Balough
January 8, 2015
The question of who came up with the idea for Heinz Ketchup’s “Dip & Squeeze” packaging will be left to a jury, a Pennsylvania U.S. District Court judge said. The court denied H. J. Heinz Company’s motion for summary judgment. The company sought to dismiss the case arguing that it was in the process of developing […]
Balough
November 10, 2014
A satellite radio provider cannot force arbitration of a dispute over unsolicited telephone calls because a buyer of a new vehicle cannot be expected to understand that purchasing a new vehicle would bind him to the radio provider’s contract, the Ninth Circuit found. The case involves a three-month free trial of Sirius XM satellite radio, […]
Balough
October 23, 2014
A company that designed an enclosure for electronic tablets cannot sue a manufacturer with whom it shared the design pursuant to a confidentiality agreement because the disclosing company failed to take reasonable measures to protect its trade secret. nClosures Inc. developed a metal case for electronic tablets such as iPads. In 2011, the company signed […]
Balough
August 29, 2014
FedEx Ground delivery drivers are employees, not independent contractors, under California’s labor laws, the Ninth Circuit found, reversing a summary judgment for the delivery service. The drivers filed suit for employment expenses and unpaid wages under the California Labor Code on the ground that FedEx had improperly classified the drivers as independent contractors. The case […]
Balough
April 2, 2014
Two provisions in eBay’s User Agreement are not enforceable contract provisions but simply general descriptions of how eBay operates. The Ninth Circuit affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a case involving eBay’s automatic bidding system. The Plaintiff had argued that eBay breached its User Agreement and violated California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law. […]
