Black Duck Software has posted online a complimentary webinar examining key open source software-related issues and deal points in M&A, licensing and other transactions.

Cybersecurity has become one of the areas where substantive diligence should be conducted not as an afterthought but as an integral part of the M&A process for any deal, particularly those that involve targets with any kind of online presence, Black Duck says on its website.

The continued growth in the use of open source software underscores the importance of thorough software due diligence.

Understanding these key legal and technical risks, as well as strategies for mitigating them, will help you speed and smooth negotiations, avoid protracted due diligence and get better deal terms.

Watch the webinar.

A Las Vegas law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against a bump stock manufacturer on behalf of all those “who tragically suffered emotional distress” as a result of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival, the Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting.

Authorities have said unman Stephen Paddock used an attachment on semi-automatic weapons known as a “bump stock” to increase the firing capacity of his rifles when he killed 58 and injured hundreds on Oct. 1.

Eglet Prince law firm filed the 30-page suit in state district court, citing claims of negligence, infliction of emotional distress, products liability and public nuisance, according to reporter David Ferrara.

Read the Review-Journal article.

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Two major Californian cities — San Francisco and Oakland — have filed lawsuits against five oil and energy super majors September, according to Zacks Equity Research.

The cities have taken legal action against Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell plc, ExxonMobil Corp. and BP p.l.c.

“The companies have been accused of causing an adverse impact on the climate, resulting in global warming. The plaintiffs hold these fossil fuel companies accountable for rising sea levels, changing landscapes, higher global temperatures and increased risk of storms and droughts,” Zacks reports.

The plaintiffs allege that the defendants continue to produce and market products that contribute to climate change and rising sea levels.

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Gary J. Ross, writing for Above the Law, takes a look at the potential impact that the use of smart contracts will have on the legal profession.

He offers reassuring prospects: “The smart contract carries out what it is programmed to do, and that’s it. It doesn’t think independently, nor does it provide any reasoned analysis.”

“A smart contract is best for carrying out the simple “if thens” of the agreement. Basically, the first page of the term sheet,” he writes.

Ross is a partner at Ross & Shulga PLLC.

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A civil complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that the general counsel for Credit Nation Capital was an “active participant” in fleecing elderly and unsophisticated investors out of their savings, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Reporter Johnny Edwards writes that Celello is accused of fraud, aiding and abetting and routing investors’ money into his own pocket.

Last year a federal judge effectively dismantled a Credit Nation network of investment companies, subprime auto loan businesses and limited liability companies, and a court-appointed receiver is currently trying to return some $10 million to dozens of investors who lost an estimated $61 million, according to Edwards.

Read the Journal Constitution‘s article.

The Equifax data breach happened because a single employee failed to implement software fixes, the company’s former chief executive told members of Congress on Tuesday.

The New York Times reports that Richard F. Smith, who stepped down last week, repeatedly apologized to the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee — and the American people — for the security lapse.

“Angry members of the committee tore into Mr. Smith and pressed him on how a credit bureau of Equifax’s size, responsible for safeguarding billions of sensitive records on Americans’ financial lives, could have allowed so much data to escape, unnoticed,” write Tara Siegel Bernard and Stacy Cowley.

Read the NYT article.

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The Civilian Board of Contracts Appeals recently issued a decision in Turner Construction Co. v. Smithsonian Institution, addressing how a board should respond if the contracting parties cannot agree to a firm price for an undefinitized contract that a contractor fully performs, reports Lisa Markman for Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.

The board is the federal administrative court tasked to resolve disputes between government contractors and federal civilian executive agencies,  she explains.

“The case was unique because Turner and the Smithsonian were supposed to have negotiated a firm fixed price contract during the design phase of the contract, but the parties failed to do so,” Markman writes. “This failure meant that the Smithsonian could not rely on ‘many of the safeguards and defenses that would have been available to it under a firm fixed-price agreement,’ including the contract’s equitable adjustment clause. Instead, the CBCA agreed with Turner and concluded that Turner was entitled to recover in quantum meruit.”

Read the article.

