Drilling Down: Real Parties in Interest and Time Bars - Patents: Post-Grant Podcast
Speck v. Bates, No. 2023-1147 (Fed. Cir. May 23, 2024) addressed two issues, (1) whether courts should apply a one-way test or a two-way test to determine if pre-critical claims materially differ from post-critical claims,...more
The Litigation Byte is the new name and format for McGlinchey’s Commercial Law Bulletin. Our new format reflects McGlinchey’s national coverage and our expanded footprint while still serving up the digestible, insightful...more
On July 31, 2024, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division: Second Department affirmed the dismissal of a quiet title action, which sought to discharge a mortgage as time-barred under the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the granting of a sweeping preliminary injunction (PI) in a trade secret suit against a competitor, finding that the district court’s analysis failed to consider...more
In a recent order denying dismissal in United States v. NH Learning Solutions Corp. (NHLS), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan weighed in on a False Claims Act (FCA) issue that has divided courts,...more
On May 7, 2024 the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued thirty-three published opinions There’s a lot to chew on here. Here’s my summary of a few of the more interesting or unusual cases. Warren v. Cielo...more
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, has held that a “prior acts” exclusion in a directors and officers policy did not bar coverage for settlements reached by the insured in two related shareholder lawsuits,...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
Key Takeaway: Employers can increase protection against § 1981 lawsuits by including a statute of limitations provision in their employment application. The Fifth Circuit recently remitted a jury award in favor of the...more
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board rejected a patent owner’s argument that the Board should exercise its discretion to deny a petitioner’s inter partes review (IPR) petition because Petitioner failed to name a time-barred real...more
A federal court in Pennsylvania granted in part and denied in part a former franchisee’s motion to dismiss a franchisor’s allegation that she misappropriated trade secrets and breached the franchise agreement. JTH Tax, LLC v....more
A federal court in North Carolina recently dismissed a complaint brought by Bigelow Corporation against its franchisor Hound Town USA because the claims were time barred. Bigelow Corporation v. Hounds Town USA, LLC, 2023 WL...more
Applying Illinois law, the First District Appellate Court of Illinois has held that a related wrongful acts provision barred coverage for a series of “claims” made over the course of six years because the claims—as the...more
The recent Appellate Division decision of Litton v. Litton presents an extreme case of what happens when a litigant agrees to submit his or her dispute to arbitration in Rabbinical Court, Bais Din, but then decides not to...more
On May 4, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision in a judicial foreclosure action, holding that a bank’s lawsuit was barred by Tennessee’s 10-year statute of limitations for actions...more
A federal bankruptcy court in Delaware has dismissed time-barred claims that a Chapter 7 Trustee alleged on behalf of a bankrupt franchisor, AVF Franchising, LLC, against several of its franchisees. In re Start Man Furniture,...more
The Quincecare duty has become a popular tool for companies (or their liquidators) to claim against banks for funds misappropriated on wrongful payment instructions. It requires a bank to refrain from executing a payment...more
In Ventex Co., Ltd. v. Columbia Sportswear North America, Inc., IPR2017-00651 (PTAB Apr. 12, 2023) (per curiam), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) found that petitioner Ventex Co., Ltd.’s (“Ventex) failure to...more
On March 15, 2023, Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin signed House Bill 1647 into law. The new law amended and reenacted Virginia Code § 8.01-243 to create a civil cause of action for injury to a person 18 years of age or older...more
The Supreme Court issued a single opinion yesterday. Wilkins v. United States concerns a property rights dispute between the federal government and two owners of land near the Bitterroot National Forest in rural Montana to...more
Recently, the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed, in part, the dismissal of two claims under the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) as time-barred under Section 3(a), which requires civil actions for OMA noncompliance to be filed...more
In University of Massachusetts Building Authority v. Adams Plumbing & Heating, Inc., 2023 Mass. App. Unpub. LEXIS 28, 102 Mass. App. Ct. 1107, the Appeals Court of Massachusetts (Appeals Court) considered whether the lower...more
Addressing a novel issue, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that a statute of limitations can time-bar a defense in narrow circumstances where a defendant uses it to seek affirmative relief. Garza v. Everly,...more
Atlanta Gas petitioned for inter partes review of Bennett’s ’029 patent. The Board initially rejected Bennett’s argument that Atlanta Gas was time barred from petitioning for inter partes review under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b) and...more
As part of the recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit took steps to return to normal operations. It began requiring live oral arguments in August 2022 and, by November,...more