The US Supreme Court ruled on June 11, 2018 in China Agritech v. Resh that its earlier judicially-created tolling rule for class actions does not allow new class actions beyond the time allowed by the applicable statute of limitations. In a 1974 case called American Pipe,…
California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) applies to a wide range of business activities. It can result in liability to consumers and businesses, although the statute limits the types of damages that courts may award. A business that is facing a UCL lawsuit has many options when it comes to…
Trade Secrets are now Protected by Federal Law: The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 Until recently, trade secret misappropriation was mostly a matter of state law and, in many cases, litigants seeking relief were limited to state courts. But in 2016, Congress passed the Defend Trade…
The U.S. court system handles a vast array of civil lawsuits, from small personal or business disputes to massive corporate matters. In any system of this size, abuses are bound to happen. One notable abuse of the judicial system involves the strategic use of meritless lawsuits, known as SLAPPs, to…
The law of contracts governs a wide range of business and commercial activity, allowing individuals and businesses to take risks with the knowledge that they have legal recourse. Breach of contract claims, however, are only possible between parties to a binding contract. This does not cover…
Any business that offers goods or services to the public uses names, phrases, logos, or designs to distinguish their products or services from those of their competitors. These elements are often known as the “brand” for a particular product or service. Trademark law protects the value of brands by…