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Often, RICO cases fail due to very specific pleading errors. A RICO plaintiff may fail to meet the law’s requirements for pleading continuity, for pleading a valid RICO enterprise, for pleading underlying fraud claims with particularity, or for pleading an injury that qualifies under the law as “domestic,” not foreign. Whether you are pursuing a civil RICO case or defending against one, details matter a great deal, so be sure you have an experienced Atlanta civil RICO lawyer on your side.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important ruling looking at the issue of domestic (versus foreign) injuries and civil RICO law. The case is an important win, in this world of multinational business, for non-U.S. residents who suffer racketeering harm in the U.S.

The RICO case upon which the Supreme Court just ruled involved a Russian plaintiff, V.S., and a real estate venture in Moscow gone wrong. V.S. filed an arbitration action in London and won a multimillion-dollar sum.

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When it comes to protecting yourself from a contract partner failing to perform as promised, there are numerous keys. One is to ensure you have a contract drafted with skill and precision. Another is to avoid making missteps that could cost you the opportunity to assert contractual rights you otherwise would have had. In both of these areas, representation from a skilled Atlanta commercial contract lawyer can be essential in protecting your business interests.

A recent breach of contract case from South Georgia involves both of these issues.

The underlying agreement regarded the development of a new firearm. Specifically, an entity based in Savannah company wanted to bring to market a new pistol caliber carbine gun, which the company had never sold before, so it contracted with a Tennessee company for the design and manufacture of component sets.

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On courtroom TV shows, success or failure often occurs in one very sudden “a-ha!” moment at or near the end of a trial. In reality, though, the crucial seeds of success (or failure) are often sowed much earlier. Success in your commercial dispute requires many skillfully executed pretrial steps, including drafting and timely submitting a well-written complaint. Whether you’re in need of trial advocacy or pre-trial help, an experienced Atlanta commercial contracts lawyer can be essential to your success.

Last month, we looked at a case between a Georgia-based sports agent (and his agency) and his North Carolina-based financial and tax advisor (and others) in a dispute over unpaid debts. To briefly recap, the latter group sued the former, alleging breach of contract, and in our previous post, we focused upon one of the key issues in the case: precisely when commercial parties do — or do not — have a binding agreement.

That case, however, has an additional lesson for the unwary litigant — one unrelated to the rules of contract formation. In that case, the advisor’s claims weren’t the only ones at issue. The agent and his affiliated parties countersued, alleging “fraudulent inducement, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud, and civil conspiracy.”

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When you, as a landlord, ink a lease with a commercial tenant, you obviously hope the tenant’s business succeeds. Sometimes, though, that doesn’t happen. Failure happened a lot during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. When your tenant gives up on their business and abandons the property they leased, you, as the landlord, have certain rights. When it comes to situations involving an abandoning tenant and negotiating a legal “surrender,” you should proceed with caution to avoid diminishing your potential unpaid rent recovery. That caution includes reaching out to a knowledgeable Atlanta landlord-tenant lawyer.

In 2008, we heard about the phrase “jingle mail,” which refers to “underwater” homeowners who gave up their homes by simply mailing the keys back to the bank. In a similar vein, sometimes your commercial tenant may give up and demonstrate that simply by — with no warning — evacuating the property and mailing the keys back to you.

When that happens (or your commercial tenant engages in similar acts of unannounced and unplanned abandonment of the property,) it is vitally important to understand a few things, including the concept of “surrender” and what, under Georgia law, does or does not constitute a surrender. A landlord-tenant case from here in Atlanta shines some light on these important concepts.

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When dealing with commercial contracts and negotiations regarding commercial contracts, there are pieces of information that can be crucial. Perhaps the most fundamental is “Do we or don’t we have a binding agreement enforceable under the law?” When it comes to negotiating an agreement and getting knowledgeable advice about the contractual legal obligations you do or don’t have, an experienced Atlanta commercial contracts lawyer can give you the answers you need.

One recent breach of contract case in federal court turned, in part, on this exact question of the existence (or non-existence) of a binding contract.

The defendant was a Georgia-based sports agent (and his agency) that, in 2016, contracted with a North Carolina-based financial and tax advisory firm. Upon the firm president’s advice, the agency hired C.H. as its chief operating officer. The COO and the financial advisors recommended that the agent seek a line of credit from a private lender, and he did so, agreeing to borrow $295,000. Of that sum, the agent alleged he received only $45,000.

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While not occurring here in Georgia, a recent federal court ruling dismissing a shareholder derivative action in California is a prime example of the extreme importance of the procedural demands placed on the plaintiffs in a derivative claim. As a shareholder plaintiff, satisfying these procedural steps is essential to getting your case to trial. On the flip side, these requirements can be the keys to a successful dismissal motion if you’re the board of directors. Either way, having an experienced Atlanta derivative action lawyer is crucial to success.

