguing a new trial is warranted after the insurer allegedly made a "confession" during opening statements that it wasn't seeking damages for itself.

  • December 05, 2024

    Apple Beats ICloud Storage Consumer Claims At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit was unconvinced Wednesday that Apple Inc. traps computer users into paying for additional iCloud storage upon reaching a 5-gigabyte backup limit, declining to revive a putative consumer class action against the technology giant.

  • December 05, 2024

    Freddie Mac Beats Suit Over Payoff Statement Fees, For Now

    A Washington federal judge has tentatively let Freddie Mac off the hook in borrowers' proposed class action alleging loan servicer Nationstar Mortgage illegally charged fees for payoff statements, ruling Thursday that Freddie Mac can't be liable for conduct it didn't authorize — even if it did own one loan at issue.

  • December 05, 2024

    First Citizens Accused Of $3M High-Yield Bait-And-Switch

    First Citizens Bank & Trust Company faces claims from an agritourism nonprofit and its registered agent that they invested $3 million with the bank expecting a competitive rate of return before finding those funds were actually in products yielding a much lower interest rate.

  • December 05, 2024

    Chinese Bank Faces New Suit Alleging Reinsurance Fraud

    Another group of insurers has accused one of China's largest banks of participating in a "multi-billion-dollar fraud" in the reinsurance market, telling a New York federal court Thursday that the bank, including its New York branch, has refused to honor over $890 million worth of letters of credit.

  • December 05, 2024

    Judge Won't Toss German Tesla Supplier From Mich. Suit

    A German Tesla supplier must stay in a breach of contract lawsuit brought by an electronics manufacturer, a Michigan federal judge has ruled, finding the foreign entity was sufficiently intertwined with its North American affiliates to give the court jurisdiction.

  • December 05, 2024

    Macy's, Bank And Parking Garage Settle $2.7M Repair Fight

    Macy's Retail Holdings has resolved litigation against it by a bank and a parking lot operator over $2.7 million in repairs and maintenance fees needed at a nearby parking garage, according to a Thursday court filing.

  • December 05, 2024

    Colo. Panel Sides With Cannabis Atty In Former Client's Suit

    The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that a cannabis attorney cannot be held liable for a former marijuana cultivator client's business failing when they violated land use rules because the attorney was no longer representing them at the time.

  • December 05, 2024

    Airbnb Customers Drop 'Assistance Fee' Suit Against Insurers

    A proposed class of Airbnb customers permanently dropped a suit accusing two of the company's insurance providers of violating Washington state law by charging an "assistance fee" when selling travel coverage.

  • December 05, 2024

    Smith Gambrell And Data Breach Victims Agree To Suit's End

    International law firm Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP and two data breach victims have agreed to end a proposed class action against the firm in California federal court.

  • December 04, 2024

    Trump Taps Ex-Sen. Loeffler For SBA, Fiserv CEO For SSA

    President-elect Donald Trump has nominated former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia, to lead the Small Business Administration and Fiserv Inc. CEO Frank Bisignano to serve as Social Security Administration commissioner, according to announcements made Wednesday.

  • December 04, 2024

    Hemp Farmers Say Bid To Nix $200M Suit Is A Smoke Screen

    Two Colorado hemp growers have urged a federal judge to keep alive their lawsuit alleging that a solar energy company's construction on nearby leased land caused more than $200 million in crop damage, arguing that contractors and subsidiaries involved in the construction don't have to be added to the suit.

  • December 05, 2024

    CORRECTED: No Error In RICO Dismissal, Softek Tells Court

    A computer management company sued by the Modoc Nation in a $14.6 million breach of contract suit has urged an Oklahoma federal judge to deny the tribe's request that he reconsider his opinion tossing racketeering claims against the company. Correction: A previous version of this article's headline mischaracterized the judge's opinion on the RICO claim. The error has been corrected.

  • December 04, 2024

    Intel, VLSI Agree To Pause Del. IP Fight Ahead Of Texas Trial

    Prodded by a federal judge in Delaware, Intel Corp. and VLSI Technology LLC agreed Wednesday to stay motions to dismiss or transfer an Intel Corp. suit over claims that it already holds licenses to patents that VLSI asserts it controls, as a similar patent battle moves forward in Texas.

