On April 24, 2025, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a contract provision restricting liability for willful injury was unenforceable under California Civil Code section 1668. This decision was in response to...more
A federal district court in Texas denied a preliminary injunction filed by a franchisee (“EYM”) after Pizza Hut, as franchisor, terminated the franchise agreements....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
During an interview with Bloomberg TV on March 6th, Lawrence Summers, former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, observed: “Economic time has stopped but financial time has not stopped.” An incisive summary as any of the current...more
Switching from defense to offense, Zillow Group, Inc., best known for its residential real estate marketplace technology, recently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington alleging a...more
In a classic example of bad facts creating bad law, a federal judge in Kentucky recently denied a motion to dismiss claims brought against attorneys who allegedly counseled employees to breach a non-compete agreement and...more
David F. Johnson presented his paper on “Litigation Update, Including Fiduciary Issues” to the Texas Bankers Association’s Legal Conference in Austin, Texas, on April 5, 2018. This presentation covered recent Texas precedent...more
Investors frequently talk in terms of trying to find the next unicorn, that small start-up company that is going to turn into a billion dollar valuation. Lawyers are like that as well, always looking for that new decision...more
The doctrine of equitable recoupment, which is codified in CPLR 203(d) permits a defendant to assert an otherwise untimely defense or counterclaim. The Appellate Division, First Department recently applied the doctrine in...more
Over the years, we have written a number of articles about the importance of making sure your employment documents contain clear, understandable language. One of our federal district judges was recently faced with an...more
Article 11 of the Business Corporation Law governs dissolution of closely held New York business corporations. Article 11 has existed, more or less in its current form, for decades. Some of its provisions have been heavily...more
In Rhymes v. Filter Res., Inc., a former employer sued a former employee and the employee’s new business for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and tortious interference related to the employee’s competition with...more
Lincoln General Insurance Company (“Lincoln”) appealed a district court judgment, despite it having won a $16.5 million dollar tortious interference verdict, to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Lincoln alleged that the...more