Not So Fast: Federal Circuit Reverses CFC Decision Limiting Indemnification Rights
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 01.17.13
In Indian Harbor Insurance Co. (Jan. 11, 2013), the Federal Circuit reversed the CFC and held that letters from a state regulatory agency demanding clean-up of environmental contamination at a former military site resulting in a voluntary clean-up agreement do constitute a "claim for personal injury or property damage" under section 330 of the 1993 NDAA, which requires DoD to indemnify subsequent owners of military sites against certain such "claims." This decision is an important development for parties seeking federal indemnification in connection with state regulatory actions.
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Client Alert | 2 min read | 11.14.25
Claim construction is a key stage of most patent litigations, where the court must decide the meaning of any disputed terms in the patent claims. Generally, claim terms are given their plain and ordinary meaning except under two circumstances: (1) when the patentee acts as its own lexicographer and sets out a definition for the term; and (2) when the patentee disavows the full scope of the term either in the specification or during prosecution. Thorner v. Sony Comput. Ent. Am. LLC, 669 F.3d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Aortic Innovations LLC v. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. highlights that patentees can act as their own lexicographers through consistent, interchangeable usage of terms across the specification, effectively defining terms by implication.
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.14.25
Microplastics Update: Regulatory and Litigation Developments in 2025
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.13.25