  • December 04, 2024

    Insurer Owes Coverage In Florida Keys Property Sale Dispute

    A Florida state appeals court partially reversed a lower court's ruling that an insurer didn't owe two insureds a defense in an underlying suit accusing them of conspiring with a Key West property seller, finding Wednesday there were insufficient allegations to trigger a policy exclusion.

  • December 04, 2024

    Solar Co. Targeted By Conn. AG Denies Deceiving Consumers

    Bright Planet Solar Inc. has denied the Connecticut attorney general's claims that it lured unsuspecting consumers into signing long-term contracts without adequate consent and performed unauthorized home improvements, telling a court that it acted in concert with "reasonable commercial practices."

  • December 04, 2024

    Mich. Justices Doubt Shareholder Agreement Bars Debt

    A chorus of Michigan Supreme Court justices on Wednesday appeared skeptical that a sister could claim her brother's ski resort company breached an agreement for shareholder redemption by taking out debt that altered her share redemption price, pressing her attorney as to how the contract prevented the company from doing so.

  • December 04, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Allow Bookseller Group In FTC's Amazon Suit

    An independent bookstore association can't join the government's antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, the Ninth Circuit said Wednesday, with the panel's majority agreeing with the Federal Trade Commission and e-commerce giant that the trade group's allegations involve different anticompetitive conduct in different markets.

  • December 04, 2024

    Colo. Co.'s Alleged Kickback Scheme Ends In $2M Settlements

    A Colorado neuromonitoring company, its founder and two others have agreed to pay more than $2 million to end a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging they participated in a kickback scheme to get surgeons to order neuromonitoring services covered by federal programs.

  • December 04, 2024

    5th Circ. Probes $8M Payout For Allegedly Undelivered Services

    An investment company on Wednesday found itself before the Fifth Circuit having to justify paying $7.7 million for allegedly undelivered services from an affiliate, as it appeals a $2.6 million bill it got hit with for prematurely ending a contract.

  • December 04, 2024

    Building Contractor Agrees To End No-Hire Pacts

    Guardian Service Industries Inc. has agreed to stop enforcing no-hire agreements in its contracts that prevent building owners and managers from hiring the service contractor's employees after pressure from the Federal Trade Commission and state enforcers.

  • December 04, 2024

    Chase Will Settle Calif. Atty's Mortgage Rate-Lock Suit

    JPMorgan Chase Bank NA has reached a tentative, individual settlement with an attorney suing it for allegedly gouging him and other borrowers with sham mortgage rate-lock deals, heading off a potential class action.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • A Legal Perspective On NYC's Retail Real Estate Evolution

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    As New York City's retail market begins to show signs of resilience after the challenges of recent years, landlords must be cognizant of legal implications from shifting trends toward shorter-term leases and pop-up stores, says Andrea Gendel at Pryor Cashman.

  • The Fed. Circ. In October: Anti-Suit Injunctions And SEPs

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    The Federal Circuit's holding in Ericsson v. Lenovo, a complex global case involving standard-essential patents, will likely have broad consequences for practitioners, including by making it easier to obtain an anti-suit injunction, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • California Supreme Court's Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

  • How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

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    The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Service Providers Must Mitigate 'Secondary Target' Risks

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    A lawsuit recently filed in an Illinois federal court against marketing agency Publicis over its work for opioid manufacturers highlights an uptick in litigation against professional service providers hired by clients that engaged in alleged misconduct — so potential targets of such suits should be sure to conduct proper risk analysis and mitigation, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • OpenAI's Patent Pledge Is Not All It Seems

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    A recent statement that OpenAI won't assert its own patents is more of an aspiration than an obligation, and should prompt practitioners to think deeply about the underlying legal mechanisms of patent and contract law when determining the effectiveness of similar nonassertion pledges, say attorneys at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • FERC's Reactive Power Compensation Cutoff Is No Shock

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    While the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent final rule ending compensation for reactive power provided within the standard power factor range will mean less revenue for some generators, it should not come as a surprise, since FERC has long signaled its interest in this shift, says Linda Walsh at Husch Blackwell.

  • Opinion

    Feds May Have Overstepped In Suit Against Mortgage Lender

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against Rocket Mortgage goes too far in attempting to combat racial bias and appears to fail on the fatal flaw that mortgage lenders should be at arm's length from appraisers, says Drew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

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