California law has changed. The change now makes it easier for California litigants to sue their opponents for fraudulently breaching a contract. Lawyers who negotiate and draft agreements subject to California law should...more
Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Luis Nacimiento, Fla. 3rd DCA, 3D23-0301, Apr. 3, 2024 - The insured reported a claim to Universal Casualty & Property Insurance Company in February 2016 for water damage...more
Under federal law, a debtor may be criminally prosecuted for various kinds of misconduct in connection with a bankruptcy case, including concealing assets, falsifying information, embezzlement, or bribery. See 18 U.S.C. §§...more
In In re Estate of Maun, a brother sued his sister’s estate for her performance as executrix of their mother’s estate since the late 1980s. No. 13-22-00576-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 52 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi January 4,...more
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Plaintiffs James and Lucretia Sarjeant brought suit in California state court following Mr. Sarjeant’s diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. He alleged exposure from...more
Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida Plaintiff Douglas S. Johnson, one of the surviving children and personal representative of the estate of decedent French E. Johnson, filed an...more
In the Estate of Larry Wayne Ewers is a reminder of a few guidelines for oil and gas investing: Think twice before giving money to your scripture-spouting friend from church....more
Multinational companies should be alert to legal exposure under the False Claims Act (FCA). The FCA is a civil statute that can be quite damaging to a multinational company for several reasons: The FCA has extremely...more
In this review of taxation and the British Virgin Islands, Conyers Corporate Counsel Nicholas Kuria discusses some of the most commonly misunderstood notions relating to the use of offshore jurisdictions, with a focus on the...more
In a case involving a fact pattern that could be on a law school exam, EDVA Judge Mark Davis provides a detailed analysis of a series of issues in a complex dispute between a yacht owner and a marine engine manufacturer. What...more
Brief Summary - The plaintiff, Comprehensive Marketing, Inc. ("plaintiff"), filed a lawsuit against its former attorneys ("defendants") for legal malpractice related to legal advice the defendants provided regarding opt-out...more
On October 17, the Clearing House Association, LLC (Association) and National Automated Clearing House Association (Nacha) joined forces to submit an amicus brief in support of a credit union held liable by a district court...more
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed, without prejudice, a proposed Class Action Complaint against defendant L’Oreal U.S.A., Inc. (“L’Oreal”) alleging its mascara products contained per-...more
On August 23, 2023, the Appellate Division, Second Department issued two decisions that briefly touched upon fraud causes of action: Hershman v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon, 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 04369 (2d Dept. Aug. 22, 2023) (here),...more
Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti brought a lawsuit against a number of manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances, alleging that the manufacturers knew but concealed that their products would harm the...more
On January 13, 2023, the Texas Supreme Court issued its opinion in Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services of Nevada, Inc. v. Triex Texas Holdings, LLC, __ S.W.3d __, 2023 WL __ (Tex. Jan. 13, 2023) (per curiam)...more
Brief Summary - Three brothers—Bruce, Brad, and Brian Brandolino (plaintiffs)—held remainder interests in a piece of real property (Property) which their father sold to a bank in 2005. In 2019, plaintiffs sued the...more
Securities law enforcement entered the metaverse recently in the form of an emergency cease and desist order issued by the Texas State Securities Board against individuals and a company using NFTs to finance multiple...more
Companies often communicate with government agencies directly or through trade associations for a variety of reasons. But what happens when an adverse party tries to use comments made to the government or membership in an...more
Plaintiff Daniela Gruen recently filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against The Clorox Company and The Burt’s Bees Products Company claiming that some...more
A Florida appellate court recently interpreted a “Concealment or Fraud” provision that voids coverage where an insured makes “material false statements” as requiring intentional deception, extending the split amongst the...more
Buying a home remains one of the largest financial commitments and personal goals in an individual’s life. However, in the current market buyers are moving quickly, making large cash offers above-asking value and waiving...more
An Illinois appellate court held that the trial court improperly granted summary judgment in defendants' favor based on the six-year statute of repose governing legal malpractice actions and the five-year statute of repose...more
Stone & Paper Investors, LLC v. Blanch, C.A. No. 2018-0394-PAF (Del. Ch. July 30, 2021) - This post-trial opinion involves a particularly egregious set of facts. Two LLC managers were accused of breaching their contractual...more
Huy Fong Foods, Inc. makes Sriracha pepper sauce and for nearly three decades Underwood Ranches, L.P. supplied the peppers for Huy Fong's sauce. Although the parties operated under written agreements for the first decade of...more