In a new article, Covington’s global cross-practice Digital Health team considers some key questions that companies across the life sciences, technology, and communications industries should be asking as they seek to fit together the regulatory and commercial pieces of the complex digital health puzzle.

In this installment in the three-part series, Covington’s team discusses the questions:

1. Will you own or have rights to use the data that is collected and generated, and any insights, models, and algorithms that are developed?

2. Do you have commitments from your suppliers to provide functions at service levels suitable for the health sector and designed to maintain patient/user trust?

3. When you are structuring strategic collaborations to develop and deliver a digital health service, have you taken into account uncertainties as to the ultimate composition of the service, its customers, and its reimbursement model?

Read the article.

An article on the website of Fisher & Phillips discusses the question: Will a noncompetition agreement be enforceable against the independent contractor?

The Eight Circuit recently addressed this question in Ag Spectrum Co. v. Elder. In that case, Ag Spectrum contracted with Vaughn Elder to work as an independent contractor and entered into a three-year noncompete agreement.

“Elder argued that the agreement was unenforceable under Iowa law. He argued that because he was an independent contractor the noncompete was unenforceable per se. The district court granted Elder summary judgment on this basis, and Ag Spectrum appealed,” according to the article.

“The Eighth Circuit affirmed but on an alternative basis. The noncompete was not unenforceable per se but it was unreasonable under the circumstances.”

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The Republican tax reform plan released this week proposes changes that are likely to make C corporation structures more appealing to U.S. business owners and investors, according to a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.

“The reduction of the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent could certainly lead to a renewed interest in C corporations,” said Dallas tax lawyer Nathan Smithson of Jackson Walker LLP. “An investment in a corporation is subject to two levels of federal income taxation – once at the corporate level, and then again when a distribution is made out of the corporation to the investor. The proposed 20 percent corporate tax rate would make this investment far more palatable.

“The plan also lowers rates for partnerships and LLCs. However, investors and business owners who do not want to subject themselves to the more complex partnership tax rules – including paying taxes on their share of entity-level income – may now want to convert their entities to corporations,” said Smithson, who advises corporations, LLCs and partnerships on federal tax planning.

“An original investment in stock of a qualifying small business corporation can be sold tax-free if held for five or more years. A drop from a 35 percent to a 20 percent rate may make this type of investment a no-brainer for investors looking to minimize their overall taxes on corporate income.”

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A tree trimming company has been handed the largest penalty imposed in a United States immigration case, totaling $95 million, after pleading guilty to employing illegal immigrants, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Reuters reports that Asplundh Tree Experts Co., which trims trees and clears brush for power and gas lines across the country, hired employees who provided fake identification documents from 2010 to 2014, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia said.

The prosecutor said the company’s managers were “willfully blind” as supervisors and foremen hired illegal immigrants, writes Brendan O’Brien.

Read the Reuters article.

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The Associated Press is reporting that two attorneys with a prominent Alabama law firm and a coal company executive have been indicted on charges of bribing a state legislator to oppose an environmental cleanup plan, federal court documents showed Thursday.

Two partners in prominent Alabama law firm Balch & Bingham have been placed on indefinite leave after named on charges including conspiracy and bribery. They are Joel Gilbert and Steven McKinney, both of whom handled environmental litigation for the firm.

AP reporter Jay Reeves writes that Drummond Co. vice president David Roberson, 66, was charged with the same crimes.

“The three are accused of bribing former state Rep. Oliver Robinson, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to accepting $360,000 in payments,” according to the AP report.

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Conga has published The Ideal Buyer ‘s Guide to CLM, to help users learn more about the steps to take to identify the ideal contract management platform for an organization.

“You’ve already heard about the tremendous ROI and impressive time to value that a contract management platform can offer your organization: a good CLM (Contract Lifecycle Management) solution can provide overall ROI of 150-200% in one year,” Conga says on its website.

The free e-book includes a sample template listing key functionality and features every full CLM should have. It also features sample questions you should ask vendors during their software demonstrations.

And it takes a look at features such as:

• Customization and flexibility
• Document management capabilities
• Improvements in visibility
• Integration capacity
• eSignature capabilities

Download the e-book.

