A federal court in California granted two motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim in an action asserting discrimination and tortious interference claims against Volvo Car USA and its franchisee Haron Motor Sales, Inc....more
The Sixth Circuit, on March 29, 2023, affirmed the dismissal of a real estate developer’s complaint against Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group LP, holding that Goldman Sachs’ refusal to consent to a property sale could not...more
On August 31, 2022, in a lengthy order, Judge Timothy Hillman of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts denied motions to dismiss that were filed by multiple defendant banks (the “Banks”) in an attempt to avoid liability...more
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
IN THIS ISSUE - Eleventh Circuit Overturns Dismissal of Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme Class Action Suit; Federal Court of Appeals Dismisses Leading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Shareholder Lawsuits; NY Seeks Blockchain...more
Welcome to The Franchise Memorandum by Lathrop GPM, formerly known as The GPMemorandum. Periodically, The Franchise Memorandum focuses on topics primarily of interest to companies that use distributors and dealers rather than...more
In Ganske v. Mensch, a defamation suit stemming from a “battle by Tweet,” a federal district court in New York held that the allegedly defamatory statements in the defendant’s Tweet were nonactionable statements of opinion...more
In Ixchel Pharma, LLC v. Biogen, Inc., S256927, 2020 WL 4432623 (Cal. Aug. 3, 2020) (“Ixchel Pharma”), the Supreme Court of California clarified two points: (1) that to state a claim for interference with an at-will contract...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment dismissing antitrust and tortious interference claims based on fraudulent procurement of patents where the plaintiff failed to show a knowing...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
In an August 2019 decision, the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York ruled that property owners cannot assert a lawsuit alleging inverse condemnation and other damages...more
In the past few months, there have been a number of notable decisions affirming broad immunity under the Communications Decency Act (CDA), 47 U.S.C. §230(c), for online providers that host third party content. The beat goes...more
On February 8, 2019, United States District Judge Edgardo Ramos (S.D.N.Y.) issued a decision granting Defendants AAVN and Next Creations Holding's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss Globe Cotyarn's federal law claim of false...more
Maxchief Investments Ltd. v. Wok & Pan, Ind., Inc., Appeal No. 2018-1121 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 29, 2018) - In the only precedential patent decision this week, the Federal Circuit addressed the extent to which a court has...more
Federal Circuit Summary - Before Dyk, Reyna, and Hughes. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Summary: In the context of a suit for a declaration of non-infringement and...more
PMPRB News - PMPRB releases scoping paper relating to proposed amended Regulations - As previously reported, on December 2, 2017, Canada’s Governor-in-Council published proposed Regulations Amending the Patented...more
Below is a summary of some of the significant legal and regulatory actions that occurred over the past week. This alert is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all such developments, but rather a selection of...more