First Republic Executives Fail in Attempt to Recover Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan Assets
Addressing the intersection of a trust beneficiary’s rights to royalties and an heir’s copyright termination rights under 17 U.S.C. § 203, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order...more
Addressing whether a federal district court had jurisdiction over an action for declaratory relief that certain trade secrets and trademarks were invalid and not infringed, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit...more
[MITEK SYSTEMS, INC., v. UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION [OPINION]] - Before Taranto, Schall, and Chen. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The plaintiff could not seek...more
Discussions of the tax-exempt status of universities, nonprofit advocacy groups and other Section 501(c)(3) organizations frequently have been in the news lately. The IRS revocation of a Section 501(c)(3) organization's...more
A worker was injured when he fell from a ladder while working for a subcontractor at a construction project. The injured worker sued the owner of the project, seeking damages for his injuries. The owner was defended by its...more
In Columbia Casualty Co. v. State Auto Mutual Insurance Co., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded, under Ohio law, that a demand letter to a general liability insurance carrier’s insured containing allegations of bad...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a declaratory judgment action, explaining that declaratory judgment jurisdiction does not “arise merely on the basis that a party learns...more
This case addresses declaratory judgments of non-infringement in relation to subject-matter jurisdiction and the district court’s refusal to exercise discretionary jurisdiction. Background - In June 2020, Mitek Systems,...more
Mitek Systems Inc. v. United Services Automobile Association, Appeal No. 2023-1687 (Fed. Cir. June 12, 2025) In our Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit examined the limits of declaratory judgment jurisdiction for a...more
The Court of Appeals’ opinion in N.C. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Young, (No. COA24-594) addresses how a court is likely to assess the duty to defend and the duty to indemnify under an insurance contract, and the interplay...more
Federal contractors understandably associate litigation at the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) with recovering monetary damages. Appealing denied claims to the COFC (along with the Boards of Contract Appeals) is the exclusive...more
Ninth Circuit holds that custom Ford Mustang called “Eleanor,” which appeared in four films from 1974 to 2000, is not entitled to character copyright protection under Towle test and that licensor of custom car design did not...more
In a significant federal jurisdiction ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit clarified the jurisdictional standards applicable to “mixed actions”—lawsuits that combine requests for both coercive relief (like...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of copyright protection for a car that had a name but no anthropomorphic or protectable characteristics. Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. v....more
On May 12, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a pivotal decision addressing the timing of contribution claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA),...more
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has held that a malpractice claim was “deemed made” against an insured law firm when it received from its former client’s new counsel a letter directing the law firm to preserve records related...more
On May 2, 2025, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in AdHealth Limited v. PorterCare Adventist Health Systems affirming the lower court’s summary judgment ruling that a hospital’s excess liability insurance...more
In Halderman v. Ivy, the decedent’s will stated: “I give, devise and bequeath my 66.977 acres located on FM 1848 in Freestone County, Texas, including all livestock and farm equipment located thereon to my two children . . ....more
On Monday, the Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a significant decision about private road easements often referred to as “Ryder” easements. In Becker Building Company, LLC, et al. v. Scott W. Keller, et al., the Court...more
Plaintiff’s counsel often employ a range of strategic tactics to defeat diversity jurisdiction because they view federal court as an unfavorable forum. One such tactic is to challenge the amount in controversy—a key...more
The Delaware Supreme Court's decisions in Henry I and Henry II have had a significant impact on workers’ compensation claims involving underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits. Here, we break down the complex issues surrounding...more
On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a significant decision concerning easements in Barr, et al. v. Garten Development, LLC. The Court held that where a deed that released “easements” conveyed by a previous...more
Amazon’s Patent Evaluation Express (APEX) program provides an expedited and low-cost tool for patent owners to stop the sale of infringing products on Amazon’s platform. But low cost does not mean low risk. The U.S. Court of...more
SnapRays v. Lighting Defense Group, Appeal No. 2023-1184 (Fed. Cir. May 2, 2024) Our Case of the Week deals with an issue the Court has not addressed recently: the question of declaratory judgment jurisdiction....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied a patent owner’s writ of mandamus seeking to prevent a defendant from amending its answer to add an affirmative licensing defense, but also noted that the defense was...more