A blog about the work lawyers do to win commercial disputes by Will Newman
Courts often interpret insurance contracts in a very sympathetic light to policyholders and harshly to insurance companies. This is likely because they recognize the tremendous power imbalance between the two parties: insurance companies can write the policies and policyholders have very little say into the terms.
Read MoreThe implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing is a promise that state law declares is inherent in every contract unless the contract expressly disclaims it. The Uniform Commercial Code, for example, codifies it at UCC 1-304. It basically requires people who enter into contracts to act consistently with the object of the agreement. So, for example, if a sponsor of an apartment building agrees to sell apartments, that agreement contains an implied promise that the sponsor will not wait ten years to do so, making the finances of the building unsustainable.
Read MoreSome documents contain both privileged and non-privileged information. For those documents, an attorney redacts out the privileged portion, and produces a redacted version of the document that reveals the non-privileged portion. The attorney discloses details about the privileged portion on the privilege log. Redactions are a big task in document review and document production.
Read MoreLower-level courts often consult with the higher-level courts before trial to be assured that their judgments will not be appealed, which works quite well for simple disputes. But when it comes to complex disputes between large corporations, the lower-level courts cannot really issue an unappealable judgment.
Read MoreWhen a defendant seeks summary judgment, she is often telling the court that the plaintiff has no evidence to present at trial that could support his case. Summary judgment motions are difficult to win because, often, plaintiffs in litigation have some evidence. But even so, a defendant can prevail by explaining that the plaintiff’s evidence does not support his case.
Read MoreA major reason why litigants select one court instead of another is that the court they select is more conveniently located. The court may be near where the plaintiff or other key witnesses live, so they can more easily testify there. Or it may be near where the plaintiff’s attorney works, so she can more easily represent the client and appear for hearings.
Read MoreThere are numerous examples of completely nonsensical claims that plaintiffs have submitted to court, and each of them technically started a lawsuit. A mentally ill person sued numerous defendants, alleging she was a cyborg with information about a slavery conspiracy. A former president sued a laundry list of people, alleging a conspiracy to make up connections with Russia. A beer drinker sued a brewer, alleging its beer did not help him attract women.
Read MoreThe strength of Kazakh courts for resolving commercial disputes lies in availability of various specialized courts. We have commercial courts for disputes between businesses, companies, and sole proprietors. We also have administrative courts for disputes between businesses, companies, and sole proprietors, on one hand, and governmental bodies, on the other hand.
Read MoreMany states have consumer protection statutes that make it easier to sue companies that use deception in selling consumer goods. While the language of these statutes may be broad, courts sometimes interpret them narrowly in litigation.
Read MoreAfter preparing the subpoena, a party needs to serve the subpoena in the same manner that it serves a summons. Often lawyers reach out to the lawyer for the subpoena recipient, who agrees to accept service without the need for the technical service procedure. The serving party usually also needs to serve a copy of the subpoena on each of the other parties to the litigation, which may also give them the opportunity to fight it in court.
Read MoreNon-Disclosure Agreements often begin with a definition of what information exactly is “confidential” and therefore should not be disclosed. Usually this is information that one party gives to the other that isn’t already public. Such a broad definition allows a company to re-use the same NDA for multiple situations and permits it to file the NDA in court without fear that the NDA itself will reveal any secrets. But sometimes an agreement may be more specific to avoid any doubt about what the subject matter is.
Read MoreIn my review of Strike 3 lawsuits, I have seen none proceed to trial. The vast majority that I see settle, which means that Strike 3’s business appears to me to be twofold: First, getting random people to send it money to settle its lawsuits. And second, generally discouraging people from illegally downloading its films.
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