Bizlit News Blog

When a Texas regulator takes a position with serious consequences for a business, the administrative proceeding may not be the only place to challenge it. In some disputes involving agency rules, Texas law allows a business to go directly to court without waiting for the agency process to end. The Texas Supreme Court clarified that…

September is peak hurricane season. Even in a quieter year, the best time to address flood-claim documentation and insurance issues is before severe weather threatens the property. Once property is damaged, it can be difficult—or impossible—to recreate the evidence needed to establish its pre-loss condition, value, and contents. For businesses insured through the National Flood…

For many years now, third-party litigation financing has become an increasingly relevant consideration for parties to litigation nationwide.  Many states have implemented varying levels of restrictions and regulations, and North Carolina has recently prohibited it entirely in civil cases.[1]  In May of 2026, Tennessee enacted new regulations, amending its Litigation Financing Consumer Protection Act (“Act”). …

Corporate legal departments increasingly use third party platforms and managed billing services to review outside counsel invoices. In many cases, the client selects the system and directs its law firms to submit bills through it. Some of these services now use artificial intelligence, automated review, or a combination of technology and human reviewers to examine…

“When you strike at a king” begins the legendary admonition by Ralph Waldo Emerson to a young Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.[1] The young writer had asked for a review of his essay, which challenged the philosophy of Plato. Parties in serious litigation concerned about whether the presiding judge would be an impartial arbiter face a…

For years now, the states and federal appellate courts have been split over a simple, yet complex question: does federal law preempt state-law claims against brokers for their negligent selection (negligent hiring) of motor carriers and/or their drivers? For a minute, things were looking up for the trucking industry with the Seventh Circuit’s decision in…

A nearly $24 million trademark judgment tends to get attention. But Van Leeuwen Ice Cream LLC v. Rebel Creamery LLC is quickly becoming an equally interesting lesson in what happens after the plaintiff wins. On July 16, 2026, U.S. District Judge Eric R. Komitee of the Eastern District of New York found Rebel Creamery liable…

The Louisiana Behind the Counter Protection Act (“LBCPA”), which took effect on August 1, 2026, aims to deter workplace violence against employees who work directly with the public in retail, restaurant, and other customer-facing businesses.[1] The Act strengthens criminal penalties for certain acts of violence against employees working at checkout stations, service counters, drive-through windows,…

Suing the government in Texas often begins with a fight over whether the court can hear the case at all. Counterintuitively, winning that fight can put the rest of the case on hold. That’s because Texas law gives governmental defendants the right to immediately appeal certain rulings on that threshold question, preventing the case from…

So your business (or your client’s business) just got sued.  What started out as a nice day just turned sour.  Now what do you do?  If you are like most businesses, after being served with a lawsuit, the first call is often to litigation counsel. But what about the business’s insurer?  The insurance carrier, if…