New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Joseph Hage Aaronson

Rule 37 Sanctions — Prevailing Party Ordered to Pay $135,000 in Attorney’s Fees for Discovery Violations — Meet-and-Confer Requirement Satisfied in Part by Email Communications and Calls

Houston v. C.G. Security Servs., Inc., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 7473 (7th Cir. Apr. 25, 2016): This appeal arises out of a lawsuit brought by plaintiff-appellee Angel Houston, who sustained injuries from a fall during a New Year's Eve party…
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Supreme Court — Jurisdiction under §27 of Exchange Act = §1331 Arising Under: Either Federal Law Creates Claim or Grable — Use of 1927-1933 Dictionaries to Construe 1934 Statute — Good Quote on State Court Comity

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. v. Manning, 2016 U.S. LEXIS 3049 (U.S. May 16, 2016): Section 27 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), 48 Stat. 992, as amended, 15 U. S. C. §78a, et seq., …
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Motions to Dismiss — Mere Mention of Document in Complaint Doesn’t Make It Integral or Usable on 12(b)(6) Motion — Reference to Another Lawsuit Doesn’t Incorporate All Litigation Documents — RICO Untimeliness Dismissal Reversed

Goel v. Bunge, Ltd., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 7678 (2d Cir. Apr. 28, 2106): Plaintiffs-appellants Vikas Goel and Rainforest Trading Ltd. (jointly, "plaintiffs") appeal August 7, 2015 and August 27, 2015 judgments of the United States District Court for the …
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Facebook Authentication Insufficient — Expert Pulled Metadata from One Side of Chat But, Because Conversants Were No Longer “Friends” Then, Data Showed Unknown Account as Source of Messages — Expert Admits Messages Could’ve Been Altered

Adoption of Nash, 2016 Mass. App. Unpub. LEXIS 520 (Mass. Ct. App. May 12, 2016): The mother appeals from a decree issued by a judge of the Juvenile Court determining that the best interests of her son, Nash, would be …
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Service of Process: Rule 4(d) Does Not Impose Duty to Pay Costs on Foreign Party Who Declines to Accept Service — Sanctions: No FRAP 38 or § 1927 Sanctions for Appeal That Is Weak But Not Frivolous

Cox v. Koninklijke Philips, NV, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 8688 (6th Cir. May 9, 2016): Former employees at a glass and bulb manufacturing plant brought this action against their employer, Philips Electronics North America Corporation ("Philips"), and its Dutch parent…
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Inherent Power Sanctions: Plaintiff’s Testimony That He Visited & Photographed Premises, When In Fact His Lawyer Did, Leading to over 100 Revisions on Dep Errata Sheet = Bad Faith, Leads to Dismissal

Vogel v. Tulaphorn, Inc., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 2916 (9th Cir. Feb. 17, 2016): Martin Vogel and his attorney Lynn Hubbard III appeal the district court's order granting terminating sanctions.1 We affirm. 1   Vogel additionally appeals the district court's orders…
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Wayback Machine — Rejecting Multiple Arguments Against Admissibility — Accepting Butler’s Testimony & Taking Judicial Notice — Even If Wayback Machine Doesn’t Always Capture All Info on a Site, It Never Adds Info That Wasn’t on the Site

Marten Transport, Ltd v PlattForm Advertising, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57471 (D. Kan. Apr. 29, 2016): By this Memorandum and Order, the Court overrules defendant PlattForm's written objection to plaintiff Marten's designation of deposition testimony by Christopher Butler (Doc. …
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Sanctions: $75 Million Default Jmt for Discovery Violations — Jurisdiction vs Merits — If Court Has Jurisdiction, It Has Inherent Power to Impose Civil Contempt — Law of the Case on Appeal: Failure to Raise Issue on Prior Appeal = Waiver

Angiodynamics v. Biolitiec AG, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 8443 (1st Cir. May 6, 2016): Defendants, who violated a preliminary injunction, appealed the resulting civil contempt order entered by the district court. The contempt order included a civil arrest warrant and…
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Federal Court Clerks Have Absolute Quasi-Judicial Immunity from Damages when Performing Tasks Integral to the Judicial Process unless They Act in the Clear Absence of All Jurisdiction

Cobb v. JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 2867 (9th Cir. Feb. 26, 2015): The district court properly dismissed Cobb's claims against the federal court defendants because they are entitled to quasi-judicial immunity. See Mullis v. U.S. Bankr.…
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Recent Articles

Rule 37 Default Judgment Sanction: (1) Default Judgment Appropriate Only As a Last Resort, When Less Drastic Sanctions Would Not Ensure Compliance with the Court’s Orders — (2) Default Judgment Sanction Requires Willful or Bad Faith Failure to Obey Discovery Order — (3) Fugitive Defendant’s Failure to Appear at Court-Ordered, Remote Deposition Despite Court Warning That Sanctions Could Follow Disobedience Warrants Default Judgment — (4) District Court Afforded Wide Discretion in Interpreting Its Own Orders — (5) Filing a Notice of Appeal from a Non-Appealable Order (Here, a Discovery Order) Does Not Deprive the District Court of Jurisdiction over the Case

