“In American Association of Motorcycle Injury Lawyers Inc. v. HP3 Law LLC et al., an Arizona-based legal trade association, which held trademark rights in the name ‘Law Tigers’, sued an Illinois law firm that was using the nickname ‘TigerLaw,'” reposted from Law360.com by Tyler Maulsby and Kimberly Maynard in Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz’ blog.

“The Law Tigers argued that the Illinois firm’s name was confusingly similar and therefore infringed their trademark rights. This is by no means the first law firm trademark dispute.”

“Earlier this year, a law firm called Thrive IP sued another firm operating under the name Thrive Law, in Stipkala & Klosowski LLC v. Thrive Law PA. In Florida, a federal judge denied a law firm’s request for a preliminary injunction in a trademark lawsuit, Simon et al. v. Nicholson Injury Law PA et al., against a competitor firm over the use of the phrase ‘Simon Says.’ And in Florida, Texas and Colorado, law firms are arguing over the rights to use certain words or phrases in their branding and advertising.”

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“Your product development team spent years designing a product, working out every design detail until it is just right. Your company spent significant time and money marketing the product, shoring up a great reputation for the product and the company that stands behind it. Then, a copycat comes along with a knockoff and starts selling a product that looks eerily similar—or even identical—to yours. When your customers search online for your long-developed and lauded product, the knockoff appears, and at a fraction of the price. You are certainly surprised, and likely dismayed,” write Gary A. Abelev and Gregory Miller in Hunton Andrews Kurth’s blog.

“What can be done to remedy this very unfortunate situation? One possibility is to contact the online search engine or third party retailer, which may have protocols to address such issues. However, without intellectual property (IP) protection for your product, very few remedies are available.”

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“The early stages of a legal dispute are often marked by the exchange of demand letters. While they typically receive less attention than formal legal filings, demand letters warrant careful strategic consideration to accomplish desired objectives and to avoid any potential pitfalls.” Jacquelyn S. Celender and Jeffrey P. Richter briefly discuss five points to consider when drafting a pre-litigation demand letter in K&L Gates’ Hub:

1. Clearly state the nature of your demand
2. Stick to the facts and avoid inflammatory language
3. Consider the applicable ethical constraints
4. Follow the requirements of any applicable contracts or statutes
5. Understand the applicable scope of privilege

Read the article.

“Seyfarth Synopsis: The courts have stated that their review of fiduciary decisions is both exacting and deferential. A recent decision from the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit offers help to ERISA benefit professionals who prefer to maximize judicial deference in favor of the fiduciaries,” write Mark Casciari and Ronald Kramer in Seyfarth’s Fiduciary Governance.

“One of the enduring paradoxes of ERISA litigation is the judicial standard of review of fiduciary decisions. The standard of review is important because an easier standard will uphold more fiduciary decisions in court and encourage more individuals to serve as fiduciaries. No one who acts in good faith – as the vast majority of ERISA fiduciaries do – likes to make tough decisions and be sued or reversed.”

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“… a recent Delaware decision suggests that we cannot be reminded too often of the importance of carefully modifying the standard no-third-party-beneficiary clause so that it … does not do more harm than good,” warns Glenn D. West in Global Private Equity Watch’s Features.

“Most acquisition agreements contain provisions intended to benefit affiliates (and officers, directors and employees, whether or not technically affiliates) of the contracting parties, who may be impacted by the sale in some manner (indemnification and the non-recourse clause are just two examples). An unexamined, boilerplate “no-third-party-beneficiary clause” can wreak havoc on those provisions if not carefully modified to make clear that the benefits of certain provisions of the agreement are indeed intended to benefit non-party affiliates (and perhaps others).”

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“Even if the title is click-bait, this is not a trick question. There is one type of online privacy policy that is objectively worse than all of the others. It does not relate to when it was created, whether it was crafted internally or by an outside expert, or even how much (if anything) you paid to prepare the privacy statement used on your startup’s website or mobile app,” warns Christopher Avery in Davis Wright Tremaine’s Privacy & Security Law Blog.

“The number one worst type of online privacy policy is one that a startup copies and pastes from another online service. Does this really happen? Yes – all the time. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but some copiers are so egregious that they do not carefully check and remove the references to the other company before posting it to their website.”

