Contracts
Court Holds That Arbitration Clauses Bind Nonsignatories Who Seek to Enforce Contracts
Insight
A post on the website of Pepper Hamilton describes a North Carolina case that involved non-signatories to a construction contract attempting to avoid the contract’s arbitration claim.
Podcast: Dos and Don’ts for Drafting Severance Agreements
Podcast
In a new podcast, two shareholders in Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart discuss a number of important considerations for employers to keep in mind when drafting a severance agreement.
New York State Takes the Lead to Settle International Contract Disputes
Insight
New York State has taken steps to smooth the often rough road for resolving international contract disputes, and parties are finding the new procedures comparatively easy to follow, according to post on the website of Daniel Kron.
Trends in M&A Provisions: Indemnity Caps
Insight
M&A purchase agreements generally include indemnification provisions, pursuant to which any given party agrees to defend, hold harmless, and indemnify the other party or parties from specified claims or damages, according to a post on the Goulston & Storrs website.
Federal Courts Uphold Arbitration Agreements Via Email
News
Federal district courts in New York and New Jersey recently turned aside employee attacks on arbitration agreements challenged on the grounds that the employer’s communication of its arbitration policy via email was inadequate, reports the Gibbons Employment Law Alert.
Paul Hastings Faces Malpractice Claims Over Cleanup Advice
News
A California appellate court has given Tokai Intl. Holdings Inc. the go-ahead to proceed with cleanup cost-related malpractice claims against law firm Paul Hastings LLP, according to a Bloomberg Law report.
Argument Preview: How Should Courts Decide If Parties to an Arbitration Contract May Aggregate Their Claims?
Insight
SCOTUSblog reports that in Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit correctly held that an employer consented to class arbitration.
Contract Case: Lack of Consideration – Or Not!
Insight
Writing in ContractsProf Blog, Myanna Dellinger discusses a case that “nicely demonstrates how the consideration doctrine is still relevant and, as always, the importance of getting contracts in writing even though they do not have to be.”
Data Safeguards in Services Agreements
Insight
A post on the website of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius takes a look at some of the issues involving the latest contracting trends for services agreements.
Contract Analytics: A New Artificial Intelligence Endeavor
Insight
Both corporate and estate lawyers would likely benefit from this technology because they are frequently exposed to a large number of contracts, according to Epiq.
Spotlight on No-Poach Agreements Continues, Expands to New Industries
Insight
Companies that engage in no-poach agreements should be prepared for governmental scrutiny as well as private litigation from former employees, warns Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
Ten Key Issues in Addressed Lease Agreements for Companies
Insight
An understanding of the unique features of equipment lease contracts should help a company work with its bank to structure and document a mutually acceptable lease agreement, according to a Steptoe & Johnson post.
Backdating—When is it Appropriate?
Insight
Backdating legal documents is frequently permissible. However, under other circumstances, it can be fraudulent or illegal, warns Elizabeth A. Whitman in a post on the website of Whitman Legal Solutions LLC.
3 Key Takeaways: How Blockchain Technology will Reshape Legal Contracting
Insight
A recent presentation at the ACC Colorado Fall Frenzy in Denver addressed how blockchain platforms are reshaping contracting, particularly how blockchain can be used to protect the security and integrity of contracts and automatically execute based on external conditions.
New Decision Highlights (Again) the Importance of Defining ‘Commercially Reasonable Efforts’
Insight
If your client is going to contractually commit to using commercially reasonable efforts to do something — and if your client expects that obligation to require something less than “all reasonable efforts” — then you’ll want to make that expectation clear in the contract itself, advises D.C. Toedt III in the On Contracts Blog.
Duty of Good Faith, Tortious Interference, and Statutes of Limitation
Insight
A ContractsProf Blog post shows just how nasty contractual parties may act towards each other in violation of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.
A Basic Compliance Requirement: A Contract Management System
Insight
Michael Volkov of Volkov Law group has posted an article that says a contract management system is imperative for businesses.
Interpreting Indemnity Provisions in Construction Contracts
Insight
Interpretation of contractual indemnity provisions can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. And such interpretations can be wildly divergent and often result in contradictory interpretations and enforcement, according to a Faegre Baker Daniels LLP post.
Contract Roulette: The Top Five Agreements That Get Businesspeople into Trouble
Insight
You can do a lot of damage with a signature, warns Jack Garson of Garson Law LLC in Bethesda, Maryland. You can go broke.
Contracting Around Class Actions, a Win for Employers
Insight
A recent Ninth Circuit ruling that Uber’s arbitration agreements did not violate the National Labor Relations Act provides a major victory to Uber by requiring each plaintiff to separately arbitrate his or her claims.
