Joseph Hage Aaronson

Diversity Jurisdiction — Defective Allegations May Be Amended in Court of Appeals under 28 U.S.C. § 1653 — Opportunity to Amend Freely Given

Maitland v. Fishbein, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 4591 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2018): UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, ANDDECREED that the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED IN PART and VACATED IN PART, and…

No § 1927 Sanctions for Conduct in Other Court (Here, Dist. Ct. on App.) — Rule 11 Inapt on Appeal — No Rule 38 Sanctions for Meritless But Not Frivolous Appeal — Rule 15(a) vs. (d): Is Leave to Supplement As Freely Granted as to Amend?

Connor v. Castro, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 4511 (5th Cir. Feb. 23, 2018): PER CURIAM:* * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the…

Rule 408 Yields (Mostly) to Court’s Ongoing Supervision over Injunction — Rule 407 Inapt If Feasibility Denied — Law of the Case & Mandate Rule Bar Reexamination by Dist. or App. Ct. of Issue Decided on Prior Appeal — Exceptions

Ball v. LeBlanci, 881 F.3d 346, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 2402, 2018 WL 632503 (5th Cir. 2018): Elzie Ball, Nathaniel Code, and James Magee are death row inmates in the Louisiana State Penitentiary ("LSP") and are housed in cells without …

Rule 11 Sanctions: Assertions of Fact “Not Entirely Inaccurate” Don’t Show “Deliberate Indifference to Obvious Facts” and Aren’t Sanctionable

Benedek v. Adams, 2018 WL 823983 (11th Cir. Feb. 12, 2018): *1 Dezso and Ann Benedek (collectively, “the Benedeks”) appeal the district court’s denial of Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 sanctions against the defendants and the court’s Fed. R. Civ. …

Rule 11—Where Detailed SJ Opinion Puts Plaintiff on Notice of Legal Deficiency of Claim, Fact Leave to Appeal Granted Doesn’t Preclude Sanctions for Filing Amended Complaint without Addressing Deficiency — FRAP 38 Sanctions for Same on Appeal

Debeikes v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., 2018 WL 991377 (9th Cir. Feb. 21, 2018): MEMORANDUM** *1 Matthew J. Debeikes appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment and challenges its denial of his request to reopen discovery. He also,…

RICO: Pari Delicto Defense—Factors—Bars Claim by Plaintiffs Who Participated in Scheme to Prescribe Them Opioids Illegally— Analogous Wrongful Conduct Doctrine (N.M.) Bars State Law Claims

Inge v. McClelland, 2018 WL 985740 (10th Cir. Feb. 20, 2018): *1 Elizabeth and Johnny Inge appeal the district court’s dismissal of their claims against Robert McClelland, III, a pharmacist licensed in New Mexico who dispensed opioids and other narcotics…

Texts Authenticated by Fact Phone Was on Def or in Car He Was in, Incoming Texts Use His Name, Outgoing Gives His Home Phone, Car Had Drugs & Texts Mentioned Drugs — Offer to Buy Not Hearsay — Photos Auth’d by Contents, Phone Calls by Whom You Called

Texts Authenticated by Fact Phone Was Found on Def or in Car He Was in, Incoming Texts Addressed to Him, Outgoing Text Gave His Home Phone, Car Had Drugs & Texts Mentioned Drugs — Authentication of Photos by Contents, Phone …

Rule 37 Sanctions: Where “Discovery … Was Protracted, Contentious, and Difficult” (Good Quote) But Party Ultimately Received What It Sought, No Abuse of Discretion to Deny Sanctions

Securiforce Int’l Am., LLC v. United States, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 1073 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 17, 2018): Securiforce International America, LLC ("Securiforce"), a government contractor, filed suit in the Court of Federal Claims ("Claims Court") under the Tucker Act, 28…

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 …

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Diversity Jurisdiction — Defective Allegations May Be Amended in Court of Appeals under 28 U.S.C. § 1653 — Opportunity to Amend Freely Given

No § 1927 Sanctions for Conduct in Other Court (Here, Dist. Ct. on App.) — Rule 11 Inapt on Appeal — No Rule 38 Sanctions for Meritless But Not Frivolous Appeal — Rule 15(a) vs. (d): Is Leave to Supplement As Freely Granted as to Amend?

Rule 408 Yields (Mostly) to Court’s Ongoing Supervision over Injunction — Rule 407 Inapt If Feasibility Denied — Law of the Case & Mandate Rule Bar Reexamination by Dist. or App. Ct. of Issue Decided on Prior Appeal — Exceptions

Rule 11 Sanctions: Assertions of Fact “Not Entirely Inaccurate” Don’t Show “Deliberate Indifference to Obvious Facts” and Aren’t Sanctionable

Rule 11—Where Detailed SJ Opinion Puts Plaintiff on Notice of Legal Deficiency of Claim, Fact Leave to Appeal Granted Doesn’t Preclude Sanctions for Filing Amended Complaint without Addressing Deficiency — FRAP 38 Sanctions for Same on Appeal

RICO: Pari Delicto Defense—Factors—Bars Claim by Plaintiffs Who Participated in Scheme to Prescribe Them Opioids Illegally— Analogous Wrongful Conduct Doctrine (N.M.) Bars State Law Claims

Texts Authenticated by Fact Phone Was on Def or in Car He Was in, Incoming Texts Use His Name, Outgoing Gives His Home Phone, Car Had Drugs & Texts Mentioned Drugs — Offer to Buy Not Hearsay — Photos Auth’d by Contents, Phone Calls by Whom You Called

Rule 37 Sanctions: Where “Discovery … Was Protracted, Contentious, and Difficult” (Good Quote) But Party Ultimately Received What It Sought, No Abuse of Discretion to Deny Sanctions

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

Recent Articles

FRAP 38 and Pro Se Litigants — Observations, Not Sanctions, For Non-Existent Quotations

Supreme Court: Party Moving to Set Aside Void Judgment Under Rule 60(b)(4) Must Do So Within A Reasonable Time Per Rule 60(c)(1)

RICO Statute of Limitations — Storm Warnings, Not Thunder and Lightning (Good Quote)

Rule 37 Discovery Sanctions: Ninth Circuit’s Five-Factor Test for Gauging Appropriateness of Dismissal — The Limited Utility of Rule 12(f) Motions to Strike

Inherent Power Sanction of Dismissal — Preponderance of the Evidence Burden of Proof, Not Clear and Convincing Evidence (7th Circuit)

§ 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?

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