Joseph Hage Aaronson

RICO — Each Check Deposited in a Kiting Scheme Is a Separate Fraud — Kiting Scheme Is Related to Underlying Fraud It Is Used to Disguise — SJ Must Be Warranted on Facts Even If Default — No Response to Statement of Undisputed Facts Admits It

Liberty Bell Bank v. Rogers, 2018 WL 834197 (3d Cir. Feb. 13, 2018): OPINION* PER CURIAM *1 Appellant Luis G. Rogers appeals from the District Court’s orders granting Appellee Liberty Bell Bank’s motion for summary judgment and awarding more than…

Facebook Messages Authenticated by Unique Speaking Style, Content, Context (Series of Messages), Fact Messages Started Only After Recipient Agreed to Join Sender’s Plan to Lie to Police — Fact Someone Else Could Have Sent Them Is for Jury

State v. Smith, 2018 Conn. App. LEXIS 70 (Conn. Ct. App. Feb. 20, 2018): In these consolidated appeals, the defendant, Brian J. Smith, appeals from the judgments of conviction, rendered following a jury trial, of operating [*7] a motor vehicle …

Rule 41(d) Costs (Awardable If Plaintiff Who Voluntarily Dismissed Refiles) Only Include Attorney’s Fees If the Underlying Statute Forming the Basis of the Suit Authorizes Them — 3 Way Circuit Split — Argument in Footnote Not Preserved for Appeal

Garza v. Citigroup Inc., 2018 WL 671133 (3d Cir. Feb. 2, 2018): *1 Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(d), a district court may order a plaintiff who voluntarily dismisses an action and files a second action against the …

Rule 11 Sanctions — Vexatious Litigant Injunction Barring New Suit Against Defendants Until Sanction Paid — Due Process Satisfied by Order to Show Cause and Opportunity to Be Heard — Hearing Not Required — Meaning of Abuse of Discretion (6th Cir.)

Abe v. Mich. St. Univ. Bd. of Trustees, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 128 (6th Cir. Jan. 3, 2018): ORDER Babashola Abe, a Michigan resident proceeding pro se, appeals the district court's judgment dismissing his civil complaint, purportedly filed pursuant to…

Dismissal Without Prejudice Appealable If Plaintiff Effectively Out of Fed Court — 41(b) Dismissal Factors (10th Cir.) Not Apt If W/o Prejudice — Informal Minute Order Supports 41(b) Dismissal for Non-Compliance—Limits on Solicitude for Pro Ses

Black v. Larimer Cty., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 90 (10th Cir. Jan. 3, 2018): ORDER AND JUDGMENT* On April 17, 2014, Larimer County, Colorado (the County) hired Melissa Black to perform seasonal work as a restroom custodian in its…

Spoliation: Burden of Proof — Movant Must Establish That Target Destroyed Evidence While on Notice That the Evidence Were Potentially Relevant to the Dispute

Harfouche v. Wehbe, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 24401 (9th Cir. Dec. 1, 2017): * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. Appellant Elie Harfouche appeals the district court's…

Supreme Court – Supplemental Jurisdiction: § 1367 Stops the Clock on State Statute of Limitations While State Law Claims Are Pending in Federal Court and for 30 Days after the Federal Claim Is Dismissed

Artis v. District of Columbia, 199 L. Ed. 2d 473 (2018): The Supplemental Jurisdiction statute, 28 U. S. C. §1367, enables federal district courts to entertain claims not otherwise within their adjudicatory authority when those claims “are so related…

Spoliation: $2.7 Million Compensatory Award in $20,000 Case OK, Even Though Little of Value Found, Where Discovery Reasonable — Upgrading Operating System During Lit. Hold = Intentional Spoliation — Civil Rights Fee Caselaw Inapt

Klipsch Grp., Inc. v. ePRO E-Commerce Ltd., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 1872 (2d Cir. Jan. 25, 2018): In the course of defending against claims that it sold counterfeit products, defendant-appellant ePRO E-Commerce Limited ("ePRO") engaged in persistent discovery misconduct: …

All Writs Act: Does Relitigation Exception Allow Federal Courts to Enjoin State Suits Concerning Claims or Issues That Could Have Been Brought in Prior Federal Action Or Only Those Actually Litigated? Circuit Split & a Hint from the S.Ct.

