Benchmarks: Fee award wrongly based on lawyer’s cut 
Published: October 1, 2012
Tags: attorney fees, breach of contract, contingency fee agreement
Victorious plaintiffs in a breach of contract case thought they were in line for an award of attorney fees equal to what they owed their lawyer under a 25 percent contingency fee agreement.
They were wrong.
Jury awards man $2 million for creating fuel additive
Published: July 30, 2012
Tags: breach of contract, California, patent, profit-sharing plan
A jury has awarded $2 million to a man who developed a unique fuel additive several years ago and claimed his employer improperly phased him out of millions of dollars he was owed in a profit-sharing agreement.
Rewards program promises may be enforced
Published: July 17, 2012
Tags: breach of contract, consumer protection, R.J. Reynolds
A cigarette company may have made promises in advertising for a rewards program that customers could enforce in a breach of contract suit, the 9th Circuit has ruled in reversing a dismissal.
Arbitration clause can’t be enforced in bankruptcy
Published: July 12, 2012
Tags: arbitration, breach of contract, Chapter 7, Federal Arbitration Act
Parties to a business contract could not enforce an arbitration clause against another party to the agreement who filed for bankruptcy protection in response to being sued for fraud, the 9th Circuit has ruled in affirming judgment.
Benchmarks: Can office sue software seller for data loss?
Published: July 5, 2012
Tags: breach of contract, computer software, limitation of liability, product liability, strict liability
You always expect some glitches when your office upgrades its computer software, but when customer records go up in smoke, that’s a real nightmare. For one particularly unlucky dental office, the trouble was compounded by a limitation of liability clause in its software contract.
Last week, the Utah Supreme Court had to decide whether state product liability law prevents a software seller from enforcing such a clause.
Court reporters’ suit against lawyers not barred by anti-SLAPP statute
Published: May 1, 2012
Tags: anti-SLAPP statute, breach of contract
A suit brought by court reporters against lawyers who protested court reporting fees on behalf of their clients is not barred under the state anti-SLAPP statute, the California Court of Appeal has ruled.
Michigan chiropractor awarded $7 million
By:
Douglas J Levy
Published: April 2, 2012
Tags: breach of contract, chiropractor, failure to honor good faith duties, false light invasion of privacy, Michigan, negligence
A Michigan jury has awarded Dr. Micheil Hanczaryk and his practice, Bristol Chiropractic Centre, nearly $7 million on claims of breach of contract, negligence, failure to honor good faith duties and false light invasion of privacy against his carrier, Podiatry Insurance Co. of America (PICA).
Home borrowers’ contract claim isn’t preempted
Published: December 29, 2011
Tags: breach of contract, consumer protection, Home Owners’ Loan Act, preemption
Federal consumer protection law does not preempt a lawsuit alleging that a home lender’s charging of a purported prepayment fee breached the terms of the plaintiffs’ loan agreement, the 6th Circuit has ruled in reversing a dismissal.
Homeowners can’t enforce HAMP loan plan terms
Published: November 28, 2011
Tags: breach of contract, Home Affordable Modification Program
Homeowners could not sue to enforce the terms of a loan modification plan crafted for relief under the federal Home Affordable Mortgage Program, the California Court of Appeal has ruled in affirming a dismissal.
Ousted preacher collects award for libel, slander
By:
Phillip Bantz
Published: October 24, 2011
Tags: breach of contract, libel, slander, South Carolina, tax evasion, wrongful discharge
After a relatively minor tax mistake triggered a series of increasingly bitter and bizarre spats between a South Carolina pastor and the church he led for 18 years, a jury ultimately awarded him a six-figure verdict for his suffering.
