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Collateral Contracts Rule Explained

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 12.30.05

In Mann v. U.S. (Dec. 7, 2005), the Court of Federal Claims rejected a broad reading of the rule that lost profits are not allowed under contracts collateral to the contract actually breached, explaining that when the lost profits directly relate to the subject of the contract they are recoverable, even if they would have required a transaction with a third party. In this breach of a lease agreement, assuming adequate proof, the contractor is able to recover the lost profits he would have made from releasing the property, as well as certain out-of-pocket costs to improve the property.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 12.04.25

District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Against Seller of Gray Market Snack Food Products

On November 12, 2025, Judge King in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted in part Haldiram India Ltd.’s (“Plaintiff” or “Haldiram”) motion for a preliminary injunction against Punjab Trading, Inc. (“Defendant” or “Punjab Trading”), a seller alleged to be importing and distributing gray market snack food products not authorized for sale in the United States. The court found that Haldiram was likely to succeed on the merits of its trademark infringement claim because the products at issue, which were intended for sale in India, were materially different from the versions intended for sale in the U.S., and for this reason were not genuine products when sold in the U.S. Although the court narrowed certain overbroad provisions in the requested order, it ultimately enjoined Punjab Trading from importing, selling, or assisting others in selling the non-genuine Haldiram products in the U.S. market....