3rd Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Patent Licensing Dispute Over Contract Terms
PHILADELPHIA — A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 20 affirmed a Delaware federal judge’s dismissal with prejudice of a breach of contract suit involving a licensing agreement for patented hand sanitizer and other skin-care products; the panel agreed with the judge that the plaintiff-appellant entity never received a required affirmative written communication that would allow it to bring infringement suits regarding the patents.
Federal Circuit Vacates $12.7M Copyright Judgment Against U.S. Government
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a nearly $12.7 million award to software entities by a judge in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, holding that the judge improperly used unforeseeable hindsight when assessing the value of a company’s copyrighted software that was infringed by the United States.
7th Circuit Affirms Ruling Against Class In Case Over $265M ESOP Deal
CHICAGO — Affirming judgment against a class of employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) participants who challenged a $265 million deal, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 17 explained that it found no clear error in the ruling that followed a 14-day bench trial.
Indiana Panel Reverses No Coverage Ruling In Suit Over 4-H Fair Injury
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana appeals panel reversed a lower court’s grant of a commercial general liability insurer and claims administrator’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in a coverage dispute arising from an alleged injury at the insured’s 4-H Fair, concluding that it cannot determine on the pleadings that the defendants have no duty to defend or indemnify.
Insured Failed To Show Auto Insurer Acted Unreasonably, Federal Judge Says
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge on July 17 dismissed an insured’s bad faith claim against an auto insurer without prejudice after determining that the insured failed to show that the insurer lacked a reasonable basis for its actions in attempting to settle the insured’s underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits claim.
Judge Grants Preliminary OK To $250M Settlement For Apple’s Misleading AI Claims
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on July 17 granted a motion for preliminary approval of a $250 million settlement, including an estimated $70 million in attorney fees, to resolve class claims that Apple Inc. violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misrepresenting the artificial intelligence capabilities that new iPhone models with “Apple Intelligence” and Siri software would provide and overruled an argument by objectors who argued that some class members are entitled to more damages.
Judge Dismisses In Part Suit Seeking Refund Related To COVID Business Suspension
GREENVILLE, Miss. — A Mississippi federal judge granted in part the U.S. government’s motion to dismiss a nonprofit’s suit seeking a tax refund pursuant to the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) because of government orders that partially suspended its business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the claim for declaratory judgment should be dismissed as barred by the Declaratory Judgment Act and the Anti-Injunction Act.
Split Maryland High Court Reverses $25,000 MPIA Attorney Fee Award
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A split Maryland Supreme Court reversed lower courts’ decisions awarding a nonprofit organization half of its initially requested attorney fees in its Maryland Public Information Act case against Frederick County, finding that the initial trial court order did not follow the established standard for determining attorney fee awards.
Federal Judge Won’t Reconsider Arbitration Denial In NFL Race Bias Suit
NEW YORK — Racial discrimination claims against three teams and the National Football League (NFL) brought in a putative class complaint by three current and former NFL coaches must proceed in court, a federal judge in New York ruled, denying reconsideration of a February ruling that denied in full arbitration based on “[t]he NFL’s unilateral control over the dispute resolution process.”
Judge Awards $1.3M In Fees And Costs After ‘Abusive’ School Trademark Row
ORLANDO, Fla. — After what a Florida federal judge called “five-and-a-half years of abusive litigation” in a trademark row over virtual schooling trademarks, the judge awarded more than $1.3 million in Rule 11 sanctions to the defendant school entity after the plaintiff school entity continued to pursue nationwide trademark damages for several months in 2023 after discovery failed to produce supporting evidence.
Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB Invalidation Of Chip Patent Claims
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a pair of July 16 opinions, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) finding that claims of multiple patents describing a chip for use in printers were unpatentable as obvious, seeing no error in PTAB’s construction of certain claims, its motivation-to-combine analysis or other challenged elements of its decision.