Sweeping Prohibition on Arbitration of Employment Disputes in 2010 Defense Appropriations
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 12.28.09
Entities receiving federal contracts or subcontracts in excess of $1 million using funds from the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 3326), signed into law on December 22, 2009, will be prohibited from executing or enforcing mandatory arbitration clauses in agreements with employees or independent contractors for claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or for certain torts related to sexual assault or harassment. While limited national security waivers are contemplated, this sweeping prohibition is a significant development for defense contractors and other entities receiving contracts or subcontracts using funds from the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act.
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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
