Latest 5 Cases This Week: ATOM Instrument Corp. v. Petroleum Analyzer Co., LP (5th Cir.), Six Dimensions, Inc. v. Perficient, Inc. (5th Cir.), ...

#MeToo and What Men and Women Are Willing to Say and Do

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell Law professor Sherry F. Colb explores why people have such strong feelings about the #MeToo movement (whether they are advocates or opponents) and suggests that both sides rest their positions on contested empirical assumptions about the behavior of men and women. Colb argues that what we believe to be true of men and women generally contributes to our conclusions about the #MeToo movement and our perceptions about how best to handle the accusations of those who come forward.

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ATOM Instrument Corp. v. Petroleum Analyzer Co., LP

Court: US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Dockets: 19-20151, 19-20371

Opinion Date: August 7, 2020

Judge: Leslie Southwick

Areas of Law: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Patents

After ATOM filed for bankruptcy, plaintiff and ATOM initiated an adversarial proceeding against Petroleum Analyzer, alleging claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and civil theft. On the bankruptcy court's recommendation, the district court withdrew the reference to the bankruptcy court and asserted jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1334, and entered partial summary judgment for plaintiff and ATOM. Four years later, the district court held a bench trial and entered judgment in favor of Petroleum Analyzer and later awarded attorneys' fees to Petroleum Analyzer. The Fifth Circuit held that the district court did not clearly err by finding that Petroleum Analyzer did not use plaintiff's trade secrets in Petroleum Analyzer's sulfur-detecting excimer lamp called a MultiTek. Furthermore, the district court did not ignore the "law of the case" doctrine. The court also held that the district court did not err by awarding Petroleum Analyzer attorneys' fees under the Texas Theft Liability Act. The court remanded to allow the district court to make the initial determination and award of appellate attorneys' fees to Petroleum Analyzer.

Six Dimensions, Inc. v. Perficient, Inc.

Court: US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Docket: 19-20505

Opinion Date: August 7, 2020

Judge: Leslie Southwick

Areas of Law: Business Law, Contracts, Labor & Employment Law

Six Dimensions filed suit against a former employee and a competitor, Perficient, alleging claims for breach of contracts, unfair competition, and misappropriation of trade secrets. The Fifth Circuit reversed the part of the judgment holding that the employee breached an employment contract and owed damages to Six Dimensions. The court held that the district court abused its discretion in denying the employee an opportunity to extend the arguments she had already made about the 2014 Agreement and have them apply to the 2015 Agreement. However, the court held that the district court did not reversibly err in interpreting California law and concluding that California's strict antipathy towards restraint of trade of any kind in California Business and Professions Code section 16600 voids the nonsolicitation provision here. The court also found no error in the district court's refusal to apply California's Unfair Competition Law, and held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to find the jury's verdict contrary to the weight of the great evidence as to the misappropriation claim. Therefore, the court otherwise affirmed the district court's judgment.

JUUL Labs, Inc. v. Grove

Court: Delaware Court of Chancery

Docket: C.A. No. 2020-0005-JTL

Opinion Date: August 13, 2020

Judge: Laster

Areas of Law: Business Law

The Court of Chancery granted Plaintiff JUUL Labs, Inc.'s motion for judgment on the pleadings in this action regarding Defendant Daniel Grove's right to inspect Plaintiff's books and records, holding that Defendant did not waive his right to seek an inspection of books and records under California law but that, under the internal affairs doctrine, Defendant did not have the right to seek an inspection of books and records under California law. Plaintiff was a privately held Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in San Francisco, California. Defendant stated that he might sue Plaintiff in California state court to enforce his right to inspect Plaintiff's books and records under Cal. Corp. Code 1601. Plaintiff filed this action, arguing that Defendant waived his inspection rights and that, to the extent that Defendant did not waive all of his inspection rights, Defendant could not seek inspection under California law. The Court of Chancery held (1) Delaware law governed Plaintiff's internal affairs, and because the scope of Defendant's inspection rights was a matter of internal affairs, Delaware law applied and Defendant could not rely on section 1601 to obtain books and records; and (2) because Defendant did not make a demand for inspection under Delaware law, this decision did not address whether he validly waived his inspection rights.

