4 Key Takeaways | Trade Secret Update 2024 Legal Developments and Trends
Under Van Dyke, deeds with double-fraction royalty reservations referencing “1/8” are presumed to reserve a floating royalty interest unless clearly contradicted. Defenses like waiver, ratification, and limitations cannot...more
Takeaway: Unjust enrichment is one of the most commonly asserted causes of action in class actions seeking compensatory damages. Equitable considerations form the foundation of unjust enrichment claims under the laws of...more
H&P, an investment bank, provided services allegedly worth USD 18 million to Randgold, who H&P had assumed was a client. However, terms of their engagement were never formalised or even written down. After the transaction,...more
On April 4, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama’s ruling dismissing Alabama Aircraft Industries’ (“AAI”) trade secret misappropriation claim against Boeing, thereby...more
A federal court in California recently granted a manufacturer’s motion to dismiss a distributor’s oral contract claims, but declined to dismiss claims for promissory estoppel and unjust enrichment. Cosmonova, LLC v. BioFilm,...more
The AirBoss saga continues… This holiday season, AirBoss Flexible Products Co. received a monumental legal victory, righting a costly wrong in MSSC, Inc. v. AirBoss. The Court awarded AirBoss nearly $3.5 million in damages,...more
In a court opinion that borrowed at length from the infamous “My father made him an offer he couldn’t refuse” scene from The Godfather, Warner’s client AirBoss Flexible Products prevailed in a high-profile supply chain...more
On January 31, 2024, a Massachusetts trial court dismissed a claim against the Boston Globe alleging that the newspaper violated the commonwealth’s Wage Act by failing to pay an executive’s 2020 profit-share which the...more
On a great many occasions, I’ve seen the two causes of action in the title, Unjust Enrichment and Quantum Meruit, spoken in the same breath, as if they are either one in the same or so closely related that they are...more
In BCD Associates., LLC v. Crown Bank, CA No. N15c-11-062 (Super. Ct. Del, May 2, 2022), the trial court found that when a bank pays a contractor directly, it can create a legally binding relationship subject to the terms of...more
Justice Borrok of Manhattan’s Commercial Division presided over a bench trial between a contractor and a sub-contractor concerning payments connected to work on New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Harlem River Houses....more
The High Court recently considered the termination of an aircraft lease to purchase contract between OCA and Novans (an aircraft broking and consultancy company). In finding for the Claimant, the judgment considers the thorny...more
When parties transact without a formal written contract, the risk of disputes regarding the terms of any alleged contract increases. Disputes may particularly arise where one party receives the benefits of the alleged...more
In In re Cadira Group Holdings, LLC (2021 WL 2912479 (Del. Ch. July 12, 2021)), the Delaware Court of Chancery has again shown its inclination to treat an agreement that purports to replace traditional fiduciary duties with...more
Just like a bride and groom vow to join together for better or for worse, commercial parties joining together through a joint venture must make a similar promise to share in profits and losses. ...more
SEC Settles First-Of-Its-Kind $13m DeFi Tech Action; NASDAQ Board Diversity Rules Challenged in Fifth Circuit; Delaware Court of Chancery Declines to Enforce Contractual Limitations on Liability to Bar Contractual Fraud...more
P.A.L. Environmental Safety Corp. v. North American Dismantling Corp. Et Al., No. 19-11630, 2020 BL 198779 (E.D. Mich. May 28, 2020) - A Michigan federal court partially granted Consumers Energy Company’s (“CEC”) motion to...more
Major operational changes and disruptions occasioned by COVID-19 have created a swell of contract disputes and new litigation in various industries. The area of higher education is no different. ...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court decision that retained jurisdiction over a breach of contract action, finding that the action did not sufficiently implicate issues of patent law and...more
Ohio courts have long been in agreement that “[i]t is clearly the law in Ohio that an equitable action in quasi-contract for unjust enrichment will not lie when the subject matter of that claim is covered by an express...more
Kanye West and music publisher EMI have agreed on something (at least in theory) – to settle their legal battle. According to a court document filed on September 23, the parties reached an “agreement in principle” to settle...more
Well-drafted, legally-enforceable agreements are key to any construction company’s risk management strategy. This is especially true for subcontracts, which serve as a contractor’s critical tool to coordinate a successful...more
The Supreme Court of Virginia recently issued an opinion applying the principles of res judicata to affirm the dismissal of a contract claim. In The Funny Guy, LLC v. Lecego, LLC, No. 160242 (Feb. 16, 2017), the plaintiff...more
C. Szabo Contracting, Inc. v. Lorig Construction Co., 2014 IL App (2d) 131328; 2014 Ill. App. LEXIS 699 (Sept. 29, 2014) - In May of 2006, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (“Highway Authority”) retained...more