Joseph Hage Aaronson

Inherent Power/§1927 Sanctions Imposed for Ethical Violation — Model Rule 4.3 Governing Contact with Unrepresented Persons — $28,000 Monetary Sanction for Deceiving Lay Person into Cooperating, Defaulting

Daniel v. Marino, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 21828 (3d Cir. Dec. 8, 2016): Songwriter Daniel Marino appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants in his copyright infringement suit.1 The district court found that, because…

Affidavit of Plaintiff Attached to Complaint Is Not a “Written Instrument” within Rule 10(c) Deemed Part of Complaint — Must Be Legal Document Defining Rights, Like Contract, Will, Note, Security — Circuit Split

Smith v. Hogan, 794 F.3d 249 (2d Cir. 2015): Plaintiff-appellant Aidan A. Smith appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (Arterton, J.) dismissing his complaint pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of…

Arbitration — Is Manifest Disregard a Permissible Ground to Overturn an Award under the FAA? — Circuit Split — If So, It Requires More Than Legal Error — Arbitrator Must Appreciate & Ignore Clearly Governing Legal Principle

Global Liquidity Partners, LLC v. Wegher, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165427 (D.N.J. Nov. 30, 2016): C. Manifest Disregard of the Law under 10(a)(4) Respondents bring their manifest disregard for the law assertion under 9 U.S.C. § 10(a)(4). Courts vary in…

Are Pro Hac Vice Fees Recoverable Costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1920? — Circuit Split —Cost of Video May Be Taxed in Addition to Deposition Transcript If Reasonably Necessary — Uncertainty as to Witness Attendance at Trial Is Sufficient

Olesky v. Gen. Elec. Co., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171505 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 12, 2016): Plaintiff Henryk Oleksy ("Oleksy") sued Defendant General Electric Company ("GE") for patent infringement. On September 29, 2015, the presiding District Judge ruled that [*4] GE…

Removal: If Plaintiff Adds Non-Diverse Defendant within 21 Days of Answer Per Rule 15(b), Should Court Honor That & Remand, Given Absolute Right to Amend, Or Deny Joinder under § 1447(e)? — Caselaw Split — Factors under 1447(e)

Edmond v. Kindred Healthcare Operating Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170896 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 8, 2016): Proceedings (In Chambers): Order GRANTING Motion to Remand Before the Court is Plaintiff Britani Edmond's motion to remand this action to state court. Dkt.…

Third-Party Websites May Be Considered on Summary Judgment Because They Would Be Admissible at Trial with Proper Authentication, Where Accuracy Not in Dispute

ZW USA, Inc. v. PWD Sys., LLC, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129549 (E.D. Mo. Sept. 22, 2016): This matter is before the Court on plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment and defendant's motion for summary judgment, pursuant to Fed. R.…

Intervention — May a Magistrate Judge, Who Is Conducting All Proceedings Through Trial and Judgment by Consent of the Parties, Rule on a Motion to Intervene Filed by a Person Who Has Not Consented? — Circuit Split

Davis v. Union Pac. RR, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182824 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 6, 2015): REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE On June 19, 2015, Hallmark County Mutual Insurance Company – as the subrogee of Plaintiffs Daniel Davis and…

26(g) Sanctions — Impeachment vs. Substantive Evidence under 26(a)(1) — Is It Impeachment If You Offer It Only to Impeach Or Is It “Partially Substantive” If the Court Says So? — Circuit Split — Definition of Substantially Justified

Olivarez v. George Grp., Inc., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 22049 (5th Cir. Dec. 12, 2016): Attorneys Shawn K. Fitzpatrick and Timothy Flocos (collectively, "Appellants") were sanctioned by the district court for certifying that their clients' initial disclosures under Federal Rule …

Rule 37(e) Spoliation Sanctions — No Intent to Deprive — Fees, Jury Instructed Spoliator Was Under Duty to Preserve & Didn’t, Spoliator Barred from Offering Preserved Remainder of Missing Category of Evidence

Security Alarm Financing Enters., LP v. Alarm Protection Tech., LLC, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168311 (D. Alaska Dec. 6, 2016): ORDER RE MOTION FOR SPOLIATION SANCTIONS Before the Court is Defendant Alarm Protection Technology's Motion for Spoliation Sanctions at Docket…

Inherent Power Sanctions Apt for Wide Range of Willful Misconduct Implicating Multiple Rules (Including Fabricated Email, Ad Hominem Attacks in 113 Filings, Extrajudicial Misconduct)—$175K in Fees/Expenses, Referral to Disciplinary Comm (Good Quotes)

Deutsch v. Henry, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168987 (W.D. Tex. Dec. 7, 2016): Before the court are Defendants' motions for sanctions. ... Defendants have filed identical motions for sanctions as well as supplemental memoranda specifying the alleged sanctionable conduct in…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Inherent Power/§1927 Sanctions Imposed for Ethical Violation — Model Rule 4.3 Governing Contact with Unrepresented Persons — $28,000 Monetary Sanction for Deceiving Lay Person into Cooperating, Defaulting

Affidavit of Plaintiff Attached to Complaint Is Not a “Written Instrument” within Rule 10(c) Deemed Part of Complaint — Must Be Legal Document Defining Rights, Like Contract, Will, Note, Security — Circuit Split

Arbitration — Is Manifest Disregard a Permissible Ground to Overturn an Award under the FAA? — Circuit Split — If So, It Requires More Than Legal Error — Arbitrator Must Appreciate & Ignore Clearly Governing Legal Principle

Are Pro Hac Vice Fees Recoverable Costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1920? — Circuit Split —Cost of Video May Be Taxed in Addition to Deposition Transcript If Reasonably Necessary — Uncertainty as to Witness Attendance at Trial Is Sufficient

Removal: If Plaintiff Adds Non-Diverse Defendant within 21 Days of Answer Per Rule 15(b), Should Court Honor That & Remand, Given Absolute Right to Amend, Or Deny Joinder under § 1447(e)? — Caselaw Split — Factors under 1447(e)

Third-Party Websites May Be Considered on Summary Judgment Because They Would Be Admissible at Trial with Proper Authentication, Where Accuracy Not in Dispute

Intervention — May a Magistrate Judge, Who Is Conducting All Proceedings Through Trial and Judgment by Consent of the Parties, Rule on a Motion to Intervene Filed by a Person Who Has Not Consented? — Circuit Split

26(g) Sanctions — Impeachment vs. Substantive Evidence under 26(a)(1) — Is It Impeachment If You Offer It Only to Impeach Or Is It “Partially Substantive” If the Court Says So? — Circuit Split — Definition of Substantially Justified

Rule 37(e) Spoliation Sanctions — No Intent to Deprive — Fees, Jury Instructed Spoliator Was Under Duty to Preserve & Didn’t, Spoliator Barred from Offering Preserved Remainder of Missing Category of Evidence

Inherent Power Sanctions Apt for Wide Range of Willful Misconduct Implicating Multiple Rules (Including Fabricated Email, Ad Hominem Attacks in 113 Filings, Extrajudicial Misconduct)—$175K in Fees/Expenses, Referral to Disciplinary Comm (Good Quotes)

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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