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Commercial Contracts
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May 23, 2025
Musk Doubles Down After OpenAI Drops For-Profit Transition
OpenAI's decision to abandon its transition into a for-profit enterprise was not enough to appease Elon Musk, who doubled down Thursday with an amended California federal court complaint continuing to allege the ChatGPT maker tricked him into contributing nearly $45 million with false promises of remaining a nonprofit.
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May 23, 2025
Fed. Circ. Partly Revives Allstate Challenge To Tech Patent
The Federal Circuit on Friday threw out the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's finding that Allstate failed to show the invalidity of two claims in a patent on cellphone sensors that can tell if a vehicle has accelerated or crashed, telling the board to take another look.
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May 23, 2025
Off The Bench: Tennis Officials, NCAA Stay On The Defensive
In this week's Off The Bench, tennis players face pushback from the governing bodies they are accusing of antitrust violations, college basketball players claiming the NCAA exploited them want their class action revived, and a baseball player seeking one last year to play in college hits another legal roadblock.
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May 23, 2025
Lindberg Urges NC Panel To Rebuff 'Ambush' Sanctions Bid
A convicted billionaire seeking to unravel a receivership order against him has urged the North Carolina Court of Appeals not to scrap his case as a sanction for alleged procedural violations, saying the only gamesmanship afoot is opposing counsel's monthslong "radio silence."
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May 23, 2025
FTC Finally Drops Challenge To Microsoft-Activision Deal
The Federal Trade Commission has dropped its in-house case seeking to block Microsoft's $68.7 billion purchase of video game developer Activision Blizzard, after its Ninth Circuit loss earlier this month, ending a lingering challenge to a deal that closed in late 2023.
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May 22, 2025
Fed. Circ. Ruling Will Spark More Patent Damages Fights
The full Federal Circuit's decision Wednesday ordering a new trial in a patent case against Google LLC and finding the plaintiff's damages expert unreliable is likely to lead to greater scrutiny of patent damages testimony and more attempts to get it thrown out, attorneys say.
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May 22, 2025
Bilfinger Urges NC Justices To Skip Cargill Arbitration Case
International construction company Bilfinger is urging North Carolina's top court not to review a decision nixing Cargill's bid to revive arbitration it initiated in a dispute stemming from a construction contract, disputing the food conglomerate's argument that the case raises novel issues.
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May 22, 2025
Ex-CEO Says Arrow Exec Joined Fraud After Pay Frustrations
The former CEO of a Colorado database company who pleaded guilty to a scheme to steal almost $2 million from Arrow Electronics testified on Thursday that his alleged co-conspirator at the company became a mutual collaborator in the fraud because he was unhappy with his pay and long hours.
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May 22, 2025
Firm Drops $500K Contract Suit Against Cannabis POS Co.
A federal judge in Seattle dismissed a breach of contract suit between cannabis payment tech companies over a final $500,000 payment in a deal to buy a rival.
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May 22, 2025
Gov't Presses High Court To Hear Activist Investor Suit
The federal government Thursday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case accusing a series of closed-end funds of shutting an activist investor out of its voting rights, arguing that the investor's lawsuit threatens to have an "unpredictable impact" on the fund industry.
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May 22, 2025
FTC Can't Get Amazon Execs' Financials Yet In Prime Case
A Washington federal court has refused the Federal Trade Commission's request to immediately force several Amazon executives to turn over sensitive financial information, ruling the agency must instead wait until after trial in its case accusing the company of trapping consumers into renewing Prime subscriptions.
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May 22, 2025
Hungarian Co. Fights Croatia Delay Bid In $236M Award Case
A Hungarian energy company has urged a D.C. federal court to nix Croatia's bid to stay a lawsuit aimed at enforcing a $236 million arbitral award against the country a month after it lost a motion to dismiss the suit.
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May 22, 2025
Life Insurer Strikes $335K Deal In Data Breach Suit
A woman who said her personal information was potentially compromised in a 2023 data breach at a life insurance and financial planning company asked a Connecticut federal court to sign off on the parties' settlement agreement, which would create a $335,000 settlement fund to resolve her proposed class action.
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May 22, 2025
Sutter Health's $228.5M Antitrust Deal Gets Initial OK
A California federal judge on Thursday preliminarily approved Sutter Health's $228.5 million deal settling a 13-year case over claims the hospital chain boosted costs by pushing all-or-nothing networks on insurers, saying that after a trial and a Ninth Circuit reversal, "it's nice that we didn't have to try this case twice."
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May 22, 2025
Settlement In Nationals' Ticket Bias Suit Gets Preliminary OK
A settlement providing restitution to baseball fans who sued the Washington Nationals for age discrimination in a ticket promotion targeting millennials and young professionals has been given preliminary approval by a D.C. federal judge.
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May 22, 2025
No COVID-19 Coverage For Hotel REIT, Texas Panel Affirms
A group of insurers has no obligation to cover an Austin, Texas-based real estate investment trust's pandemic-related losses, a state appellate court ruled Thursday, finding that a contamination exclusion in the REIT's policies unambiguously bars coverage.
