Posts in: Unfair Business Practices
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Statements made in a press release, if based on attorney work product information, may waive work product as to the subject matter of the statements. In E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company v. Kolon Industries, Inc. (E.D. Va. July 30,…
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A Misrepresentation Made During a Contract Performance May Not Constitute Fraud
In a newly released opinion, the Virginia Supreme Court reaffirmed the Virginia rule that a fraud claim cannot be based upon one contracting party’s false statements to another contracting party in absence of an independent common law duty. The opinion …
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A Virginia Court Redefines a LLC’s Unanimous Consent Requirement to Permit the LLC to Sue One of Its Members
A circuit court in Virginia was faced with the question of whether a Limited Liability Company can sue one of its three Members when, under the LLC’s Operating Agreement, the decision to file a law suit required that all three …
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Beware of the Web ‘Bots
Cvent, Inc. filed an intellectual property law suit against EventBrite, alleging multiple unfair business practices claims, including: (1) violation of Virginia’s business conspiracy statute; (2) copyright infringement and violating the Lanham Act governing trademarks; (3) violation of the U.S. Computer …
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Government Contractor Hit with $10 Million in Punitive Damages for Discriminatory Contract Termination
In a government contractor dispute between prime and subcontractor companies, a jury empanelled in the U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Virginia found that the prime contractor racially discriminated against the subcontractor, tortiously interfered with the subcontractor’s employee contracts, …
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Virginia Petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to Reinstate Anti-Spam Law
Virginia’s Attorney General is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the verdict against spammer, Jeremy Jaynes, and reverse the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision rendering unconstitutional Virginia’s anti-spam statute. Virginia’s petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme …
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Court Dismisses Tortious Interference with Contract Claim Because It Only Alleged a Decrease in Business
In Signature Flight Support Corporation v. Landown Aviation Limited Partnership, the U.S. District Court dismissed the plaintiff’s tortious interference with contract because the plaintiff failed to allege an “intentional interference of contract inducing or causing a breach or termination…
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Subtle Pleading Difference Allows Claim for Intentional Interference with Business Expectancy to Go Forward
Judge James C. Cacheris’ most recent opinion in Signature Flight Support Corporation v. Landown Aviation Limited Partnership, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1938 (E.D. Va. Jan. 13, 2009), is a good illustration of how subtle shifts in the way a …
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Court Sanctions Defendant Corporation for Issuing a Misleading Press Release
In litigating corporate crisis cases, a public relations strategy is often as an essential component as the litigation itself. That is because the company’s reputation may be so adversely affected during the litigation that the survival of the company or …
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Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Sues Hilton Hotels Corporation
For an excellent example of the high-stakes nature of unfair business practices cases, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (“Starwood”) sued Hilton Hotels Corporation (“Hilton”) and several former Starwood employees on April 16, 2009. The allegations, if proven, are remarkable.…