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The Impact of Local Patent Rules on Rate and Timing of Case Resolution Relative to Claim Construction: An Empirical Study of the Past Decade
October 4, 2013
“FAs recognition of the value of patents has increased dramatically over the past decade, so too has the amount of litigation...
October 4, 2013
“FAs recognition of the value of patents has increased dramatically over the past decade, so too has the amount of litigation...
Federal Courts Decide Arbitrator Appointment and Disqualification Issues
October 4, 2013
In Adam Tech., the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion to appoint an arbitrator. The court held that there had been no “lapse in the naming of an arbitrator” under FAA Section 5, deciding rather that it was Adam’ Tech.’s failure to comply with the International Center for Dispute Resolution’s rules that prompted the ICDR to appoint an arbitrator against Adam Tech.’s objection. The court also held that the challenge to the ICDR’s rules was a procedural...
October 4, 2013
In Adam Tech., the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion to appoint an arbitrator. The court held that there had been no “lapse in the naming of an arbitrator” under FAA Section 5, deciding rather that it was Adam’ Tech.’s failure to comply with the International Center for Dispute Resolution’s rules that prompted the ICDR to appoint an arbitrator against Adam Tech.’s objection. The court also held that the challenge to the ICDR’s rules was a procedural...
Perfecting Security Interests: Exceptions And Enforcement, Part 3
October 4, 2013
Once created, a security interest becomes a claim or lien on the settlement proceeds. Individual tort and commercial cases can be subject to numerous liens from attorneys, medical providers, other legal finance companies, government entities, and private individuals. In addition, portfolios of cases can also be subject to liens, primarily from financial institutions and investors. Lien analysis is a vital consideration for any underwriter because even if the merits, procedural posture, and other...
October 4, 2013
Once created, a security interest becomes a claim or lien on the settlement proceeds. Individual tort and commercial cases can be subject to numerous liens from attorneys, medical providers, other legal finance companies, government entities, and private individuals. In addition, portfolios of cases can also be subject to liens, primarily from financial institutions and investors. Lien analysis is a vital consideration for any underwriter because even if the merits, procedural posture, and other...
Proving the Negative in Discovery Productions
October 3, 2013
A requesting party has a very difficult problem when a producing party has made a very small production that the requesting party believes is deficient. This situation quickly turns into the requesting party trying to prove a negative to the Court that a production is inadequate, without any evidence to support the argument. However, just because a requesting party cannot prove a production is inadequate, does not mean the production is adequate. A Court was faced with this issue in Am....
October 3, 2013
A requesting party has a very difficult problem when a producing party has made a very small production that the requesting party believes is deficient. This situation quickly turns into the requesting party trying to prove a negative to the Court that a production is inadequate, without any evidence to support the argument. However, just because a requesting party cannot prove a production is inadequate, does not mean the production is adequate. A Court was faced with this issue in Am....
Resolving IP Disputes: Calling for an Alternative Paradigm Symposium
October 3, 2013
Mark your calendars! On October 4th, the University of Missouri School of Law will host a symposium focused on resolving intellectual property disputes with a particular focus on patents. The event, “Resolving IP Disputes: Calling for an Alternative Paradigm,” will be sponsored by the School of Law’s Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution and Journal of Dispute Resolution. Here is the program overview: Patents now pervade the American business culture and marketplace. The number...
October 3, 2013
Mark your calendars! On October 4th, the University of Missouri School of Law will host a symposium focused on resolving intellectual property disputes with a particular focus on patents. The event, “Resolving IP Disputes: Calling for an Alternative Paradigm,” will be sponsored by the School of Law’s Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution and Journal of Dispute Resolution. Here is the program overview: Patents now pervade the American business culture and marketplace. The number...
Court Warns “Continuing Problems” with Document Production Will Result in Order to Retain an e-Discovery Vendor
October 3, 2013
Logtale, Ltd. v. IKOR, Inc., No. C-11-05452 CW (DMR), 2013 WL 3967750 (N.D. Cal. July 31, 2013) Plaintiff sought to compel Defendants’ production of all responsive documents and also sought sanctions, including attorneys’ fees and an order requiring Defendants “to retain an e-discovery vendor to conduct a thorough and adequate search for responsive electronic documents.” Acknowledging that it shared Plaintiff’s concerns “about the inadequacy of Defendants’ search for responsive...