To understand the lawsuit from California, one must know the background. In 2021, the State of California took legal action against a well-known Santa Monica-based video game publishing and development company. According to the state, the company fostered a “frat boy culture” that led to rampant sexual harassment, gender discrimination (in the form of unequal pay and promotions,) and retaliation.

According to some shareholders, the 2021 legal action was the culmination of a state investigation that dated back to 2018. Allegedly, despite its knowledge of the state’s investigation, the company’s board of directors failed to take appropriate corrective steps to stop the company’s discriminatory practices.

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A recent RICO claim in federal court, tossed following a motion to dismiss, contains some useful lessons for both plaintiffs and defendants. For potential plaintiffs, it is important to understand that not every wrong that involved a collective of people acting in concert is a civil RICO violation, and if what harmed you was a possible RICO case, success almost never begins with a vague, bare-bones complaint. For businesses who find themselves on the receiving end of such a complaint, it is equally important to recognize the many exacting pleading requirements the law imposes and that those requirements may be the key to getting that RICO claim dismissed early in the litigation process. Whichever side you’re on, a RICO claim should be undertaken or opposed with paramount seriousness and diligence. If your case involves such a cause of action, make sure you’ve consulted with an Atlanta civil RICO lawyer experienced and well-versed in this area of the law.

The federal case involved S.S., a Black woman who delivered a local newspaper in Jonesboro, Ark. She allegedly suffered racial discrimination when her employer illegally underpaid her while paying two White colleagues the proper rate. On that basis, she sued, presenting claims for discrimination under federal and Arkansas law. She also included a civil RICO claim.

The employer opposed the RICO claim and the trial court swiftly dismissed it. Earlier this month, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals summarily upheld that decision.

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Contract relationships can be like couples relationships: some are satisfying and mutually beneficial, some start out strong but eventually go off course, and others seemingly are beset with problems almost from the start. If you find yourself in the middle or last scenario, you may also have to deal with a breach of contract case in civil court. When the time comes to sue or to defend a lawsuit, be sure you have a knowledgeable Atlanta contract dispute lawyer handling your case.

A breach of contract case from here in North Georgia illustrates what can happen when two contract partners fall into that last category… and when a party’s case is missing some very important pieces.

In this case, a contractor and a subcontractor had an agreement for the subcontractor to do installation work. The subcontractor, however, did a grossly substandard job, according to the contractor. The subcontractor, in its defense, asserted that any problems with its work were the result of the contractor providing it with an insufficiently clean jobsite in which to do the work it agreed to perform.

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Amidst complicated questions of corporate mergers, intellectual property, and more, commercial contracts often come down to fundamental issues of document drafting and contract construction. Whether yours is a (seemingly) straightforward contract for services or a complex deal, success often comes down to what’s on the paper you sign and your understanding of what rights and responsibilities are contained in that language. When it comes to getting a contract that does what you intended, and then enforcing the rights you obtained through that agreement, make sure you have an effective and experienced Atlanta commercial contracts lawyer advocating for you.

A recent 11th Circuit Court of Appeals breach of contract case is a strong example of what we mean. The client was a corporation headquartered in Florida “that specializes in defense and information technology.” The consultant was a corporation that “offers research and consulting services related to infrastructure and energy.”

The parties inked a consulting agreement in 2010 to use radio frequency heating technology to obtain heavy oil from oil sands. The “Miscellaneous” section of the deal called for the consultant to receive a payment (capped at $4 million) if “IP is sold, merged or transferred and the primary basis of the sale is not the IP.”

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The effect of a judge finding a party in contempt of court can be very different depending on the circumstances. If the party in question is a deadbeat parent who hasn’t paid their child support, the result may be jail time. On the other hand, if the party in question is your commercial tenant who hasn’t followed the court’s orders for the disclosure of documents, the results may be something very different but highly beneficial to your case. Whether you’re seeking collection of back-owed rent, pursuing an eviction action, or taking some other step against your commercial tenant, an experienced Atlanta landlord-tenant dispute lawyer can help you ensure you’re going about it the right way procedurally.

Last month, we looked at a commercial tenant that was holding over. Today, we consider the proper steps for a landlord whose tenant allegedly didn’t pay rent and refused to cooperate with the discovery process.

The tenant was a college exam preparation business located in a Duluth shopping center. In 2016, the ownership of the shopping center changed hands. Less than a year later, the new landlord sued the tenant alleging that it had failed to pay its rent.

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