- “You’d think [the new Texas Business Court] would want to resolve this [dispute over its jurisdiction to handle old District Court cases] quickly because the whole idea is you don’t
patent
Commercial Roundup – January 10, 2024
- Promise to charge “competitive” price for power didn’t require price lower than default utility charged.
- Hot off the Antitrust Division and FTC presses.
- Contract naming Chinese parent firm as consignee of cattle feed did not make parent a party to contract its
Commercial Roundup – November 15, 2023
- Expert witness
Commercial Roundup – August 23, 2023

This late-summer edition of Commercial Roundup features a notable ruling on personal jurisdiction, a pair of False Claims Act decisions, a couple of opinions tossing class certification orders, a 2-1 split in a securities fraud case (the dissent has the better end of it), a rare victory for plaintiffs in an action for unlawful maintenance…
Commercial Roundup – July 26, 2023
- Antitrust
Commercial Roundup – April 12, 2023

Welcome to this week’s Commercial Roundup—in which you’ll find links to the most significant rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and the 13 Courts of Appeals plus the highest courts in Delaware, New York, and Texas. You’ll also see other matters of interest to commercial trial lawyers and the firms and business people they represent.
This week a couple of Latin phrases we learned in the first year of law school headline the list. The first—res ipsa loquitur—means something like “the thing (res) speaks (loquitur) for itself (ipsa)” and provides a shortcut for a party wishing to prove a claim of negligence. The other Latin phrase—forum non conveniens—suggests the plaintiff brought a case in a place (forum) whose remoteness to the parties, witnesses, and sources of proof and lack of expertise in governing law (among other factors) render it sufficiently inconvenient (non conveniens) as to justify dismissing the case in favor of, or transferring it to, a much more convenient forum.
We also have an important First Circuit ruling on a pair of issues that arise often in efforts to enforce arbitration clauses and confirm awards, a “tacking” question regarding priority of trademarks, and decisions on when limitations starts to run in securities fraud cases, insurance coverage for COVID-19 losses, damages remedy for fraudulent transfer, and when prior art “anticipates” a claim limitation without mentioning it.
So here we go—Commercial Roundup for the week of April 5-12.Continue Reading Commercial Roundup – April 12, 2023
Commercial Roundup – April 5, 2023

This week’s Commercial Roundup follows three days of all antitrust, all the time at the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s annual Spring Meeting in our nation’s capital. More than 3,700 government enforcers, private lawyers, judges, economists, econometricians, academics, students, and others assembled to talk about the recent past and future of antitrust in the U.S. and around the world.
The Roundup includes but one post about the Spring Meeting—BIG meets ABA—but it will give you a good sense of the combat that flickered into view amid the nerdy bonhomie. You can find other posts on the Spring Meeting here, here, and here.
Now, let’s get to the Roundup!Continue Reading Commercial Roundup – April 5, 2023
Commercial Roundup
- Deal lawyer par excellence Alan Klein sees better but shaky M&A prospects, notes “unparalleled success” in antitrust.
- A big opt-out claimant (Sysco) has sued the funder of the opt-out’s price-fixing claims (Burford Capital) for its veto of chicken settlements.
- While the $100 million the new budget proposal would add to antitrust enforcers’ funding
Commercial Roundup

Welcome back to The Contingency!
Starting next Wednesday, we’ll resume a weekly schedule for posting a roundup of the biggest commercial-law rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the highest courts of Delaware, New York, and Texas.
By “commercial law”, we mean the stuff of disputes with or…
Patent Cases Just Got Scarier
Extraordinary protection
Since 2007, wanton patent infringers have enjoyed extraordinary legal protection from awards of “enhanced” damages under section 284 of the Patent Act.
Last week, the Supreme Court stripped away three of the protections. The changes will make good patent cases better. But it won’t convert weak ones into strong ones.
Continue Reading Patent Cases Just Got Scarier