Where the plaintiffs were bound by a prior settlement with the defendants related to royalty claims for a defined period of time, and the plaintiffs are now pursuing trespass claims for a different time period, the district court did not ...
Read More »Contract – Prior settlement over royalties doesn’t bar trespass suit
Contract – Third-Party Beneficiary – Express Disclaimer – Legal Conclusion – Medical Insurance 
Although she was not a party to the “Institutional Agreement,” which made the defendant-hospital a preferred provider organization for purposes of plaintiff’s health insurance coverage with Blue Cross, the contract clearly provided benefits for plaintiff. Since the construction of the ...
Read More »Contract – Software Installation – Limitation of Liability – Tort/Negligence 
The “Limitations on Liability” clause in the parties’ software-installation contract is enforceable since (1) the UCC does not apply to service contracts, so the UCC’s failure of essential purpose defense does not apply here and (2) plaintiff’s sophistication negates its ...
Read More »Contract – Employee was improperly denied disability benefits 
Where the employee has to stand, walk or lie down as a break from sitting about every 10 minutes and requires heavy levels of narcotics to manage his pain, he is incapable of full-time employment and thus disabled under the ...
Read More »Contract – Venue – Forum Selection Clause – Permissive Language – Choice of Law 
In the parties’ employment contract, the forum selection clause provides, “The parties agree to the jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Harris County Texas, and waive any right available to a trial by jury.” Under Texas law, ...
Read More »Contract – Claim against Navy foreclosed by prior settlement agreement 
Where a ship repair company previously signed a settlement agreement with the US Navy that contained a broad release, and it did not carve out any other claims, that release barred a breach of contract claim. Background East Coast Repair, ...
Read More »Contract – Record supported finding that railroad breached good faith duty 
Where a railroad that was party to a guaranteed shipping contract did not expressly breach the agreement, but a jury could have found that its conduct violated the duty of good faith and fair dealing, the declaratory judgment against it ...
Read More »Contract – Damages – Real Property – Road to Development 
Plaintiff Road, LLC, owned an isthmus that provided the sole means of access to the “Point Tract,” which the plaintiff-developer planned to develop, and the developer had agreed to pay Road, LLC, $5 million for the isthmus. The developer’s option ...
Read More »Contract – Contract interpretation affirmed because of party’s waiver 
Where a food manufacturer prevailed on its breach of contract counterclaim because its contract with a food buyer was unambiguous, the decision was affirmed. The decision found that even if the contract was ambiguous, it led to the same result, ...
Read More »Contract – Government Construction Project – Failure to Require Bond – Contract Balance 
Even though the defendant Military Department violated the Subcontractors’ and Suppliers’ Payment Protection Act by failing to require the defendant-general contractor to obtain a payment bond, since the department had already paid the contractor the total amount due on the ...
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