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May 22, 2025
Servicer, BNY Seek Exit From Mortgage Statement Suit
Bank of New York Mellon and a mortgage servicing company have urged a Massachusetts federal court to permanently dismiss a proposed class action accusing them of trying to collect on post-bankruptcy liens, saying federal lending law does not obligate servicers to send mortgage statements to borrowers.
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May 22, 2025
2nd Suit Says Fla. Investigator Lied About Insurance Fraud
AÂ Florida man accused of insurance fraud after helping a roofing company sign up customers whose homes suffered hurricane damage has sued the criminal investigator who referred the charges, telling a federal court that the investigator fabricated facts and intentionally misled state attorneys.
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May 22, 2025
Ill. Justices Say Wholesalers Had Notice In Cilantro Dispute
A cilantro distributor should be able to pursue contribution claims against two wholesalers that allegedly sold tainted cilantro responsible for an E. coli outbreak, as the wholesalers' participation in litigation over the product gave them actual notice of the issues, the Illinois Supreme Court determined on Thursday.
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May 21, 2025
Calif. Justices Weigh Strict Arbitration Fee Law's Validity
Counsel for a food supply company urged the California Supreme Court on Wednesday to find the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a state statute automatically waiving arbitration rights for a party that doesn't timely pay arbitration fees, saying the law is so draconian that even an earthquake wouldn't excuse late payment.
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May 21, 2025
Colo. Judge Rules Atty Hid Assets To Evade Azar Judgment
A Colorado state judge has found that a former class action department head at Franklin D. Azar & Associates PC fraudulently transferred assets to her husband and parents to evade the firm's collection of a $1.2 million judgment for her efforts to market the department to other law firms.
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May 21, 2025
Zurich Gets Default Win In $4.6M Contractor Coverage Spat
Zurich American Insurance Co. doesn't owe coverage to two subcontractors accused of bungling work on a Georgia natural gas plant, a federal judge has ruled, granting the insurer a default win in its suit seeking to nullify a $4.6 million claim.
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May 21, 2025
Title Insurance Co. Fights Treasury All-Cash Resi Deals Rule
A title insurance company and a subsidiary have filed suit in Florida federal court challenging new reporting requirements for all-cash real estate closings, saying the rule exceeds the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's authority.
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May 21, 2025
DraftKings Denied 3rd Circ. Review In MLB Players' IP Case
A Pennsylvania judge on Wednesday denied a request from DraftKings Inc. to appeal to the Third Circuit the lower court's refusal to dismiss an intellectual property lawsuit that accuses the company of using players' images without permission, saying the issues raised are not appropriate for immediate appeal.
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May 21, 2025
What To Know Before VLSI, Intel's Patent License Trial
Over the last several years, VLSI Technologies has racked up infringement awards in an expansive multibillion-dollar fight against Intel, but those could be rendered moot after a trial next week, when a Texas federal jury reviews a question central to determining whether Intel already has a license to VLSI's patents.
Expert Analysis
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How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment
Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.
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Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity
Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.
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Testing The Waters As New Texas Biz Court Ends 2nd Month
Despite an uptick in filings in the Texas Business Court's initial months of operation, the docket remains fairly light amid an apparent wait-and-see approach from some potential litigants, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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How DOJ's Visa Debit Monopolization Suit May Unfold
The U.S. Department of Justice's recently filed Section 2 monopolization suit against Visa offers several scenarios for a vigorous case and is likely to reveal some of the challenges faced by antitrust plaintiffs following the U.S. Supreme Court's split 2018 American Express decision, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Opinion
Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules
The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO
The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.
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There's No Crying In Property Valuation Baseball Arbitration
The World Series is the perfect time to consider how the form of arbitration used for settling MLB salary disputes — in which each side offers competing valuations to an arbitrator, who must select one — is often ideal for resolving property valuation disputes, say Sean O’Donnell at Herrick Feinstein and Mark Dunec at FTI Consulting.
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Navigating Fla.'s Shorter Construction Defect Claim Window
In light of recent legislation reducing the amount of time Florida homeowners have to bring construction defect claims, homeowners should be sure to understand their rights and responsibilities regarding maintenance, repairs and inspections set forth in developer-drafted documents, say Brian Tannenbaum and Nicholas Vargo at Ball Janik.
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Why Diversity Jurisdiction Poses Investment Fund Hurdles
Federal courts' continued application of the exacting rules of diversity jurisdiction presents particular challenges for investment funds, and in the absence of any near-term reform, those who manage such funds should take action to avoid diversity jurisdiction pitfalls, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.
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Webuild Ruling Complicates Arb. Award Enforcement In US
A Delaware federal court's recent decision in Sociedad Concesionaria Metropolitana de Salud v. Webuild, if read literally, could undercut the United States' image as a proarbitration jurisdiction by complicating creditors' efforts to enforce awards against property in this country, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.
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Series
Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.
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Opinion
Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits
With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.
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How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program
During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.
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Bristol-Myers Win Offers Lessons For Debt Security Holders
A New York federal judge's recent dismissal of a $6.4 billion lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb, due to plaintiff UMB Bank's lack of standing, serves as an important reminder to debt security holders to obtain depositary proxies before pursuing litigation, say attorneys at Milbank.
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Series
Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.