Joseph Hage Aaronson

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,…

Client Generally Bound by Acts of Her Lawyer — Presumption Is Rebuttable when Lawyer undertakes Settlement or Dismissal of Client’s Claim

Gottlieb v. SEC, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 1889 (2d Cir. Jan. 23, 2018): SUMMARY ORDER UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. Appellant Phyllis Gottlieb ("Gottlieb") appeals from…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

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

Client Generally Bound by Acts of Her Lawyer — Presumption Is Rebuttable when Lawyer undertakes Settlement or Dismissal of Client’s Claim

Recent Articles

§ 1927 Sanctions — Must A Lawyer Who Unreasonably and Vexatiously Multiplies Federal Court Proceedings Be Acting “As An Attorney” When Committing the Misconduct To Be Subject to Sanction under § 1927?

Rule 37 Sanctions — Unfamiliarity With Litigation Process Does Not Excuse Intentional Disregard of Court Order — Also Affirming Rule 26(g) Sanctions on Clients and Counsel for False Representations That All Responsive Documents Had Been Produced

Supreme Court: Notice of Appeal Filed After The Original Deadline But Before Reopening by The District Court Is Timely — It Relates Forward to The Date of The Order Making The Appeal Possible — Second Notice of Appeal After Reopening Unnecessary

Rule 37 Default Judgment: Second Circuit’s Four-Factor Test for Imposing Defaults and Three-Factor Test for Lifting Them

RICO: Cover-Up Within Limitations Period of Untimely RICO Violation “Was Merely A Continuation” Of The Original Injury And Could Not Be Used “As A ‘Bootstrap’ To Salvage [The] Time-Barred Claims–Declining to Apply Pinkerton Doctrine to Civil RICO Claims

Inherent Power — Circumstantial Evidence — Fact That Bad Faith May Be Shown by Establishing That Conduct Was So Egregious It Was Necessarily Committed in Bad Faith Does Not Mean That Bad Faith Must Be The Sole Explanation for The Bad Conduct

RICO Causation: Testing Labs’ Misstatements As to Alcohol Tests’ Efficacy Not Communicated to Plaintiffs’ Employers Did Not Cause Plaintiffs’ Professional Harm

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

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