New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Greg Joseph

Rule 11 — Improper Purpose — Even If Paper Filed Not Only to Vindicate Rights But Also for Some Other Purpose, Sanctions Inappropriate Unless the Other Purpose Is Undertaken in Bad Faith and Is So Excessive As to Eliminate A Proper Purpose

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC v. Haas, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 19300 (4th Cir. July 27, 2023) (unpublished) PER CURIAM: *1 Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. In 2017, Columbia Gas Transmission…
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Sanctions: § 1927 Authorizes Only Fees Incurred “Because of” Sanctionable Conduct, Not Fees Merely Related to It — Where Responsive Brief Fails to Make Necessary Disclosure Necessitating Reply, All Costs Associated with Reply Are Awardable, Not Merely Portions Specifically Prompted by Improper Non-Disclosure — Party Appealing § 1927 Sanctions Bears Burden of Showing Error in Fee — Setting Fees Is A Matter of Rough Justice and Should Not Result in Second Major Litigation — Where Time Records Excusably Imprecise Due to Unawareness of Misconduct, Rough Estimate of Fees Allocable to Misconduct Suffices — Fees Reimbursed by Insurance Still “Incurred” Within, And Awardable under § 1927 — Law of The Case Doctrine Inapplicable, Even If Same Issue Involved, Where Different Legally Relevant Factors Are Under Consideration Or Facts Are Different

Chung v. Lamb, 73 F.4th 824 (10th Cir. 2023): After a prior remand to the district court, we review the propriety of that court’s revised award of attorney fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1927, which permits monetary sanction when…
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Spoliation Sanctions: Rule 37(e)(2)’s Intent-To-Deprive Standard Is The Same Bad Faith Standard Historically Applied In Pre- Rule 37 Spoliation Cases And Still Applied In Cases Of Non-Electronic Spoliation — Prejudice To The Defendant Need Not Be Shown Under Rule 37(b)(2) — Even Though Litigation Hold Issued, Bad Faith Reasonable Inferred From Failing To (i) Back Up Text Messages, (ii) Educate Recipients About Litigation Hold, (iii) Collect Cell Phone Data For 7 Months, And (iv) Suspend Policy Of Wiping Data — No Affirmative Act Is Required To Sustain A Finding Of Bad Faith Based On Circumstantial Evidence, Either Under Rule 37(e) Or Bad Faith Case Law

Skanska United States Civil Se. Inc. v. Bagelheads, Inc., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 19942 (11th Cir. Aug. 2, 2023): *1 Hurricane Sally hit Pensacola Bay with a vengeance in September 2020, and 28 barges moored in the Bay were not…
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Post-Judgment Sanctions — Circuit Split: District Court Lacks Jurisdiction Over Motion for § 1927 Sanctions Made After Appellate Mandate Issues (Appears to Require Motion Prior to Filing of Notice of Appeal) — Post-Mandate Motion Can Seem Like an Ambush of a Losing Party Prepared to Accept a Loss Without a Pending Sanctions Motion — In Accord With All Circuits: District Court Retains Jurisdiction To Entertain Motion To Impose Inherent Power Sanctions Made After Mandate Issues — When a Number of Other Circuits Reject a Circuit’s Position, and No Other Circuit Accepts It, The Interest in Avoiding Inter-Circuit Conflict May Justify Abandoning The Position

Feehan v. Evers, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 19901 (7th Cir. Aug. 2, 2023) (unpublished) ORDER On December 1, 2020, plaintiff-appellee William Feehan filed this suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The complaint sought …
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Inherent Power Sanctions (Criminal Case): Punitive Sanctions Awardable Even If Some Non-Frivolous Arguments Are Combined With The Frivolous Arguments — Is Bad Faith A Prerequisite for Inherent Power Sanctions Other Than Attorney Fees? — Factors In Assessing Financial Penalties Include Ability To Pay And Likelihood That Financial Penalty Will Have Some Deterrent Effect

United States v. Akers, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 20142, *1 (10th Cir. Aug. 4, 2023): *1 Montgomery Akers appeals from a district court order imposing upon him a $40,000 punitive sanction for advancing frivolous arguments and assertions in a request …
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INHERENT POWER SANCTIONS FOR INTENTIONAL SPOLIATION OF EVIDENCE: DEFAULT JUDGMENT ON LIABILITY AND CAUSATION, PRECLUSION OF CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE DEFENSE — DETERRENCE IMPORTANT DUE TO SPOLIATOR’S “DEMONSTRATED PATTERN OF ABUSE” — DUE PROCESS SATISFIED BY OPPONENT’S MOTION, WHICH PROVIDED CLEAR NOTICE OF THE FACT SANCTION WERE UNDER CONSIDERATION, THE REASONS WHY, AND THE TYPES OF SANCTIONS BEING CONSIDERED

Anderson v. BNSF Rwy. Co., 2023 WL 4418221 (S.D. Iowa July 6, 2023): INTRODUCTION *1 In this Federal Employers’ Liability Act case, Plaintiff Bradley A. Anderson alleges he was injured when he hit his head on a sign placed too …
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Inherent Power — Do Federal Courts Have the Power to Impose Inherent Power Sanctions in Criminal Cases? — Undecided in Sixth Circuit — Vexatious Litigant Filing Restriction Requires Findings That Party Has Engaged in Repetitive, Frivolous Litigation — Federal Courts Lack Coram Nobis Jurisdiction Over a Criminal Defendant While the Defendant Is In Custody — A Deported Defendant Is Not In Custody, Even If Technically on Supervised Release, Which Typically Counts As “Custody”

