Executive Summary: Rejecting a bright-line test, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled last week that a covenant not to compete executed by an employee after the first day of employment can be enforceable — even though no new...more
In light of a recent decision from the Indiana Supreme Court, Indiana employers—and construction companies in particular—should review their contracts and subcontracts to determine if they have unwittingly assumed a duty of...more
In IAC Search, LLC v. Conversant LLC (f/k/a ValueClick, Inc.), 2016 WL 6995363 (Del. Ch. Nov. 30, 2016), the Delaware Court of Chancery provided a reminder on how potentially-overlooked contractual provisions could have a...more
In a thought-provoking paper presented at this year’s TPRC Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy, Internet scholar Kevin Werbach explains how the use of blockchain technology creates a new...more
Despite best efforts, ambiguities are inevitable in contracts. The doctrine of contra proferentem shifts the risk of ambiguity to the party that drafted the contract. The doctrine is frequently applied against insurers where...more
As in so many other areas, the effect of the decision to leave the European Union in the referendum on 23 June 2016 on litigation in England and Wales in still highly uncertain. There are a number of issues that the UK...more
As the oil and gas industry has moved away from the legacy of the 1/8th royalty, double-fraction language has generated a multitude of disagreements as to whether a royalty interest should be construed as "fixed" or...more
A drafting mistake in an agreement can result in significant and unintended tax consequences. In the recent case of Baytex Energy Ltd. v. Canada (Attorney General) (Baytex), the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Court)...more
Recently I have received a lot of questions from homeowners associations in planned communities regarding declaration amendments. Most of the questions are about procedure, member approval, and challenges to the amendment by...more