Greg Joseph

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Attorney-Client Privilege: Crime-Fraud Exception Applies Even If Crime Or Fraud Is Only Counsel’s (Circuit Split) — Rule 11 Sanctions: Successor Counsel Not Liable for Predecessor’s Misconduct — Noerr Pennington No Defense to Discovery

Navient Sols., LLC v. Law Offices of Jeffrey Lohman, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69846 (E.D. Va. April 20, 2020): Before the Court is defendants The Law Offices of Jeffrey Lohman's and Jeffrey Lohman's (collectively, "LOJL") Objection to the…

Rule 11: Court Can’t Compel Party to Make Settlement Offer — Any Settlement Void — Denial of SJ Motion = Not Frivolous — Failure to Settle Not Sanctionable — Generally No Improper Purpose Sanction If Position Grounded in Fact, Law

Tejero v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., L.L.C., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 10711Luis Tejero sued Portfolio Recovery Associates, L.L.C. under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and a parallel state law. The parties eventually reached a settlement that forgave Tejero's …

Can You Sue A Dead Person? No. — An Estate? No. — Can You Substitute for A Wrongly-Named Dead Person? Maybe — Dead Person Has No Citizenship, No Stake in Outcome (Case Or Controversy Implications)

LN Mgmt., LLC v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 13216 (9th Cir. April 24, 2020): There are a number of ways to accomplish litigation regarding interests once held by a dead person. One can institute or join …

Rule 11 Sanctions — Lack of Merit Not Enough — Must Be So Plainly Unmeritorious As to Warrant Sanction (Good Quote)

Zell v. Ricci, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 12573 (1st Cir. April 20, 2020): High school is not without its unique challenges, this much [*2] we know; we also know that the same can be said for bringing a civil lawsuit …

Appeals: Not Circuit’s Role to Sift Through Record to Find Uncited Evidence (44-vols., 8,410-pp.) — Motion to Seal OK to Ensure Court Records Not Used for Improper Purpose, Including Scandalizing or Libeling for the Press

Snyder v. Acord Corp., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 12889 (10th Cir. April 22, 2020): ORDER AND JUDGMENT* Seventeen Colorado homeowners (“Plaintiffs”) brought an action raising federal-and state-law claims against insurance companies, trade associations, and consulting firms (“Defendants”). The district…

Rule 11 Sanctions — Timeliness — Motion for Frivolous Factual Claim in Complaint Often Appropriately Filed, Decided at Summary Judgment Stage

Estrada v. FTS United States, LLC, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 12543 (11th Cir. April 20, 2020) (unpublished): PER CURIAM: Jamie Zidell, Esq., and J.H. Zidell, P.A., appeal from the district court's orders requiring them to pay $60,000 in Rule 11…

RICO: Federal Courts Have Never Construed RICO’s Attorney’s Fees Provision As Barring Prevailing Defendant from Recovering Fees Authorized Elsewhere — State Fees Statute Not Preempted Where Most Claims Arise under State Law

Snyder v. Acord Corp., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 12889 (10th Cir. April 22, 2020): ORDER AND JUDGMENT* Seventeen Colorado homeowners (“Plaintiffs”) brought an action raising federal-and state-law claims against insurance companies, trade associations, and consulting firms (“Defendants”). The district…

Inherent Power Sanctions — Negligence for Missing Court Date OK — Court Should Hear from Before Sanctioning — Lack of Due Process If Rule Provides Only That Sanction “May” Be Imposed But No Criteria Are Given Or Known

Pimentel-Soto, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 13101 (1st Cir. April 23, 2020) (Kayatta, J.): Attorney Kendys Pimentel-Soto appeals from the district court's order sanctioning her for failing to appear at a status conference. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the…

Splitting Cause of Action: Entire Controversy Doctrine (NJ Factors) — Equitable Exception for Claims Unknown, Unaccrued Or Unable to Be Brought — State Law Res Judicata / Collateral Estoppel Rules Apply in Diversity Cases

Casser v. Twp. of Knowlton, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 6675 (3d Cir. Mar. 3, 2020) (unpublished): Pro se Plaintiff Claudia Casser appeals from the order of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey granting the motion…

Diversity Jurisdiction: Trustee of Deed of Trust May Be Nominal Def., Citizenship Ignored — Res Judicata, Aff’ve Def., OK on 12(b)(6) If Clear from Complaint, Judicially Noticed Facts — Sanctions: FRAP 38/IHP OSC for Twice-Sanctioned Pro Se

Anderson v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 7865 (5th Cir. Mar. 12, 2020): Pro se plaintiff-appellant Eva Anderson has sued various combinations of the present defendant-appellees and their predecessors-in-interest no fewer than six times, alleging first that …

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Recent Articles

RICO: Indirect Injury Unrecoverable — Indirect Purchaser Rule Imported from Antitrust

Rule 11 Sanctions: (1) Improper Purpose of Harassment Reasonably Determined Based on Past Tactics (25 Lawsuits, 14 Ethics Complaints, and 150 FOIA Requests) As Well As Present Behavior — (2) Hearings Are Not Only Not Required to Satisfy Due Process But, If The Record Is Otherwise Adequate, Are Affirmatively Discouraged

RICO and Probate Exception to Federal Jurisdiction: Federal Jurisdiction over RICO Claim Not Barred by Probate Exception Even If the Federal Judgment May Be Binding on the Probate Proceedings (Or Vice Versa) — Calculating Damages Based on Diminution of Value of Estate ≠ Administration of the Estate — Doesn’t Matter If RICO Misconduct Includes Defendants’ Actions with Respect to The Estate

RICO: No Causation Where Harm Flowed Several Steps After the Fraudulent Acts — RICO Causation Same As Antitrust Causation

Sanctions vs. Automatic Stay: Imposition of Sanctions (Here, Inherent Power Sanctions) Is Subject to the Police Power Exception to the Automatic Stay in Bankruptcy

The Word “Include” May Be A Word of Limitation As Opposed to a Word of Enlargement, Depending on the Context

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