Bloomberg is reporting that top-tier college basketball programs were thrown into turmoil Tuesday as federal prosecutors unveiled criminal charges against 10 coaches, managers, financial advisers and representatives of sportswear companies including Adidas AG, accusing them of making illicit payments to cash in on the vast riches generated at the sport’s highest levels.

“The alleged schemes include illicit payoffs to steer young athletes to powerhouse schools and into clothing contracts and financial advisory deals,” write Christian Berthelsen and Bob Van Voris. “Among those charged were current and former coaching staff members at Oklahoma State University, the University of Arizona, the University of Southern California and the University of South Carolina.”

The case followed allegations that an executive at an apparel company bribed students to attend universities where the company sponsored athletic programs.

Read the Bloomberg article.

Lawyers expect a spate of force majeure contract lawsuits after Hurricane Harvey tore through Southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana last month, paralyzing a fifth of U.S. fuel output and pushing some oil production offline, Reuters reports.

“Many chemical and refinery plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast have already restarted operations or are beginning to ramp up after damage by Harvey,” writes Bryan Sims. “Once they do, customers may insist on reviewing contractual terms with their energy industry suppliers for the product they did not receive while plants were shuttered.”

He quotes Jessica Crutcher, an attorney for Houston law firm Mayer Brown:

“Every force majeure clause is different, especially when you’re dealing with heavily negotiated contracts in the energy sector.”

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In a case of first impression, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals addressed issues that have broad implications and present a reminder to companies to review their arbitration clauses and confirm if they are drafted properly as to the issue of who decides arbitrability issues; a court or arbitrator?

Christopher R. Nolan and Clayton J. Vignocchi discuss Oliveira v. New Prime, Inc. in Holland & Knight’s Transportation Blog.

“The dispute concerned a Fair Labor Standards Act class action between an independent contractor truck driver and an interstate trucking company. The plaintiff executed an ‘Independent Contractor Operating Agreement,’ which included an arbitration clause,” the authors explain.

They discuss the court’s rejection of the trucking company’s argument, warning that in-house counsel who draft a broad arbitration clause similar the the trucking company’s will result in litigation concerning arbitrability.

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Brian L. Lynch, writing for Faegre Baker Daniels, discusses the principle of acceleration in construction contracts.

A major consideration in acceleration clauses is whether the contractor is getting for the speed up in work. He covers the three types of acceleration, which usuall dictate whether the contractor is being compensated for additional costs related t the disruption.

In three sections of the article, Lynch discusses directed acceleration, constructive acceleration, and voluntary acceleration.

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In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, a number of energy companies have declared force majeure or announced shutdowns in southeast Texas, the nation’s hub for petrochemical plants and refineries, reports David M. Bond in Kane Russell Coleman Logan’s Energy Law Today blog.

His article provides an overview of applicable doctrines and makes some suggestions for including force majeure provisions in contracts.

One section, titled “How to Protect Against Force Majeure Events in Your Contracts,” Bond advises that force majeure provisions should always be included, and they should identify possible events tailored to your specific business and risks.

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A well-crafted master services agreement for outsourced services can create a powerful alliance between you as the customer and the service provider or vendor, writes Matt Hafter for Thompson Coburn LLP. Then there’s the other kind of agreement.

Writing with what he calls “hearty dose of well-meaning sarcasm,” he highlights a few of the pitfalls that will likely or almost guarantee an unsuccessful relationship with your vendors.

As an example, his first point is, “Make sure the business unit using the services stops their involvement in the procurement process after the RFP.”

Another is, “Use the word ‘penalty’ to describe fee credits for service level failures.”

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The terms “personal information,” “personal data,” “personally identifiable information,” and “PII” are often left undefined in contracts and treated as if they were terms of art for which there was a single definition, points out David A. Zetoony of Bryan Cave.

“Because different statutes, regulations, and guidance documents define the terms differently, you could either say that they are not terms of art, or that they are terms of art that are highly dependent upon context,” he explains.

He offers an example of one of the most expansive and one of the most narrow definitions of near identical phrases, and illustrates the degree to which the meaning of such terms can differ depending upon context.

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