Mississippi Dept. of Revenue v. SBC Telecom, Inc. et al.

Court: Supreme Court of Mississippi

Citation: 2019-CA-00917-SCT

Opinion Date: August 13, 2020

Judge: Chamberlin

Areas of Law: Business Law, Communications Law, Government & Administrative Law, Tax Law

At issue in this appeal was the computation of the broadband credit limits that a taxpayer may use against its franchise-tax and income-tax liabilities. During the tax periods at issue, AT&T Mobility II, LLC, and BellSouth Telecommunications operated telecommunications enterprises and made significant investments in broadband technology developments throughout Mississippi, generating Broadband Investment Credits (Broadband Credits) under Mississippi Code Section 57-87-5. BellSouth Mobile Data, SBC Alloy Holdings, New BellSouth Cannular Holdings, New Cingular Wireless Services, SBC Telecom, and Centennial were all direct or indirect corporate owners of AT&T Mobility II. The taxpayers here each filed a separate franchise-tax return and were included as affiliated group members in the combined corporate income-tax return filed on behalf of the affiliated group. The Mississippi Department of Revenue (MDOR) determined that the broadband credits the taxpayers had claimed had been improperly applied to an amount greater than the credit cap of 50 percent of the taxpayers’ tax liabilities according to Mississippi Code Section 57-87- 5(3) (Rev. 2014). The MDR disallowed portions of the broadband credits claimed by the taxpayers and assessed additional franchise taxes, interest and penalties to the taxpayers separately on several dates between December 22, 2014, and May 20, 2015. The taxpayers argue that each taxpayer is jointly and severally liable for the total combined income-tax liability of the affiliated group, therefore making the income-tax liability of each taxpayer the same as the total combined income-tax liability of the affiliated group. The chancellor granted summary judgment in favor of the taxpayers and ruled that the taxpayer’s tax liabilities under Chapters 7 and 13 of Title 271 of the Mississippi Code was the aggregate of the taxpayer’s separate franchise-tax liability and the total combined income-tax liability of the affiliated group. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the chancellor's ruling on the credit-computation issue. "The plain and unambiguous language of Section 57-87-5 clearly limits broadband credits that a taxpayer may take in any given year to 50 percent of the aggregate of the taxpayers’ franchise-tax liability and the total combined income-tax liability of the affiliated group."

Green Mountain Fireworks, LLC, et al. v. Town of Colchester et al.

Court: Vermont Supreme Court

Citation: 2020 VT 64

Opinion Date: August 7, 2020

Judge: Beth Robinson

Areas of Law: Business Law, Government & Administrative Law

In May 2018, appellants Green Mountain Fireworks, LLC and its owner Matthew Lavigne, began selling fireworks from a retail store in Colchester, Vermont. As described in their complaint, the “intended purpose” for the store was “to sell retail fireworks to consumers.” In relation to the retail store, appellants obtained a license from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) as a “Type 53 - Dealer of Explosives.” They also got a building permit and a certificate of occupancy from the Town Zoning Administrator. These zoning permits were the only two permit applications appellants submitted to the Town. The issue this appeal presented for the Vermont Supreme Court's review centered on whether 20 V.S.A. 3132(a)(1) authorized municipalities to grant permits for the general retail sale of fireworks to consumers who do not hold valid permits to display those fireworks. Appellants appealed the superior court's dismissal of two actions: (1) their appeal of the Town of Colchester selectboard’s denial of their application for a permit to sell fireworks pursuant to 20 V.S.A. 3132(a)(1); and (2) their request for a declaratory judgment that, even without that distinct permit, they had “all possible and applicable permits” and were permitted under section 3132 to sell fireworks in the manner described in their complaint. The Supreme Court concluded that section 3132(a)(1) required a distinct permit for the sale of fireworks, but did not authorize a permit for the general retail sale of fireworks along the lines proposed by appellants. The only fireworks sales authorized by statute were sales to the holder of a display permit for the purpose of the permitted display. Therefore, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's judgments.