Commercial Contracts

  • November 06, 2024

    Customers Look To Preserve Lead Class Action Against AT&T

    AT&T shareholders are telling a Texas federal judge that the company acted with scienter when it allegedly misled investors about the removal of lead-covered copper cables from its network, pushing back on AT&T's motion to dismiss the suit stemming from a drop in the company's stock price.

  • November 06, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives Authors' Breach Claim Against McGraw Hill

    The Second Circuit has partially restored a breach of contract claim from a would-be class action that alleged McGraw Hill shortchanged textbook authors on royalties from e-book sales, saying there was merit to one of their arguments relating to contract language.

  • November 06, 2024

    Seattle Judge Wants Plaintiff's Comms In IPad Antitrust Suit

    A Seattle federal judge has ordered Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP to produce its communications with a client who allegedly ghosted the firm before determining if the attorneys may withdraw from representing the class representative in a proposed antitrust class action against Apple and Amazon.

  • November 06, 2024

    Judge Axes NY Claims In Chase Bank Counterfeit Check Row

    A New Jersey federal judge partly granted JPMorgan Chase Bank's bid to toss a tile company's lawsuit over the financial giant's alleged acceptance of $5 million in counterfeit checks drawn from its Valley National Bank account, reasoning that Florida law claims could stand but allegations under New York statutes could not. 

  • November 06, 2024

    Morgan Stanley Denied ERISA Deferred Comp Ruling Redo

    A New York federal judge denied Morgan Stanley's request that the court rethink its order compelling to individual arbitration a proposed class action from former financial advisers seeking deferred compensation to individual arbitration, keeping a holding intact that found disputed benefits were subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

  • November 06, 2024

    R&B Singer Says Ex-Manager Can't 'Squeeze' More Money

    A Grammy-nominated singer has urged a Michigan federal judge to find his former management isn't entitled to any commission from the last eight years of his work in the entertainment industry, saying a sunset clause from a 2003 agreement isn't valid because he terminated the contract.

  • November 06, 2024

    FINRA Fines Firm Over Lax Real Estate Investment Diligence

    The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ordered broker-dealer XP to pay $800,000 in restitution and penalties to settle claims that, among other things, it recommended investments in a series of real estate-focused private placements without conducting proper due diligence on them, leading to investor losses when the offerings flopped.

  • November 06, 2024

    No Arbitration For NBA Player Agent Suit Against Klutch, Paul

    Klutch Sports Group and its founder, superagent Rich Paul, had their bid to send to arbitration a $4.9 million breach of contract lawsuit by a fellow agent and former negotiator turned aside, with an Ohio federal judge ruling the suit will remain in district court.

  • November 06, 2024

    Lawyer's Suit Against Ex-Partner Can Proceed, NJ Panel Says

    A New Jersey state appeals court ruled Wednesday that a lawyer who is suing a former law partner may continue pursuing the case in open court, because a contract signed years earlier between the lawyers doesn't require a private arbitration.

  • November 06, 2024

    Poultry Cos. Can't Nab Quick Appeal Of Pollution Verdict Plan

    Tyson, Cargill and other poultry producers have not shown that an immediate appeal of an Oklahoma federal judge's plan to hash out remedies concerning a river pollution trial that took place over a decade ago would "materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation," the judge ruled.

  • November 06, 2024

    Ex-GE Exec Called 'Innocent Victim' In $1.1B Forgery Trial

    Counsel for a former GE Power executive accused of taking a $5 million kickback after forging documents to close a $1.1 billion gas turbine deal in Angola suggested to a Manhattan federal jury Wednesday that others were behind the fraud.

  • November 06, 2024

    Telecom Co. Seeks Toss Of Insurer's Marshall Fire Suit

    A Lumen Technologies subsidiary urged a Colorado federal court to toss a Liberty Mutual unit's suit seeking to avoid coverage for underlying actions over the 2021 Marshall Fire, saying the insurer lacks standing because it has not suffered any injury.

  • November 05, 2024

    Trump Has Official Immunity. What About His Aides?

    Whether the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity extends to subordinates who follow a president's orders has become a more pressing question in the wake of Donald Trump's projected election win, according to legal experts.

  • November 05, 2024

    How Trump Can Quash His Criminal Cases

    Donald Trump's projected victory at the polls also translates to a win in the courts, as the second-term president will have the power to end both of his federal criminal cases. And the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity would shield him from any consequences for ordering his charges to be dismissed, experts say.

  • November 05, 2024

    An Early Look At Trump's Supreme Court Shortlist

    With former President Donald Trump projected to win the 2024 presidential election and the Republicans' success in securing the U.S. Senate majority, Trump may now get the chance to appoint two more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, cementing the court's conservative tilt for decades to come.

  • November 05, 2024

    GOP's Senate Win Hands Future Of The Judiciary To Trump

    Republicans were projected to take back the White House and Senate and possibly the House early Wednesday, putting the GOP in position to back Donald Trump's agenda and his slate of young, conservative judicial nominees. 

  • November 05, 2024

    The Firms With An Inside Track To A New Trump Admin

    Law firms that have represented Donald Trump and the Republican Party on everything from personal legal woes to election-related lawsuits could see the risks of that work pay dividends as Trump is projected to secure a second term in office.

