Schlam Stone & Dolan Partner Jeffrey M. Eilender Discusses Whether Contractual Disclaimers Can Waive Fraud Claim
The absolute litigation privilege is a long-standing legal principle that statements made during the course of a judicial proceeding by participants in the proceeding (whether parties, attorneys, witnesses, or judges) are...more
Federal government contracts are routinely awarded to companies supplying goods and services to U.S. government agencies. According to the Government Accountability Office, in 2023, the federal government committed about $759...more
On May 21st, Jaden Rashada, a former top college football prospect, filed a lawsuit against prominent figures associated with the University of Florida (UF) football program, including UF coach Billy Napier, because of a...more
The federal government awards billions of dollars each year in sponsored research funding to institutions of higher education, academic research institutions, non-profit organizations, and companies—making federal grants an...more
On January 18, 2024, New York’s Appellate Division rejected a junior mezzanine lender’s contention that it was fraudulently induced to amend the parties’ intercreditor agreement, because it failed to identify specific...more
What must you show to prove that someone misappropriated trade secrets? The Arkansas Uniform Trade Secrets Act provides that misappropriation of trade secrets can be shown in one or more of three ways: acquisition or physical...more
A North Carolina federal court dismissed a complaint brought by a franchisee against its franchisor. The franchisee alleged the franchisor fraudulently induced the franchisee to enter into a franchise agreement, but the court...more
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to an alleged conflict of interest leading to discovery, two courts’ opposite treatments of subjective pain complaints, a decision that claims of fraud and misrepresentation were...more
A common theme in commercial litigation is the assertion of a breach of contract claim and a fraudulent inducement claim. A plaintiff claiming a breach of contract must show (1) the existence of a contract; (2) the...more
Failure to Extend Extracurricular Opportunities to Parochial School Students Violates Free Exercise In Religious Rights Foundation of Pa. v. State College Area Sch. Dist., No. 23-CV-01144, 2023 WL 8359957 (M.D. Pa. Dec. 1,...more
A Michigan federal district court dismissed a franchisee’s claims against its franchisor's CEO and several individuals responsible for negotiating its franchise agreements, for lack of personal jurisdiction....more
When representing an aggrieved plaintiff in a commercial matter, there are certain business torts that I tend to rely on more heavily than others. If business torts were foods, for example, a claim like breach of contract...more
A couple of months ago, we examined NW Media Holdings Corp. v. IBT Media Inc., 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 30875(U) (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County Mar. 22, 2023) (here), a case in which a lower court addressed the question whether the...more
Imagine devoting years of costly litigation to rescinding a $1 million equity investment in an LLC for fraudulent inducement, prevailing on the merits by clear and convincing evidence after a full trial, but losing anyway...more
The Tennessee Supreme Court recently issued an important decision making clear that in a breach of contract dispute, the aggrieved party may recover more in damages than the parties’ contract permits, such as punitive,...more
A federal court in Tennessee recently compelled arbitration for parties in a franchise disclosure dispute. B&P Glass Mirror, LLC v. Clozetivity Franchising, LLC, 2023 WL 3484205 (M.D. Tenn. May 16, 2023). Plaintiff B&P...more
Most states have a law that protects trade secrets. California, for example, has CUTSA (California Uniform Trade Secret Act). Arizona has the Arizona Uniform Trade Secrets Act ("AUTSA") found in chapter 4 of title 44 of the...more
In Ratliff v. Wycliffe Assoc., Inc., No. 6:22-cv-1185-PGB-RMN, 2023 WL 3688082 (M.D. Fla. May 26, 2023), the plaintiff, a software developer, sued the defendant, a Bible translation ministry, for sex discrimination under...more
A common theme in commercial litigation is the assertion of a breach of contract claim and a fraudulent inducement claim. Where both claims are asserted, more times than not, the fraud claim is dismissed under the duplication...more
A federal court in Tennessee granted franchisor Frost Shades’ motion to compel arbitration of franchisee Lunt’s fraudulent inducement of contract claims, but the court also granted in part franchisee Lunt’s request for a...more
Key Points- In two landmark decisions, the Supreme Court and the 1st Circuit significantly pared back the scope of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes. In Ciminelli v. United States, a political corruption case, the...more
On March 1, 2023, in In re McDonald’s Corporation Stockholder Derivative Litigation, Vice Chancellor Travis Laster of Delaware’s Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss derivative claims against McDonald’s directors...more
A federal court in New Jersey has denied a franchisor’s motion for summary judgment on its claim for breach of contract by its franchisee, finding that the franchisee raised issues of material fact regarding whether it had...more
Contracting parties sometimes attempt to rely on merger clauses to avoid future claims arising from reliance on extra-contractual representations such as fraudulent inducement. But in Texas, the inclusion of a standard merger...more
Franchisee Cipercen, LLC operated several Meineke Car Care Centers. By 2017, Cipercen owed $550,000 in unpaid franchise fees to Meineke and decided to sell the franchises. Cipercen believed Meineke offered to waive the unpaid...more