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“Kansas promoter Brett Mosiman was ready to chase former KAABOO owner Bryan Gordon to the end of the earth to collect a $7 million judgement delivered by a Kansas jury in February, but that will no longer be necessary after the men settled their claims last week over the canceled 2015 Thunder on the Mountain festival in Ozarks, Ark.,” reports Dave Brooks in Billboard’s Touring.

“Mosiman had filed a second lawsuit against Gordon in San Diego in December accusing the Madison Companies chairman of trying to hide his assets after selling KAABOO late last year. Mosiman was also working with his attorney to prepare their enforcement option for the Kansas judgment, but neither remedy will be needed after Mosiman filed a notice with the Kansas court Wednesday saying that Gordon and the companies he controls have satisfied the terms of the judgement ‘in an amount of which has been fully agreed to by the parties.'”

“Mosiman is the founder of the Wakarusa festival and had been hoping to revive the Thunder on the Mountain series when he was approached by Gordon and his business partners Seth Wolkov and Robert Walker from the Denver-based Madison Companies in 2014.”

Read the article.

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“When owners file bankruptcy or projects otherwise go south, lien priority often comes to the forefront. The idea is relatively simple. Priority is how courts determine which creditors get paid first. This often pits lenders against M&M lien claimants. For lenders, their liens typically arise when they record their deeds of trust. However, for M&M lien claimants, the Texas Property Code has very specific rules that must be followed,” warns Joe Virene in Texas Construction Law Blog’s Liens.

“The Code provides that a ‘mechanic’s lien does not affect any lien, encumbrance, or mortgage on the land or improvement at the time of the inception of the mechanic’s lien ….’ Inception is the key word. The code goes on to state ‘the time of inception of a mechanic’s lien is the commencement of construction of improvements or delivery of materials.'”

Read the article.

“Recent press reports have highlighted the difficulties faced by companies that discover evidence of misconduct only after an executive has exited and received severance,” writes Martin Luff in Vinson & Elkins’ Insights.

“When it comes time to exit a CEO or other senior executive due to that individual’s bad behavior, there is often a strong (and understandable) desire of the board of directors to handle it as quickly as possible and with the least amount of drama and publicity. But this can sometimes mean that not all the facts have come to light at the time of termination — and if the decision has been made to terminate without cause, the executive may have already received generous severance benefits on the way out the door.”

W”hat happens if subsequently more evidence comes out that, had the board known this earlier, it would have terminated for ’cause,’ with no severance payment? The options available to the board may depend on what’s in the relevant agreements.”

Read the article.

“In CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc. et al v. Steward Health Care System LLC, the Delaware Court of Chancery examined who was an intended third-party beneficiary of an indemnification provision in an Asset Purchase Agreement,” writes Steve Quinlivan in Stinson’s Blog.

“The dispute arose in a transaction where Steward agreed to purchase substantially all the assets of certain hospitals owned by CHS.”

“Specifically, the APA listed a series of ‘Seller Entities’ that would ‘sell to [Steward] . . . substantially all of [their] assets . . . which are . . . used in connection with . . . [a] Healthcare Business.'”

“Steward agreed to ‘assume . . . the future payment and performance of . . . all obligations accruing . . . after the Effective Time with respect to the Assumed Contracts.'”

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“Business owners in the U.S. are often faced with various legal problems that can be crippling to their business. One of the best ways for them to circumvent these legal problems is to identify potential problem areas early and prepare for them by having a trusted business lawyer,” discusses Jacob Maslow in LegalScoops Practice.

He lists seven most common legal issues that businesses can avoid.

Read the article.

“New Jersey’s Supreme Court approved as legally binding an arbitration agreement provided to employees electronically, concluding the arbitration agreement was effectively, clearly, and unambiguously communicated to the company’s employees. The decision in Skuse v. Pfizer, Inc. … ratified a five-page Mutual Arbitration and Class Waiver Agreement rejected by the lower court. In doing so, the Supreme Court resolved years of conflict and provided employers with much needed practical steps for drafting similar agreements and communicating them to employees,” discuss Mark A. Saloman and Jeffrey A. Shooman in FordHarrison’s Employment Law.

This article provides helpful do’s and don’ts

Read the article.