Dakota Med., Inc. v. RehabCare Grp., Inc., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15972 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 31, 2018): 6 There is a circuit split over whether the relitigation exception allows federal courts to enjoin state suits concerning any claims and issues …

Causation Standards under Anti-Terrorism Act Are the Same as RICO Causation Standards — Same “By Reason Of” Language

Fields v. Twitter, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 2445 (9th Cir. Jan. 31, 2018): After Lloyd "Carl" Fields, Jr., and James Damon Creach were killed while working as government contractors in Jordan in an attack for which ISIS claimed credit,…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

RICO — Each Check Deposited in a Kiting Scheme Is a Separate Fraud — Kiting Scheme Is Related to Underlying Fraud It Is Used to Disguise — SJ Must Be Warranted on Facts Even If Default — No Response to Statement of Undisputed Facts Admits It

Facebook Messages Authenticated by Unique Speaking Style, Content, Context (Series of Messages), Fact Messages Started Only After Recipient Agreed to Join Sender’s Plan to Lie to Police — Fact Someone Else Could Have Sent Them Is for Jury

Rule 41(d) Costs (Awardable If Plaintiff Who Voluntarily Dismissed Refiles) Only Include Attorney’s Fees If the Underlying Statute Forming the Basis of the Suit Authorizes Them — 3 Way Circuit Split — Argument in Footnote Not Preserved for Appeal

Rule 11 Sanctions — Vexatious Litigant Injunction Barring New Suit Against Defendants Until Sanction Paid — Due Process Satisfied by Order to Show Cause and Opportunity to Be Heard — Hearing Not Required — Meaning of Abuse of Discretion (6th Cir.)

Dismissal Without Prejudice Appealable If Plaintiff Effectively Out of Fed Court — 41(b) Dismissal Factors (10th Cir.) Not Apt If W/o Prejudice — Informal Minute Order Supports 41(b) Dismissal for Non-Compliance—Limits on Solicitude for Pro Ses

Spoliation: Burden of Proof — Movant Must Establish That Target Destroyed Evidence While on Notice That the Evidence Were Potentially Relevant to the Dispute

Supreme Court – Supplemental Jurisdiction: § 1367 Stops the Clock on State Statute of Limitations While State Law Claims Are Pending in Federal Court and for 30 Days after the Federal Claim Is Dismissed

Spoliation: $2.7 Million Compensatory Award in $20,000 Case OK, Even Though Little of Value Found, Where Discovery Reasonable — Upgrading Operating System During Lit. Hold = Intentional Spoliation — Civil Rights Fee Caselaw Inapt

All Writs Act: Does Relitigation Exception Allow Federal Courts to Enjoin State Suits Concerning Claims or Issues That Could Have Been Brought in Prior Federal Action Or Only Those Actually Litigated? Circuit Split & a Hint from the S.Ct.

Causation Standards under Anti-Terrorism Act Are the Same as RICO Causation Standards — Same “By Reason Of” Language

Recent Articles

Rule 37(d) Sanctions — For Failure to Serve Answers, Objections, Or Written Response to Discovery Requests — Are Not Limited to Intentional Misconduct; Even Innocent Mistakes May Be Covered

Sanctions: (1) Rule 11 Does Not Apply to Litigation Papers Initially Filed in State Court — Only Reaffirmance in Federal Court Post-Removal Is Subject to Sanction — (2) “The Fact That A Legal Theory Is A Long-Shot Does Not Necessarily Mean It Is Sanctionable” (Good Quote)

Supreme Court: Relief under Rule 60(b)(6) Requires Extraordinary Circumstances Even If It Is Invoked to Allow Amendment of The Complaint–Rule 15’s Liberal Approach to Amendment Does Not Change That (Reversing Second Circuit)

FRAP 38 Sanctions — Eleventh Circuit Generally Does Not Impose FRAP 38 Sanctions on Pro Se Litigants, But May Do So If They Have Persisted Despite Judicial Warnings of Frivolousness

Inherent Power Sanctions: No Dismissal with Prejudice If Lesser Sanctions Will Suffice — The Liberal Pleading Standard of Swierkiewicz “Is Still Good Law”

Statements in Briefs As Judicial Admissions

Supreme Court: TRO As Appealable Order — And District Court Inaction As Tantamount to Refusing An Injunction And Thus Appealable

“Slow-Playing Discovery” in Response to Court Order, Prejudicing Opponent, Violates Rule 37(b)(2)(A)

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