Last week a jury awarded a Delaware worker, Autumn Lampkins, $25,000 in compensatory damages and $1.5 million in punitive damages against her employer, a fast-food restaurant franchisee. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware District Court, claimed that Ms. Lampkins’ supervisors and co-workers made it difficult for her to pump breast milk during her shift. This ultimately led…

In AR Capital, LLC v. XL Specialty Insurance Co., et al., C.A. No. N16C-04-154 WCC CCLD, Judge Carpenter resolved several case dispositive motions filed as part of contentious litigation between AR Capital, LLC, intervenor VEREIT, Inc., and several insurers. In 2011, VEREIT and AR Capital entered into an Acquisition and Capital Services Agreement and a Management…

The Delaware Superior Court’s Complex Commercial Litigation Division (“CCLD”) was very busy in the last quarter of 2018. The division handled large trade secret cases, issued decisions in complex contract actions, and continued as a preferred venue for resolving commercial insurance disputes.

In The GWO Litigation Trust v. Sprint Solutions, Inc., C.A. No. N17C-06-356 PRW CCLD, Judge Wallace granted in part and denied in part defendant Sprint Solutions, Inc.’s (“Sprint”) motion to dismiss certain counts of the complaint and plaintiff General Wireless Organization Litigation Trust’s (“GWO Trust”) partial motion to dismiss Sprint’s counterclaims and third party Sprint e-Wireless’s…

In SARN Energy LLC v. Tatra Defense Vehicle A.S., C.A. No. N17C-06-355 EMD CCLD (Nov. 5, 2018) (“SARN II”), Judge Davis considered a motion to dismiss counterclaims raised by Tatra Defence Vehicle a.s. SARN II arises from the same transaction as SARN I. The counterclaims included two claims for breach of contract: failure to disclose tax…

On November 7, 2018, Judge Johnston concluded a multi-week jury trial in Incyte Corporation v. Flexus Biosciences, Inc. et al., C.A. No. N15C-09-055 MMJ CCLD. The trial began on October 22, 2018, and the case was one of the largest cases tried to a verdict in the history of the CCLD. Although the plaintiff had originally…

In Piper Jaffray, Inc. v. Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc., C.A. No.: N18C-04-021 EMD CCLD, Judge Davis denied a motion to dismiss. Plaintiff Piper Jaffray Inc. brought suit against Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. for payment of a transaction fee that Piper Jaffray claimed was owed under the terms of a January 7, 2017 engagement letter. Under the…

In SARN Energy LLC v. Tatra Defense Vehicle A.S., C.A. No. N17C-06-355 EMD CCLD (Oct. 31, 2018) (“SARN I”), Judge Davis denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings brought by plaintiff SARN Energy LLC. SARN sued Tatra Defence Vehicle a.s. for breach of contract arising out of a Defense Policy Analysis and Advisor Agreement (the…

Recently, Delaware’s 150th General Assembly passed House Bill No. 1, amending Article I of the Delaware Constitution to provide equal rights on the basis of sex. This amendment provides that the Constitution shall state: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex.” The bill also contains a statement…