On June 3, 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an Arizona district court erred in dismissing a defamation suit for lack of personal jurisdiction. The suit was brought by an attorney against three Catholic...more
Commercial leases often contain attorney fee provisions allowing a party who prevails in litigation to recover attorney fees from the losing party. Can those attorney fee provisions apply to third parties — outsiders to...more
Out of Exodus? The California Supreme Court has held that a contracting party cannot be held liable in tort for conspiracy to interfere with its own contract. Applied Equipment Corp. v. Litton Saudi Arabia Ltd., 7 Cal....more
A federal appeals court reversed dismissal of a claim against a barbeque restaurant franchisor. The court found that, despite having signed releases in favor of the franchisor, a former franchisee had valid claims for...more
Leaving behind an underperforming dealer or distributor relationship for a new one can be exciting for manufacturers and suppliers. It’s always a good feeling to get a part of the business turned around and headed in the...more
On June 28, 2019, in Barrow-Shaver Resources Co. v. Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc., the Texas Supreme Court confirmed that industry customs cannot qualify an unrestricted consent-to-assign provision contained in a farmout agreement,...more
The Holding - In Doneson v. Farmers Ins. Exch., 2018 WL 4781382 (Ariz.App. Oct. 3, 2018), an insurance bad faith case, the Arizona Court of Appeals upheld an exclusion precluding MedPay benefits “if workers’ compensation...more
Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions, Inc. v. Renesas Electronics America, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2016-2121, -2208, -2235 (Fed. Cir. 2018)?- In an appeal from a jury trial, the Federal Circuit addressed numerous issues...more
Federal Circuit Summaries - Before Dyk, Bryson, and Taranto. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Summary: A plaintiff has no 7th Amendment right to a jury trial for a claim...more
To paraphrase Rudyard Kipling, tort is tort and contract is contract, and never the twain shall meet. Ballad of East and West ("Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand...more
Stockholder claims alleging wrongful dilution are typically considered to be derivative in nature. Several decisions out of Delaware, however, have created exceptions to this general rule allowing stockholders to sue...more
North Shore Energy v. Harkins interpreted an Option Agreement between landowners and a producer over a 400 acre tract. In football they would say the Texas Supreme Court pancaked the plaintiff. In the law, some would call it...more
Reversing a 2-1 decision of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the state’s Supreme Court held unanimously that an assets purchase-and-sale contract containing an unreasonable territorial non-competition restriction is...more