“Indemnification provisions are an important part of the fine print of many contracts. These clauses generally operate to protect one party against the other party’s actions or failures to act that lead to a loss claimed by a third party (not a party to the contract). A common example is the indemnification provisions (or entire agreements) used in the rental car setting. Before you drive off the lot, the rental car company will require you indemnify (or protect) it against a third party (not you) bringing a claim due to you being in an accident,” write Sean Byrne and Scott Ziance in Vorys’ Insights.

“Similarly, most incentive agreements contain one-way indemnification provisions, requiring the incentive recipient to indemnify and hold harmless the public entity against any possible risk and for any liability that could befall the public entity because of your project. The incentive provider will usually inform you that the indemnification provision cannot be mutual, is non-negotiable, and often includes provisions that go beyond traditional indemnification. Sorting through the legalese in these terms and conditions is a challenge in non-incentive contracts, and adding a public or quasi-public entity can make them more complicated. ”

Read the article.

77 Charters, Inc. brought a suit against defendants Jonathan Gould, Stonemar MM Cookeville, LLC, Cookeville Corridor, LLC and Eightfold Cookeville Investor, LLC “for a series of alleged ‘wrongful acts’ in connection with the management and sale of a shopping mall”, which also implicated Stonemar Cookeville Partners, LLC
and Cookeville Retail Holdings, LLC., discuss Scott Waxman and Rich Minice in K&L Gates’ Delaware Docket.

“In delivering its opinion, which centered on the nature of Delaware limited liability companies as creatures of contract, and thus, the controlling nature of the applicable operating agreements and contracts into which the parties had entered, the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that only Plaintiff’s claims which could be connected to an alleged wrongful amendment of the operating agreement of Cookeville Retail could survive Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.”

Read the article.

“As a long-standing antitrust attorney in Europe, making the decision to move from Madrid to San Diego a few years ago to practice law in the U.S. has been a life-changing experience. Both personally and professionally. Learning from other cultures, colleagues, and languages is something I strongly recommend to everyone. It opens your mind and provides you with a different perspective about the world and yourself. And of course, that also applies to the practice of law,” writes Luis Blanquez in The Anti-Trust Attorney Blog.

“Indeed, when you move to a new jurisdiction you basically become a ‘newborn’ attorney, but with all your past experience in the backpack. That puts you in the best position to approach everything with a “fresh pair of eyes”, which in turn allows you to add value to your team and cases in a unique way.”

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“The National Labor Relations Board … has recently issued a half-dozen decisions addressing the lawfulness of employee arbitration agreements. Employers should not ignore this body of law, which applies to union and non-union employers alike,” warn Jeffrey K. Brown and Tyler B. Runge in Payne & Fears’ Insights.

“Under longstanding Board law, an employer may not maintain or enforce an agreement with its employees that interferes with their right to file unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB. Broadly worded arbitration provisions, however, often cover the types of claims employees may bring before the NLRB. For this reason, well-drafted arbitration agreements usually contain a “savings clause,” i.e., a clause providing that employees retain the right to file charges with the Board, even if the agreement otherwise includes claims arising under the National Labor Relations Act … within its scope.”

Read the article.

“The COVID virus has ushered in unprecedented and challenging times for our country and the global community. From the deeply personal pain and suffering caused by the virus as a health pandemic to behavioral adjustments in the consumer population at large, to every day, but very real, burdens created by business closures and shelter in place orders, the full force and impact of the virus on our society won’t be known for a long time. Apart from these personal and social consequences, of course, the economic downturn is very real and upon us,” discuss Daniel R. Avery and Martin D. Edel in Goulston & Storrs’ What’s Market Blog.

“And yet businesses move forward, even in a very different and challenging environment. Certainly, the COVID virus is impacting the way M&A transactions are being looked at, papered, and implemented.”

Read the article.

Nancy Kim writes in ContractsProf Blog about university liability waivers and how they seem to be very different from regular liability waivers.

“First, they are presented in a conspicuous way and require a much more deliberate act of consent (it’s not simply a click to a link that nobody reads). The wording is clear and the student has to do something conscious that takes time, such as inputting their student ID number. The language does not mess around about the legal effect of the “manifestation,” unlike the typical wrap contract where users click without even knowing what they are doing. The students also have a choice – I think all universities that are planning to open are allowing their students to opt-out and study from home. (If not, then the waivers are coercive, IMHO). In other words, students don’t have to sign them if they want to stay enrolled and continue their studies.”

Read the article.