  • November 05, 2024

    Santos Wants 2nd Circ. To Revive Jimmy Kimmel Pranks Suit

    Former U.S. Rep. George Santos on Monday asked the Second Circuit to undo a New York federal court's decision throwing out his claims against ABC and Jimmy Kimmel over video clips the late-night host tricked the ex-congressman into making, arguing that the suit was prematurely tossed.

  • November 05, 2024

    Susman Godfrey Opposes Fee Bid In $147.5M Insurance Deal

    Susman Godfrey LLP lawyers have objected to three firms' requests for $36.9 million in attorney fees in a life insurance class action, saying they spent millions pressing similar New York and Pennsylvania claims being swept into an allegedly undervalued $147.5 million global settlement in Connecticut.

  • November 05, 2024

    Day Pitney Adds Trademark, Copyright Pro In Boston

    A former ArentFox Schiff LLP attorney has jumped to Day Pitney LLP's intellectual property law practice, bringing with her years of experience in Boston helping clients defend trademarks and register copyrights.

  • November 05, 2024

    Ex-Money Transfer Co.'s Del. Suit Says Fintech Fraud Sank Biz

    Sidelined money transfer venture Zelf Inc. has sued fintech Solid Financial Technologies Inc. in Delaware's Superior Court, accusing Solid of fraudulently representing that it could support anonymous banking and cryptocurrency services based only on a customer's name, email and phone number.

  • November 05, 2024

    Fubo Defends Block Of Sports Streaming Service At 2nd Circ.

    Fubo is defending a New York federal judge's order blocking the launch of a sports-only streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery at the Second Circuit, telling judges there that competitors wouldn't stand a chance in the sports streaming market without the programming that the three behemoths control.

  • November 05, 2024

    NJ Staffing Co. Says Rival Stole Employees And Trade Secrets

    Medical staffing agency Aequor Healthcare Services LLC alleged in New Jersey federal court that a rival startup poached three of its employees, and those employees stole confidential information on their way out the door, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

  • November 05, 2024

    Hagens Berman Defends Bid To Ditch AWOL Apple Suit Client

    A Washington federal judge expressed skepticism on Tuesday that Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP was within its rights to substitute a proposed class representative in an antitrust case against Amazon and Apple earlier this year when the lead plaintiff stopped communicating with the firm.

  • November 05, 2024

    French Music Co. Hit With IP Suit Over Song Distributions

    A French digital music business has been hit with a $500 million suit in New York federal court that claims it has been ripping off copyrighted song recordings owned by companies such as Universal Music Group by distributing allegedly manipulated tracks to social media platforms.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Paid Noncompetes Offer A Better Solution Than FTC's Ban

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    A better alternative to the Federal Trade Commission's recent and widely contested noncompete ban would be a nationwide bright-line rule requiring employers to pay employees during the noncompete period, says Steven Kayman at Rottenberg Lipman.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

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    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Cyber Takeaways For Cos. From Verizon Data Breach Report

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    Camilo Artiga-Purcell at Kiteworks analyzes the key findings of the 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report from a legal perspective, examining the implications for organizations' cybersecurity strategies and compliance efforts.

  • Foreign Discovery Insights 2 Years After ZF Automotive

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    Although an Arizona federal court decision last month demonstrates that Section 1782 discovery may still be available to foreign arbitral parties, the scope of such discovery has narrowed greatly since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision in ZF Automotive, and there are a few potential trends for practitioners to follow, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

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    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Rare Robinson-Patman Ruling Exhibits Key Antitrust Risk

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    A rare federal court decision under the Robinson-Patman Act, which prohibits certain kinds of price discrimination, highlights the antitrust risks faced by certain suppliers and is likely to be cited by future plaintiffs and enforcement officials calling for renewed scrutiny of pricing and discounting practices, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.

  • Beware Shifting Provisions In Middle-Market Loan Documents

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    In recent years, many credit facility provisions previously considered to be market standard have been negotiated, often turning in favor of borrowers, demanding renewed diligence from workout officers and restructuring counsel operating in the middle market, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In May

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    A look at recent cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court provide guidance on how to succeed on appeal by clarifying the obviousness analysis of design patents, the finality of a judgment, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians

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    Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent

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    As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Shows Lies Must Go To Nature Of Bargain

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Milheiser decision, vacating six mail fraud convictions, clarifies that the key question in federal fraud cases is not whether lies were told, but what they were told about — thus requiring defense counsel to rethink their strategies, say Charles Kreindler and Krista Landis at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Adopting 7 Principles May Improve Voluntary Carbon Markets

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    The Biden administration's recently issued joint policy statement on improving the integrity of voluntary carbon markets may help companies using carbon credits to offset their emissions withstand scrutiny by government agencies, the public and investors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Managing Legal Risks After University Gaza Protests

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    Following the protests sparked by the war in Gaza, colleges and universities should expect a long investigative tail and take steps to mitigate risks associated with compliance issues under various legal frameworks and institutional policies, say Wiley's Diana Shaw and Colin Cloherty.

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