North America: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

The Supreme Court of Canada has addressed the doctrine of spoliation for the first time in over a century, establishing a clear framework for cases involving intentional destruction of evidence.

On July 25, 2026, a Reddit user reported that the search operator site:claude.ai/share returned strangers' conversations with Claude. Tech reporter Beatrice Nolan covered it for Fortune two days later, cataloguing work notes, names, addresses, and cryptocurrency wallet keys sitting in the index.

The Commercial Division Advisory Council has proposed two rule amendments for public comment: one requiring transparency in discovery cost-shifting requests with good-faith cost estimates...

Mental Mining® is a cognitive framework developed by IMS that helps trial teams align case narratives with how jurors naturally process and organize complex information. By identifying subconscious decision-making patterns...

The Supreme Court of Canada has addressed the doctrine of spoliation for the first time in over a century, establishing a clear framework for cases involving intentional destruction of evidence.

The rule of law underpins western democracies. Without the rule of law, a society will descend into chaos. Accordingly, government powers are not unlimited and courts have the authority to ensure that the exercise of delegated powers can be judicially reviewed.

An Ontario court has dismissed a class member's motion to opt out of a class action after the deadline expired and a settlement was negotiated, reinforcing the finality of court-ordered opt-out deadlines. The decision examines whether the Johnson test applies to class members whose damages had not yet manifested at the opt-out deadline, and whether a settlement in principle constitutes sufficient prejudice to deny a late opt-out request.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has once again invoked the effective vindication doctrine to strike down an ERISA plan arbitration clause, ruling that provisions preventing representative actions and plan-wide relief violate participants' substantive rights under federal law. This decision adds to a growing body of federal appellate precedent challenging the enforceability of arbitration clauses in 401(k) plans, raising critical questions about how plan sponsors should structure dispute resolution mechan

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors has filed its third constitutional challenge to state packaging extended producer responsibility programs, this time targeting Colorado's recycling law. With similar lawsuits pending in Oregon and California, the outcome of these cases could reshape how states regulate producer responsibility for packaging waste and determine whether current EPR frameworks can withstand constitutional scrutiny.

For hundreds of years, the world’s sovereign nations refused to allow any other foreign sovereign to be sued in their courts without the sovereign’s consent. The guiding principle was “absolute sovereign immunity,” an outgrowth of the ancient legal precept rex non potest peccare, understood to mean “the king can do no wrong.” The principle also was recognized as wise foreign policy because it extended "grace and comity" to other sovereigns.

The Supreme Court's 2025-2026 term delivered landmark rulings that reshape the landscape for arbitration enforcement and Helms-Burton Act claims. From clarifying federal courts' continuing jurisdiction over arbitration proceedings to expanding liability under Title III, these decisions favor award-creditors and claimholders while leaving critical sovereign immunity questions unresolved through strategic cert denials.

Simply stated, eminent domain is the power of the government to take private property for a public use (i.e. utilities, roads, and parks). However, the property owner...