Joseph Hage Aaronson

Rule 11 Sanctions — Safe Harbor Must Be Honored Only Once Per Motion — If Denied without Prejudice, Motion May Be Renewed without Additional Safe Harbor — Needn’t Be 100% Identical 2d Time But Must Be Essentially the Same Motion (Case Law Split)

Merritt v. Lake Jovita Homeowners Ass’n, Inc., 2010 WL 11507746 (M.D. Fla. May 11, 2010): *1 BEFORE THE COURT is Defendants Lyons Heritage Pasco, LLC, Lyons Land Pasco, LLC, Bobby Lyons, and Morris Needles’ (the “Lyons Defendants”) Motion for Relief…

Inherent Power Sanctions Require a High Degree of Specificity in Factual Findings of Bad Faith — Fee Award Must Be Causally Related to the Misconduct

Virginia Props., LLC v. T-Mobile NE LLC, 2017 WL 3197539 (2d Cir. July 28, 2017): *1 In April of this year—long after the district court’s imposition of sanctions in the case before us—the Supreme Court addressed “a federal court’s inherent…

Blog Authentication Requires Testimony/Declaration Coupled with Circumstantial Indicia of Authenticity, Such as the Date & Web Address Appearing on Printout — Printouts from Commercial Websites Are Not Self-Authenticating

In re Carrsow-Franklin (Kennerty v. Carrsow-Franklin), 456 B.R. 753 (D.S.C. Bankr. Sept. 16, 2011): This matter comes before the Court on the Motion for Protective Order (“Motion”) filed by Herman John Kennerty (“Kennerty”). A hearing on the Motion was conducted…

Evidence from Provider That Phone Number Is Assigned to Party, and His Admission It Is His Phone, Authenticate Incoming Texts as Likely Received by Him — But the Contents Are Hearsay

People v. Harper, 2017 Ill. App. LEXIS 465 (Ill. Ct. App. July 13, 2017): In October 2014, defendant, Lafayette Harper, was convicted of first degree murder. In December 2014, the trial court sentenced him to 65 years in prison. Defendant…

Civil Service Reform Act Precludes Civil RICO Action by Federal Employee against Coworkers & Supervisors (Issue of First Impression in Ct. App.) — So, Too, Does Title VII — 6½ Year Delay in Deciding SJ No Reason to Reverse

González v. Vélez, 2017 WL 3124431 (1st Cir. July 24, 2017): *1 This is a federal-sector employment discrimination case, in which the plaintiffs have attempted to improve their lot by invoking extravagant theories of liability. The plaintiffs’ theories run headlong …

Rule 16(f) Sanctions — Dismissal for Repeated Failures to Obey Scheduling Orders Despite Multiple Reprieves — Different Result If Deadlines Not Clearly Communicated

McKeague v. One World Techs., Inc., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 10240 (1st Cir. June 8, 2017): This appeal arises out of a civil case in which the plaintiff's two lawyers did nothing to prosecute the plaintiff's claims within generous deadlines,…

Spoliation — No Abuse of Discretion to Impose Monetary Sanctions & Not Adverse Inference Where Ex-Employee 4 Times Attempted to Delete Data from Hard Drive and Was Not Candid in Discovery (No Reference to Rule 37(e))

Integrated Direct Mktg., LLC v. May, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 9369 (4th Cir. May 30, 2017): PER CURIAM: Integrated Direct Marketing, LLC ("IDM") appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment to Drew May and Merkle, Inc. ("Merkle," collectively, "Defendants"),…

Fee-Splitting Agreement Unenforceable for Lack of Client Consent Per Model Rule 1.5(e)(2) (Case law Split), But Quantum Meruit OK — “Defendants … Develop An Argument Grounded in Their Regret Rather Than on Terms of the … Agreement” (Good Quote)

Parker Waichman LLP v. Salas L/C, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108823 (D.P.R. July 13, 2017): Before the Court is defendants John F. Nevares and Associates, P.S.C. ("Nevares")'s, Salas LC ("Salas")'s, and Eric J. Quetglas-Jordan d/b/a Quetglas Law Firm ("Quetglas")'s motion…

FRAP 39’s “Costs” Don’t Include Attorney’s Fees (F.R.Civ.P. 68 Distinguished) — Denial of “Costs” in Appellate Mandate Doesn’t Bar Award of Fees for Success on Appeal under Fee-Shifting Statute Defining Fees as “Costs”

Hines v. City of Albany, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 12042 (2d Cir. July 6, 2017): Constance and Marshay Hines appeal from an order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Suddaby, C.J.) denying their…

Blogs, Like Newspaper Articles, Are Hearsay When Offered for the Truth

Welch v. City of Albuquerque, 2016 WL 8809479 (D. N.M. May 13, 2016): *1 THIS MATTER comes before the Court upon Defendants Raymond Schultz, William Roseman, Cecil Knox, David Hubbard, Robert Smith, J.R. Potter, and Kevin Gagne’s (Defendants) Second Motion…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Rule 11 Sanctions — Safe Harbor Must Be Honored Only Once Per Motion — If Denied without Prejudice, Motion May Be Renewed without Additional Safe Harbor — Needn’t Be 100% Identical 2d Time But Must Be Essentially the Same Motion (Case Law Split)

Inherent Power Sanctions Require a High Degree of Specificity in Factual Findings of Bad Faith — Fee Award Must Be Causally Related to the Misconduct

Blog Authentication Requires Testimony/Declaration Coupled with Circumstantial Indicia of Authenticity, Such as the Date & Web Address Appearing on Printout — Printouts from Commercial Websites Are Not Self-Authenticating

Evidence from Provider That Phone Number Is Assigned to Party, and His Admission It Is His Phone, Authenticate Incoming Texts as Likely Received by Him — But the Contents Are Hearsay

Civil Service Reform Act Precludes Civil RICO Action by Federal Employee against Coworkers & Supervisors (Issue of First Impression in Ct. App.) — So, Too, Does Title VII — 6½ Year Delay in Deciding SJ No Reason to Reverse

Rule 16(f) Sanctions — Dismissal for Repeated Failures to Obey Scheduling Orders Despite Multiple Reprieves — Different Result If Deadlines Not Clearly Communicated

Spoliation — No Abuse of Discretion to Impose Monetary Sanctions & Not Adverse Inference Where Ex-Employee 4 Times Attempted to Delete Data from Hard Drive and Was Not Candid in Discovery (No Reference to Rule 37(e))

Fee-Splitting Agreement Unenforceable for Lack of Client Consent Per Model Rule 1.5(e)(2) (Case law Split), But Quantum Meruit OK — “Defendants … Develop An Argument Grounded in Their Regret Rather Than on Terms of the … Agreement” (Good Quote)

FRAP 39’s “Costs” Don’t Include Attorney’s Fees (F.R.Civ.P. 68 Distinguished) — Denial of “Costs” in Appellate Mandate Doesn’t Bar Award of Fees for Success on Appeal under Fee-Shifting Statute Defining Fees as “Costs”

Blogs, Like Newspaper Articles, Are Hearsay When Offered for the Truth

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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