McCarter & English Seeks ‘Entire Doctrine Controversy’ Lien Win

McCarter & English is in a battle with a former drugmaker client who told a New Jersey appeals court Thursday that it never got to challenge the law firm’s liens on its intellectual property.

The Superior Court Appellate Division case centers on whether biotech company Moerae Matrix can sue its former lawyers over how they collected for $800,000 in legal fee debt.

But to get there, Moerae must get around the “entire controversy doctrine,” a court rule intended to help courts prevent dockets from ballooning by blocking parties from filing new lawsuits based on the facts and claims from prior ...