RICO and Injunctions: (1) State Court Actions Designed to Perpetuate and Monetize a RICO Violation Are Enjoinable under RICO, Even Though They Are Not Themselves Alleged to Be Predicate Acts [Note: Noerr Pennington Applies in RICO Actions] — (2) Although Civil RICO’s Text and Legislative History Fail to Reveal Any Intent to Override the Provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitrations Are Enjoinable Under the “Effective Vindication” Doctrine Where They Operate As a Prospective Waiver of a Party’s Right to Pursue Statutory RICO Remedies — (3) Arbitration Findings May Be Given Collateral Estoppel Effect in a Civil RICO Action — (4) Injunction of Non-Corrupt State Court Litigations That Furthers a RICO Violation Are Enjoinable Under the Anti-Injunction Act’s “Expressly Authorized” Exception — (5) “The Irreparable Harm Requirement Is The Single Most Important Prerequisite For The Issuance Of A Preliminary Injunction” (Good Quote) — (6) When Injunction Is Based on “Serious Questions on the Merits” Rather Than “Likelihood of Success,” Court May Rely on Unverified Pleadings and Attached Exhibits to Assess the Merits, Unless the Opponent Has Raised Substantial Questions (Here, the Opponent Failed to Request an Evidentiary Hearing) — (7) Whether Amended Pleading Moots An Appeal Turns on Whether It Materially Changes the Substantive Basis for the Appeal — (8) Meaning of “In That” (“Used To Introduce A Statement That Explains Or Gives More Specific Information” About A Prior Statement)

RICO: Fraudulent Concealment Must Prevent Discovery of the Injury to Toll Statute of Limitations

Rule 37 Default Judgment Sanction: (1) Abuse of Discretion Review = Legal Conclusions De Novo. Factual Findings for Clear Error — (2) Client May Be Sanctioned for Misconduct of Its Counsel, Though Here Client Was Directly Involved in Bad Faith Misbehavior — (3) Is There A Difference, Under Rule 11 As Opposed to Rule 37, Concerning Whether A Client Can Be Sanctioned for Its Counsel’s Misconduct? — (4) While Sanctions of Last Resort (Dismissal/Default) Are Apt Only If Lesser Sanctions Wouldn’t Ensure Compliance, Rule 37 Doesn’t Require the Vain Gesture of First Imposing Lessert Sanctions When It Is Clear They Would be Ineffective — (5) Court’s Reconsideration of Non-Final Orders Is Governed by Rule 54(b), And Court’s Discretion under That Rule Is Governed by the Law-of-the-Case-Doctrine

RICO: (1) Special Pleading Requirements? — (2) Although Enterprise Must Be More Than a Summation of the Predicate Acts, The Predicate Acts Can Demonstrate the Existence of the Enterprise — (3) Requirement That Association-in-Fact Exist For Purposes Other Than Just to Commit Predicate Acts Merely Requires Continuity — (4) To State an Association-in-Fact Enterprise Consisting of One Natural Person and Collection of Legal Fictions Requires Factual Detail As to How They Acted Together — (5) “A § 1962(c) Enterprise Must Be More Than An Association of Individuals Or Entities Conducting the Normal Affairs of a Defendant Corporation” (Good Quote)

RICO: (1) Fee Award May Exceed Amount Recovered — Strict Proportionality Not Required — (2) Nonmonetary Benefits and Injunctive Relief Recovered Also Relevant Factors — (3) Loss on Some Claims Need Not Result in Lowered Fees, Especially When Both Arise Out of The Same Nucleus of Operative Facts

RICO: Indirect Purchasers (Car Buyers/Renters) Lack Standing to Sue Manufacturers for RICO Violations Even Though Intermediaries (Auto Dealer Direct Purchasers) Lack Any Damages

RICO: Statutory Requirement that RICO Be Liberally Construed Does Not Establish a More Liberal Pleading Standard for RICO Claims — “To Be Sure, Adequately Pleading a RICO Claim Can Be Challenging” (Good Quote) — Court May Dismiss Action Pursuant to Rule 41(b) Absent A Motion

Electronic Spoliation/Rule 37(e): (1) Finding of Recklessness But Neither Gross Negligence Nor Willfulness in Loss of Video Evidence Precludes Rule 37(e)(2)’s Severest Sanctions Because (i) No Intent to Deprive and (ii) Rule 37(e)(2) Displaces District Court’s Power to Invoke Inherent Power to Impose Those Sanctions — (2) Appellate Review = Abuse of Discretion, With The Caveat That Whether The District Court Applied The Correct Legal Standards Is Reviewed De Novo — (3) Inherent Power Is Often Available As An Alternate Source of Sanctioning Power But Can Be Limited by Rule or Statute, Something Which Courts Do Not Lightly Presume — (4) The Text of Rule 37(e)(2), As Confirmed by the Advisory Committee Note, Displaces Inherent Power to Impose the Sanctions Specified in the Rule or Any More Severe Sanctions — (5) “Intent to Deprive” in Rule 37(e)(2) = “The Willful Destruction Of Evidence With The Purpose Of Avoiding Its Discovery By An Adverse Party” — (6) Appellate Standing Conferred by Virtue of Issuance of Sanctions Regardless of Merits Outcome — (7) Value of Advisory Committee Notes in Interpreting Rules Enacted without Change Despite General Reticence to Rely on Legislative History

RICO: (1) Plaintiff Need Not Suffer Injury from Each Predicate Act to Establish Standing, And The Pattern May Include Predicates As to Which No Plaintiff Has Standing — (2) 7 Elements of a Civil RICO Claim (2d Circuit Articulation) Which Must Be Established As to Each Defendant — (3) Requirements of an Association-in-Fact Enterprise — (4) Each Defendant Must Personally Commit 2 or More Predicate Acts — (5) Pattern of Racketeering Activity: Horizontal and Vertical Elements — (6) No Requirement That All Members of a RICO Enterprise Joined at Inception — Can Join Over Time/Others Can Quit — (7) Cannot Charge 2 Predicate Acts Where One Action Violates Two Statutes — (8) A Footnote to Consider for Briefs: “Unless Otherwise Noted, When Quoting Judicial Decisions This Order Accepts All Alterations And Omits All Citations, Footnotes, And Internal Quotation Marks.”

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New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

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