Litigation-Business
Are ‘Best Efforts’ Provisions Enforceable in Maritime Contracts?
White Paper
Including “best efforts” provisions in a maritime contract can be a good practice, but only if the contract includes guidelines as to what constitutes the party’s “best efforts.”
Litigation Shows Buyout Clauses Don’t Always Provide Certainty as Designed
White Paper
Although the purpose of the “buyout” is to allow both coach and university to avoid future costs of litigating a breach of contract case, some recent lawsuits reveal that is sometimes easier said than done.
ERISA Ruling: Claimant Has ‘Duty to Investigate’ When Asserting Equitable Tolling of Contractual Limitations Provision
NEWS
A plaintiff is not reasonably diligent when she fails to investigate basic issues that are relevant to her claim or to proceed with it in a reasonably prompt fashion.
$663 Million in Penalties for Maker of Guardrail
NEWS
At least 14 lawsuits blame the Trinity Industries guardrails for causing injuries in crashes, including five deaths.
Reevaluate Commercial Sales Contracts That Incorporate Other Documents by Reference
White Paper
Consumers consent to numerous terms and conditions scattered across the web, often without even being aware of them.
Boston Scientific Ordered to Pay $100 Million Over Mesh
NEWS
A Delaware jury has determined that Boston Scientific Corp. must pay $100 million to a Delaware woman who blamed the company’s vaginal-mesh inserts for leaving her in constant pain, reports Bloomberg.
Attorneys at Dallas’ Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett Win 2 of Texas’ Top Verdicts for 2014
NEWS
Attorneys from Dallas-based Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett, PC won two of the largest verdicts in Texas last year, according to the publishers of VerdictSearch.
AZA Named 2015 Litigation Department of the Year by Texas Lawyer Newspaper
NEWS
Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, has earned selection as a Litigation Department of the Year for 2015 by the publishers of Texas Lawyer newspaper.
Transportation Expert on Rail Safety
White Paper
A transportation and traffic engineering expert has posted the first part of an examination of a broad range of safety issues involving rail activity.
Texas Court Rules Fractionalized Life Settlement Interests are Investment Contract
NEWS
The Texas State Securities Board and some investors sued Life Partners Inc. and Life Partners Holdings Inc. in 2012.
Dallas’ Standly Hamilton Wins Top Texas Premises Liability Verdict In Past 10 Years
NEWS
Plaintiffs claimed that lax security contributed to two teenagers’ deaths after the two were beaten in a McDonald’s parking lot in College Station.
First Circuit Affirms Confirmation of Arbitration Award
White Paper
The agreements between the parties contained an honorable engagement provision, which directs the arbitrators to consider each agreement as an honorable engagement, not merely a legal one.
Can a Non-Signatory to a Contract Enforce an Arbitration Provision?
White Paper
Apart from comporting with common law principles of agency, the enforcement of an arbitration provision by a non-signatory agent conforms with traditional notions of justice and fair play
Court Upholds Masimo’s $468 Million Victory in Patent Suit Against Philips Units
NEWS
Masimo sued subsidiaries of Royal Philips, alleging the defendants had infringed patents for non-invasive technology that monitors oxygen in patients’ blood.
MasterCard, Target Data Breach Settlement Falls Apart
NEWS
MasterCard Inc. has reported that the proposed $19 million settlement with Target Corp. over the retailer’s 2013 data breach fell through because not enough banks accepted the deal, Reuters reports.
Activision $275 million Shareholder Settlement Includes $72 Million for Lawyers
NEWS
The fee award for the small law firms works out to $9,500 an hour, according to court records.
$200 Million Settlement Approved for Fungal Meningitis Victims
NEWS
A judge has approved a $200 million settlement for victims of a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012, reports Michigan Radio.
Transocean Reaches $212 Million Settlement Over Oil Spill Claims
NEWS
Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which sank after the April 20, 2010 blowout at BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Importance of Contracts for Joint Infringement in Patent Cases
White Paper
It’s a good idea to obtain contracts early in discovery to determine the strength of positions, and practitioners drafting contracts should be mindful of potential joint infringement implications, writes Foley & Lardner.
Kentucky Hospital to Pay $41 Million in Unnecessary Surgeries
NEWS
The government’s lawsuit claimed the hospital billed for numerous unnecessary coronary stents and diagnostic catheterizations performed by its doctors.