October 3, 2013
Logtale, Ltd. v. IKOR, Inc., No. C-11-05452 CW (DMR), 2013 WL 3967750 (N.D. Cal. July 31, 2013) Plaintiff sought to compel Defendants’ production of all responsive documents and also sought sanctions, including attorneys’ fees and an order requiring Defendants “to retain an e-discovery vendor to conduct a thorough and adequate search for responsive electronic documents.” Acknowledging that it shared Plaintiff’s concerns “about the inadequacy of Defendants’ search for responsive...
Court Declines to Stay Litigation of Claims Despite Common Issues With Pending Reinsurance Arbitration
October 3, 2013
This case concerns overlapping reinsurance agreements, retrocession agreements related to the rinsured risks, and guarantees of the retrocession agreements. The reinsurance and retrocession agreements all contain arbitration provisions, but the guarantees do not. Disputes arose, an arbitration commenced concerning the retrocession agreements and a lawsuit was filed on the related guarantees. On a motion to dismiss, the court held that the claimant did not have to “exhaust” efforts to collect...
October 3, 2013
This case concerns overlapping reinsurance agreements, retrocession agreements related to the rinsured risks, and guarantees of the retrocession agreements. The reinsurance and retrocession agreements all contain arbitration provisions, but the guarantees do not. Disputes arose, an arbitration commenced concerning the retrocession agreements and a lawsuit was filed on the related guarantees. On a motion to dismiss, the court held that the claimant did not have to “exhaust” efforts to collect...
A Model Litigation Finance Contract
October 3, 2013
Litigation financing is nonrecourse funding of litigation by a non-party for a profit. It is a burgeoning and controversial...
October 3, 2013
Litigation financing is nonrecourse funding of litigation by a non-party for a profit. It is a burgeoning and controversial...
Outside Funders of Lawsuits Take a Couple of Hard Knocks
October 2, 2013
Investing in high-stakes lawsuits isn't for the faint of heart. Take the people who backed a U.S. company, Excalibur Ventures LLC, in its pursuit of a $1.6 billion claim against two oil-and-gas exploration companies, a three-year fight that involved a lengthy trial in the U.K. and arbitration in New York. Sean Coffey, left, and Tim Scrantom, former partners at now-defunct litigation-finance firm BlackRobe. The dispute—over an interest in oil fields in the Kurdish region of Iraq...
October 2, 2013
Investing in high-stakes lawsuits isn't for the faint of heart. Take the people who backed a U.S. company, Excalibur Ventures LLC, in its pursuit of a $1.6 billion claim against two oil-and-gas exploration companies, a three-year fight that involved a lengthy trial in the U.K. and arbitration in New York. Sean Coffey, left, and Tim Scrantom, former partners at now-defunct litigation-finance firm BlackRobe. The dispute—over an interest in oil fields in the Kurdish region of Iraq...
Do Internet Terms of Service (ToS) Apply to Paper Contracts?
October 2, 2013
Homeowners filed a breach of contract claim for defective flooring based on a paper contract, but the seller claims that the paper contract incorporated its website ToS including mandatory arbitration of disputes. Shannon & Eric Walker sued BuildDirect in Oklahoma federal court and alleged: …that after they installed the flooring, they discovered that their home was infested with nonindigenous wood-boring insects. According to the Walkers, the insects have severely damaged the home, cannot...
October 2, 2013
Homeowners filed a breach of contract claim for defective flooring based on a paper contract, but the seller claims that the paper contract incorporated its website ToS including mandatory arbitration of disputes. Shannon & Eric Walker sued BuildDirect in Oklahoma federal court and alleged: …that after they installed the flooring, they discovered that their home was infested with nonindigenous wood-boring insects. According to the Walkers, the insects have severely damaged the home, cannot...