United States v. Petlechkov, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 16349, 2023 WL 4230905 (6th Cir. June 28, 2023):   *1 This is Dimitar Petlechkov’s third time before us. He now challenges the final forfeiture order entered in his criminal case…
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Inherent Power — Perils of Protective Orders: Fugitive Defendant Properly Denied Access to Confidential Discovery Materials Because, Having Removed Himself from The Jurisdiction of The District Court, The Court Could Not Enforce the Protective Order Against Him — Discovery Access Limitation Thus a Reasonable Exercise of the Court’s Inherent Authority to Protect Its Own Discovery Orders

United States SEC v. Iftikar A. Ahmed, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 16310, 2023 WL 4219923 (2d Cir. June 28, 2023):   *1 Defendant Iftikar Ahmed defrauded his former employer and its investors of some $65 million over the span…
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Supreme Court: Associational Standing — If Traditional 3-Part Test Is Satisfied, and the Organization Has Identified Members and Represents Them In Good Faith, Associational Standing Is Satisfied

Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President, 2023 U.S. LEXIS 2791, 2023 WL 4239254 (U.S. June 29, 2023): Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court. In these cases we consider whether the admissions systems used by Harvard…
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Recent Articles

RICO — Pleading Conspiracy — Plaintiffs Must Plausibly Allege That the Defendants Knowingly Joined the RICO Conspiracy — Sparse Allegations of Knowledge of Fraud Due to Participation in a Commercial Transaction Insufficient to State RICO Conspiracy Claim Where Allegations Not Inconsistent with Ordinary Commercial Behavior — While Knowledge May Be Pled “Generally” under Rule 9(b), It Cannot Be Alleged Conclusorily and Must Satisfy the Twiqbal Plausibility Standard

Depositions: Improper to Object to Form to Straightforward Questions (Not Compound, Vague, Leading or Speculative) — Lack of Foundation Objection Improper in 30(b)(6) Deposition — Improper to “Educate” Witness During Breaks of 30(b)(6) Deposition Through Witness Calls to Knowledgeable Corporate Colleagues — Magistrate Judge May Impose Financial Sanctions

Spoliation/Sanctions: “A Party Does Not Spoliate Evidence When, Without Notice Of The Evidence’s Potential Relevance, It Destroys The Evidence According To Its Policy Or In The Normal Course Of Its Business” (Good Quote)

RICO: Fraud on Government Entities Causing Plaintiffs to Pay More for Inmate Calls Actionable on Bridge v. Phoenix Bond Analysis — Fact That Governments Had Separate Injuries As Part of the Scheme (from Reduced Commissions) Irrelevant — Plaintiffs’ Injuries Not Derivative of Governments’ — The Fraud on the Governments Was Not Too Distinct From Plaintiffs’ Injuries But Rather Necessary to Injure Plaintiffs — No Risk of Duplicative Recoveries and No Plaintiff Better Situated to Sue for Plaintiffs’ Injuries

Inherent Power Sanctions — Dismissal for Threatening Defendant and Magistrate Judge — No First Amendment Right to Threaten Violence

RICO: Domestic Injury — Delivery of Fraudulently Non-Conforming Goods FOB Los Angeles for Shipment to China Means Injury Arose Domestically When Purchaser Took Title —Other Relevant Factors Include That The Non-Conforming Goods Were Sourced and Made in the U.S. and The Racketeering Activity (Mail/Wire Fraud) Occurred in, and Was Directed from, the United States — Irrelevant to Domestic Injury Inquiry Whether Property Is Tangible or Intangible — 7th Circuit’s “Injury-Felt” Test of Domestic Injury Rejected by Supreme Court — RICO Standing Requires Concrete Financial Loss, Not Merely Injury to Valuable Intangible Property Interest (9th Circuit)

RICO Causation: Parents of Children with Disabilities Deprived In-Person Education and Services during the Pandemic Were Not Causally Injured by Teachers’ False Assurances to Federal Authorities That IDEA-Complaint Policies Were in Place, Which Caused Funds to Issue But Not to the Benefit of the Disabled Children — Damages Too Indirect — Proper Plaintiff Is U.S. Government — Private Injunctive Relief Under RICO Uncertain in Third Circuit

Sanctions: Rule 37(b)(2) Dismissal — Sixth Circuit Factors

Inherent Power Sanctions — Extrajudicial Misconduct: Sanctions Power Extends to Conduct Intended to Sabotage Court’s Ability to Adjudicate the Case Before It, Here, By Commencing State Court Actions Seeking to Enjoin the Federal Plaintiffs from Proceeding with Their Federal Litigation — Sanctions Fee Awards: The Factors Used For Calculating A Fee Award To A Prevailing Party Do Not Govern — Under Goodyear, the Relevant Inquiry Is Whether There Is A Sufficient Causal Link Between The Sanctioned Misconduct And The Fees Awarded

RICO: Members of Association-in-Fact Enterprise Must Act with a Common Purpose—Mere Allegation That Various Defendants Agreed at Different Times to Engage in Various Fraudulent Schemes Does Not Plausibly Support the Essential Inference, That They Acted with s Sufficiently Common Purpose

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New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

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