If last month's Southern Peru decision signalled to the plaintiffs bar that the Delaware courts are open for business, Travis Laster of Delaware's Chancery Court apparently didn't get the memo. This week Laster not only dismissed a suit brought by Hecla Mining Co. shareholders, he cemented in place a significant new obstacle for plaintiffs lawyers rushing to file derivative claims in the state.

A bid by Dell Inc. to block the entire Desmarais LLP law firm from accessing confidential discovery material in patent cases brought by Round Rock Research fell flat on Wednesday, when the Federal Circuit left orders in place that barred only Round Rock founder John Desmarais from viewing the files.

Finnegan, Henderson won a rehearing for client Akamai in a case in which the Federal Circuit affirmed a trial judge's rejection of a $40 million verdict won by Akamai and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology against Limelight Networks. The case should clarify when separate parties who perform different steps of a method claim can be jointly liable.

The ruling is as exhaustive a study of Twombly as we've ever seen. In the end, it gives both the small team of plaintiffs lawyers and the veritable defense army in the case something to cheer about.