United States: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

Recent patent litigation orders from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts reveal critical claim construction disputes and discovery rulings that shape the boundaries of patent enforcement. How do courts balance claim definiteness requirements with the practical realities of patent scope, and what standards govern third-party discovery in indirect infringement cases?

Artificial intelligence has transformed the speed of document retrieval in legal investigations, but does rapid access to records constitute a truly defensible evidence foundation? This article examines the critical gap between AI-powered search capabilities and the structured, traceable investigative processes required in construction disputes and other complex litigation matters.

The Federal Trade Commission has introduced stringent new requirements for parties using technology-assisted review or artificial intelligence in document production during investigations, mandating extensive upfront disclosures, prescriptive performance metrics, and validation processes. These requirements represent a significant departure from previous FTC practice and may discourage parties from using AI or TAR due to increased complexity and agency oversight. Parties now face critical decisions about wh

The Eighth Circuit's recent decision examines critical questions facing the transportation and logistics industry: How far does the Airline Deregulation Act's preemption reach? Can carriers enforce contractual liability limitations when high-value shipments go missing? What happens when an employee allegedly steals a $250,000 luxury watch during transit—does the conversion exception apply?

During a procurement, public agencies must balance the desire to provide offerors with detailed information against the need to ensure that information is accurate and fairly distributed. Providing offerors with extensive information about a project and robust answers to offeror questions can improve pricing and mitigate the perception of various risks.

Jeffrey Cohen and Brittany M. Clark examine the First Brands Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, focusing on why the court denied confirmation of a proposed joint liquidating plan. The discussion explores critical issues including the plan's dependence on uncertain litigation recoveries, unresolved administrative claims, and the absence of mechanisms to adjust course once confirmation became final.

The California Supreme Court clarifies how agencies must evaluate categorical exemptions under CEQA when converting oil wells to wastewater injection facilities. The decision establishes that environmental risk alone cannot determine whether a project qualifies for exemption, requiring instead a functional comparison of former and proposed uses.

An Ohio district court granted a motion for reconsideration six years after the Supreme Court's landmark Facebook v. Duguid decision, reversing a previous TCPA violation ruling.

During a procurement, public agencies must balance the desire to provide offerors with detailed information against the need to ensure that information is accurate and fairly distributed. Providing offerors with extensive information about a project and robust answers to offeror questions can improve pricing and mitigate the perception of various risks.

For hundreds of years, the world’s sovereign nations refused to allow any other foreign sovereign to be sued in their courts without the sovereign’s consent. The guiding principle was “absolute sovereign immunity,” an outgrowth of the ancient legal precept rex non potest peccare, understood to mean “the king can do no wrong.” The principle also was recognized as wise foreign policy because it extended "grace and comity" to other sovereigns.

Recent federal court decisions are reshaping the landscape of personal jurisdiction and enforcement of international arbitration awards following the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization. The DC and Ninth Circuits have issued critical opinions clarifying how Fifth Amendment due process standards apply differently than traditional Fourteenth Amendment minimum contacts analysis, particularly in cases involving foreign sovereigns and international arbitration. These deve

The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Paxton v. City of Austin reveals a procedural trap for businesses suing the government: winning the right to be heard can paradoxically freeze the entire case. When governmental defendants challenge a court's jurisdiction and lose, they can immediately appeal, putting all proceedings on hold—potentially for months or years.