4 Key Takeaways | Trade Secret Update 2024 Legal Developments and Trends
On October 22, 2014, a class action lawsuit was filed by over 60,000 detainees of GEO Group’s Processing Immigration Center against GEO Group Inc. for violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and unjustly enriching...more
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
Examining the issue of trade secret misappropriation when parties have contractually limited their liability from breach, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of the case,...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
Boren Descendants et al v. Fasken Oil and Ranch, LTD, offers something to talk about beyond interpretation of the fixed-or-floating NPRI question. At issue was this reservation, expressed as a double fraction, in a 1933...more
In Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers, Inc., the Supreme Court unanimously held that the Lanham Act does not permit courts to disregard corporate identity when awarding damages for trademark infringement....more
The English Court of Appeal has ruled that the English courts have jurisdiction to hear a claim brought by a group of migrant workers against three companies in the Dyson group alleging trafficking and abuses of their labour...more
In 2021, LKQ Corporation (LKQ) filed suit against Robert Rutledge, its former plant manager, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. LKQ alleged that Rutledge’s working for a competitor within nine...more
Courts routinely refuse to certify consumer class actions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3) based on the need for an individualized showing of the reliance element of a fraud or deceptive trade practices claim....more
The Arkansas Court of Appeals in an October 23 Opinion addressed an issue arising out of the operation and funding of a sewer improvement district sanitary sewer system. See Layman Lane, LLC. v. Suburban Sewer Improvement...more
This BLOG has frequently addressed issues related to a party’s standing, in many different contexts, to commence litigation. In prior BLOG articles we have explained that in order to prosecute a lawsuit, the plaintiff must...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in dismissing a trademark infringement matter under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, ruled that a district court “erroneously assumed the veracity” of the defendants’...more
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit largely affirmed a multimillion-dollar award against a temp agency for misappropriation of trade secrets and unjust enrichment due to its employee’s act of obtaining proprietary...more
A pivotal decision by a New York Appellate Division court holding that earnouts based on the future revenue of a dental practice violated the NY Fee Splitting Prohibition could substantially impact the structuring of health...more
The Court of Appeals of Virginia vacated a $2 billion award in a trade secret misappropriation case based on a series of evidential errors and improper jury instructions. Pegasystems Inc. v. Appian Corporation, Case No....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of an unjust enrichment claim, finding that unjust enrichment claims do not necessarily rise or fall with trade secret misappropriation...more
In Riseandshine Corporation v PepsiCo Inc (SDNY-1-21-cv-06324), plaintiff Riseandshine Corporation, doing business as Rise Brewing, brought three federal and two state claims relating to trademark infringement and unfair...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a jury verdict finding a dietary supplement company liable for misappropriating another company’s research and development (R&D) related to broccoli-seed extract. Caudill...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a district court’s finding of damages in a trade secrets case under Pennsylvania’s version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The Third Circuit explained that it is...more
A sometimes-overlooked factor in unjust enrichment claims is that the claimant must directly confer a benefit on the defendant—not indirectly, not effectively, not practically, but directly. The Florida Supreme Court made...more
On February 3, 2022, the Florida Supreme Court issued its opinion in Pincus v. American Traffic Solutions, Inc. clarifying that under Florida law, where a plaintiff has received adequate consideration in exchange for a...more
Past and present franchisees of commercial cleaning service franchisor, Jani-King, brought claims for violation of Connecticut minimum wage and anti-kickback laws, and unjust enrichment. They claimed Jani-King misclassified...more
Northern District of California Kicks Shareholder Derivative Suit Against Alphabet, Inc. For Failing to Allege Demand Futility; Rare Securities “Holder’s Claim” Trial Results in Jury Verdict for Defendants; Delaware Court of...more
In Plastic Surgery Center, P.A. v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 22274 (July 17, 2020), the Third Circuit held that an out-of-network medical provider's state law claims against an insurer were not precluded by...more