First Republic Executives Fail in Attempt to Recover Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan Assets
On August 30, 2023, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) filed a “Notice of Compliance” in Ultima Services Corp. v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, et. al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00041, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District...more
Declaratory judgments under the Uniform Declaratory Judgment Act (UDJA) can be a powerful tool, resolving current (or future) disputes while opening an avenue to claim attorneys’ fees. Once a UDJA claim is filed and the...more
Bottom Line, Up-Front - A recent South Carolina federal district court ruling interprets South Carolina law in a new and potentially dangerous way – by allowing for an award of attorney’s fees against a property insurer...more
ENERGY HEATING, LLC v. HEAT ON-THE-FLY, LLC - Before Moore, Prost, and Stoll. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota. Summary: Enforcing a patent with knowledge that it is invalid can...more
Ferrellgas Partners L.P v. Zurich American Insurance Company, C.A. No. N19C-05-275 MMJ CCLD (Del. Super. Aug. 20, 2020) - The Superior Court of Delaware, Complex Commercial Litigation Division recently expanded on its...more
On July 30, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in AEGIS Electric & Gas International Services Ltd. v. ECI Management LLC reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer, AEGIS Electric &...more
United States District Court Orders Insured To Produce Certain Pre-Litigation Documents But Not Others Deemed Work Product 99 Wall sued Allied World seeking coverage under a property policy for water losses at 99 Wall’s...more
Chief Judge Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas held that the litigation conduct of defendants Huawei Device USA, Inc. and Huawei Device (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (collectively, “Huawei”), in a patent infringement action,...more
In Greene v. Kenneth R. Will, a CGL insurer recently prevailed in a declaratory judgment action arising from an underlying class action alleging pollution and nuisance claims against the insured, VIM Recycling LLC, an...more
South Carolina Supreme Court Clarifies Successor Liability - How to successfully pierce the corporate veil has been shrouded in a degree of mystery in South Carolina, to both those in pursuit of and those defending against...more
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d) provides, in pertinent part, that “[u]nless a federal statute, these rules, or a court order provides otherwise, costs – other than attorney’s fees – should be allowed to the prevailing...more
In In the Interest of K.K.W., a father and mother, who were settlors, filed competing claims regarding the interpretation of a trust for their son. No. 05-16-00795-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 2174 (Tex. App.—Dallas March 27,...more
Arbitration - Waymo v. Uber Technologies, 870 F.3d 1342 (Fed. Cir. 2017) - Waymo sued Uber and others for trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement. Uber contends that Waymo should be compelled to...more
In Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Co. v. VisionAid, Inc., No. 15-1351P2-01A (1st Cir. Nov. 15, 2017), the First Circuit Court of Appeals ended long-running insurance coverage litigation arising from policyholder VisionAid, Inc.’s...more
The Holding - In Hoarau v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America, 2017 WL 3328078 (D.Ariz. August 4, 2017), the Arizona District Court denied an insured's Motion to Remand in an insurance bad faith, punitive damages, and declaratory...more
This paper is based on reports on precedential patent cases decided by the Federal Circuit distributed by Peter Heuser on a weekly basis. ...more
In Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs, P.A. v. Prosight-Syndicate 1110 at Lloyd’s, United States No. 15-12399, 2017 WL 586450 (11th Cir., February 14, 2017) the insured law firm sought to recover legal fees and costs incurred...more
As the sun set on 2016, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Sunearth, Inc. v. Sun Earth Solar Power, Co. embraced a new standard for awarding attorneys’ fees in Lanham Act cases. Adopting the U.S. Supreme Court’s rationale...more
As I turn 50 years old this week, I can’t help but think of the famous Happy Birthday song and the class action that resulted in its entering the public domain earlier this year. The class action plaintiffs in that case...more
An insured corporation settles a class action, and a portion of the settlement pays the plaintiffs’ attorneys. Payments to the class are excluded from coverage under the terms of the corporation’s liability policy. But can...more
On June 1, 2016, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered Cigna to pay nearly $13.7 million to Humble Surgical Hospital, LLC (“Humble”). Of the nearly $13.7 million, almost $11.4 million...more
A significant opinion from the Florida Third District Court of Appeal further clarifies the extent of the Florida statutory homeowners association (HOA) “safe harbor.” In the end, entities that obtain title through judicial...more
DISTRICT COURT - Expert’s Failure to Disclose Certain Materials Relied upon in Forming Opinion Warrants Mistrial - On February 29, 2016, Judge Robert Payne of the Eastern District of Virginia declared a mistrial as...more
Appellate Court Advance Release Opinions: Released after 11:30 a.m. AC36320 - Valencis v. Nyberg - This decision upheld the granting of a PJR for ~ $1.5 million in favor of the plaintiff property owner when the...more