Business Litigation Roundup

Posted on December 28, 2009 by N. Kane Bennett

As we head to the new year, here is a round up from some fellow bloggers on contracts, cobra, wage disputes, patents, and oral agreements for limited liability companies. 

The California Business Lawyer Blog offers a very detailed post about contractual relationships  between manufacturers and suppliers.  The focus is on well drafted agreements eliminating the fears and concerns of both sides.

A lot of talk about the AT&T suits in different states for $1 billion dollars for unpaid overtime.  The suits picked up a lot of steam with a recent employee favorable ruling from the federal court in Connecticut allowing the claim to proceed as a class action. Rush on Business covers some tips for businesses to avoid these suits.

Just in time for Christmas, President Obama has extended the COBRA subsidy.  Dan Schwartz's Connecticut Employment Law Blog covers this topic in detail for employers.

Twin Cities Business Litigation Blog has an interesting post on concerns you might have as a shareholder of corporation that fails to follow corporate formalities.  Gavin Craig gives examples of how a shareholder could be exposed to liability.

Anyone who frequently litigates matters involving limited liability companies will tell you that there is not much case law out there in Connecticut.  It is still a developing area of the common law.  Delaware law is often a good option for law in this area because these issues are more frequently litigated by volume in Delaware.  A good resource is the Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog.   Two recent posts concerning oral partnerships and LLC agreements are just an example.

PatentlyO hits on some themes for 2010, including an expected increase in patent prosecution and litigation.    They also have a cool picture of heat miser, a childhood classic.

Jeff Mehalic, author of the West Virginia Business Litigation Blog, writes a detailed follow up post to his coverage of the Connecticut dispute between Charter Oak Lending and CTX Mortgage.  Jeff also comments about a post I wrote on the same case.  The case remains significant as it is an example of what can go wrong when a business grows too fast and no written agreements are in place with employees.

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Business Litigation Blog Roundup

Posted on October 22, 2009 by N. Kane Bennett

Here are some quick hits from Blogs I read around the country on business litigation.

Dionne Searcey of the Wall Street Journal law blog reports on the intellectual property fight over the red, white, and blue "Hope" image of President Barrack Obama created by Los Angeles artist Shepard Fairey.  Fairey is claiming his rights to the work, but apparently is confused as to his source material leading to the withdrawal of his duped attorneys. 

Rush on Business breaks down his tips for negotiating Franchise Agreements. Rush highlights the need to have an attorney review your franchise agreement and not to believe any franchisor that says you do not need an attorney or that they will not hold you to certain terms of the agreement.

A win for digital technology was reported on by Mack Sperling in the North Carolina Business Litigation Report.  Mack reports on a case where a settlement agreement was challenged under the statue of frauds because it involved land and there were no written signatures.  You can read here an earlier post from me on the statute of frauds in Connecticut.  The court upheld the agreement in part based on electronic signatures in emails exchanged between counsel. 

Nancy Savitt of the Privacy Law Blog reports on an enforcement action concerning the Children's Online Privacy Protect Act (COPPA).  The Federal Trade Commission fined Iconix Brand Group, Inc $250,000 for "collecting personal information from children without complying with COPPA's parent consent..."  The personal information at issue was dates of birth.  Collecting personal identifiers such as dates of birth can be a real risk for any business.  Read here for some of my posts on how Connecticut businesses can address privacy concerns.

 Jeffrey Mehalic's West Virginia's Business Litigation Blog discusses an interesting suit involving misappropriation of trade secrets against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  A corporation, Mylan, brought a lawsuit against the paper claiming misappropriation of trade secrets and conversion for articles that were allegedly not favorable to Mylan.

Edward McNally of Delaware Business Litigation Blog reports on a case upholding Delaware as a forum for a trade secret case.  This post is informative in that it discusses why Delaware is often a preferred forum for corporate litigants trying to protect trade secrets. 

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