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"Certain" Means No Weasel Words

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 09.30.05

The Contract Disputes Act requires a contractor to specify a "sum certain" that it claims. The contractor in Sandoval Plumbing Repair, Inc. (ASBCA Sept. 14, 2005), specified a dollar amount but learned that by adding words such as "no less than" or "in excess of" before a specified amount makes the claim "uncertain" and requires dismissal.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 04.01.26

Supreme Court Rejects “Mere Knowledge” Standard for Contributory Copyright Infringement in Cox v. Sony, Reverses $1 Billion Judgment Against Cox

On March 25, 2026, in Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a $1 billion verdict against Cox. The judgment was the result of a jury trial in which Sony claimed that Cox was liable for contributory copyright infringement because it knew that its customers were using its service to infringe yet did not respond with sufficient diligence to prevent that infringement....