Joseph Hage Aaronson

Rule 41 Dismissal for Failure to Prosecute — Spending Time & Money Pursuing Cooperation Plaintiff Was Obliged to Provide=Prejudice — No Need to Consider Lesser Sanctions If Clear Record of Delay

Migliori v. Microsoft Corp., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 20060 (6th Cir. Oct. 12, 2017): Joseph Migliori, an Ohio resident proceeding pro se, appeals the dismissal of his products-liability action for want of prosecution. This case has been referred to…

Crime-Fraud Exception: To Get Opinion, But Not Fact, Work Product, Must Show Lawyer Knew of Misconduct — What Lawyer Remembers of Interview = Opinion WP, Even If No Notes — Questions Merely Lurking in Prior Case ≠ Precedent (Good Quote)

Grand Jury Subpoena v. United States, 870 F.3d 312 (4th Cir. 2017) (2-1 decision): PER CURIAM: This case arises from the district court's denial of a motion to quash grand jury subpoenas demanding testimony of a criminal defendant's attorney …

Rule 11, § 1927, Inherent Power Sanctions: $9,164,404.12 Fine ($6,983.42 per Case [Rand Study] x 1,250 Phony Suits + Cost of Special Master), Reprimand & Referral to Disciplinary Committee — Mere Mistake Not Sanctionable (Good Quotes)

In re Engle Cases, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172678 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 18, 2017): OPINION AND ORDER Table of Contents Go to table1 WILLIAM G. YOUNG, TIMOTHY J. CORRIGAN, MARCIA MORALES HOWARD, and ROY B. DALTON, JR., DISTRICT JUDGES…

Expert Reliance on Third-Party Website to ID Drugs—Cal. Equivalent to Fed. R. Evid. 803(17)—A Website Database Can Be a Reliable “Compilation”—Need It Be Log-In Only? Must Its Source of Info Be Shown to Be Accurate?

People v. Mooring, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 856 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 27, 2017): In 2011, law enforcement officers searched the home of Lanita Denise Davis and Darrell James Mooring, (Mooring, Sr.) and found over 4,000 prescription pills, many of…

Fraud on the Court: Suit to Vacate Judgment Not Limited to Rule 60(b)’s 1 Year—Factors—Clear & Convincing Evid—Lawyer’s Higher Duty of Candor in Ex Parte Cases—Confidentiality Order No Excuse for Deception—Good Quotes on Lawyers’ Duties

In re Bressman (Baxter v. Bressman), 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 20340 (3d Cir. Oct. 18, 2017): In this appeal we are asked to decide whether Max Folkenflik, Esq., committed fraud on the court. The Bankruptcy Court determined that Folkenflik had…

Sanctions: FRAP 38 and § 1927 Sanctions Available for Filing a “Slap-Dash Excuse for a Brief” on Appeal

Yang v. Sessions, 2017 WL 4022355 (5th Cir. Sept. 12, 2017): *1 Lianju Yang petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). He challenges the denial of relief from removal, including applications for asylum and…

Attorney-Client Privilege — After Party Testifies to Having Consulted Counsel to Show Good Faith, Failure to Waive Privilege and Disclose Advice Can Give Rise to Permissible Inference of Absence of Good Faith

Sec'y United States DOL v. Am. Future Sys., Inc., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 19991 (3d Cir. Oct. 13, 2017): I. INTRODUCTION We are asked to decide whether the Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to compensate employees for breaks…

Electronic Signatures: A Name or Email Address in the “From” Field of an Email, Like a Signature Block, Satisfies the Requirement of a Signature under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) (and the Statute of Frauds)

Le Norman Operating LLC v. Chalker Energy, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 9297 (Tex. Ct. App. Oct. 3, 2017): The appellees and cross-appellants, Chalker Energy Partners III, LLC; Raptor Petroleum, LLC; BMW Investments, L.P.; Ark-La-Tex Property Investments, LP; Remora Oil &…

Inherent Power & § 1927 Sanctions: Prelitigation Conduct May Be Considered on Issue of Bad Faith — Bad Faith of Predecessor Counsel, Client Not Imputed to Successor Counsel — Due Process: Notice Given in Summary Judgment Decision, Sanctions Motion

Redding v. Prosight Specialty Mgmt. Co., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 10303 (9th Cir. June 9, 2017): * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. 1. A fine is…

Requests for Admission: On Motion to Withdraw Admissions, What = Prejudice to Opponent? Not Just Having to Take Discovery or Prove the Facts — Rule 36 Is Supposed to Be a Time Saver, Not a Weapon (Good Quote)

United States ex rel. Graybar Elec. Co. v. TEAM Construction, LLC, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154072 (E.D.N.C. Sept. 21, 2017): Defendants TEAM Construction, LLC ("TEAM") and Western Surety Company's ("Western") moved for partial summary judgment [D.E. 48], and plaintiff …

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Rule 41 Dismissal for Failure to Prosecute — Spending Time & Money Pursuing Cooperation Plaintiff Was Obliged to Provide=Prejudice — No Need to Consider Lesser Sanctions If Clear Record of Delay

Crime-Fraud Exception: To Get Opinion, But Not Fact, Work Product, Must Show Lawyer Knew of Misconduct — What Lawyer Remembers of Interview = Opinion WP, Even If No Notes — Questions Merely Lurking in Prior Case ≠ Precedent (Good Quote)

Rule 11, § 1927, Inherent Power Sanctions: $9,164,404.12 Fine ($6,983.42 per Case [Rand Study] x 1,250 Phony Suits + Cost of Special Master), Reprimand & Referral to Disciplinary Committee — Mere Mistake Not Sanctionable (Good Quotes)

Expert Reliance on Third-Party Website to ID Drugs—Cal. Equivalent to Fed. R. Evid. 803(17)—A Website Database Can Be a Reliable “Compilation”—Need It Be Log-In Only? Must Its Source of Info Be Shown to Be Accurate?

Fraud on the Court: Suit to Vacate Judgment Not Limited to Rule 60(b)’s 1 Year—Factors—Clear & Convincing Evid—Lawyer’s Higher Duty of Candor in Ex Parte Cases—Confidentiality Order No Excuse for Deception—Good Quotes on Lawyers’ Duties

Sanctions: FRAP 38 and § 1927 Sanctions Available for Filing a “Slap-Dash Excuse for a Brief” on Appeal

Attorney-Client Privilege — After Party Testifies to Having Consulted Counsel to Show Good Faith, Failure to Waive Privilege and Disclose Advice Can Give Rise to Permissible Inference of Absence of Good Faith

Electronic Signatures: A Name or Email Address in the “From” Field of an Email, Like a Signature Block, Satisfies the Requirement of a Signature under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) (and the Statute of Frauds)

Inherent Power & § 1927 Sanctions: Prelitigation Conduct May Be Considered on Issue of Bad Faith — Bad Faith of Predecessor Counsel, Client Not Imputed to Successor Counsel — Due Process: Notice Given in Summary Judgment Decision, Sanctions Motion

Requests for Admission: On Motion to Withdraw Admissions, What = Prejudice to Opponent? Not Just Having to Take Discovery or Prove the Facts — Rule 36 Is Supposed to Be a Time Saver, Not a Weapon (Good Quote)

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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