Joseph Hage Aaronson

Federal Jurisdiction — Can the All Writs Act Provide Removal Jurisdiction in Extraordinary Circumstances when There Is No Independent Basis for Jurisdiction? — Circuit Split

Camellia Grill Holdings, Inc. v. Grill Holdings, LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 132930 (E.D. La. Sept. 30, 2015): II. All Writs Act In the alternative, Defendants assert that the Court should exercise jurisdiction pursuant to the All Writs Act, which…

Spoliation of Tangible Evidence — 10th Circuit Standards — Failure to Preserve Life as Potential Spoliation — No Liability for Spoliation by Unaffiliated Third Party

Jones v. Norton, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22792 (10th Cir. Dec. 29, 2015): This case arises from the death of Ute Tribe member Todd R. Murray on [*2] April 1, 2007, following a police pursuit. Murray's parents Debra Jones and…

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions — Failure to Disclose Important Conversation in Complaint or Response to Interrogatory Leads to Exclusion When Offered on Summary Judgment (and to Loss on Summary Judgment) — Particularly Wide Latitude Given 37(c)(1) Sanctions

Oyarzo v. Turner, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22718 (9th Cir. Dec. 28, 2015): 3. We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment for board members Darlene Hutchins and Joseph Turner on Oyarzo's First Amendment claim that they deterred him…

RICO — Fraud-Based Conspiracy Must Meet 9(b) — Can’t Create Specificity by “Page-Number Shock & Awe” — Mere Hint of Tribal Law Doesn’t Defeat Fed. Jur. — One Person’s Nefarious Acts Don’t Define Enterprise (Good Quotes)

Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla. v. Cypress, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22518 (11th Cir. Dec. 22, 2015): Plaintiff Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida (the "Tribe") appeals from two orders and a final judgment in a fraud-and-embezzlement-related RICO suit…

Email Admissibility — Hearsay — State of Mind Exception — There Is No “Self-Serving” Objection

Brown v. Golden State Foods Corps., 2015 Wash. App. LEXIS 371 (Wash. Ct. App. Feb. 24, 2015): Anthony Brown appeals from the trial court's order granting summary judgment to Golden State Foods Corporation (GSF) on Brown's claims of disability discrimination,…

No Mandamus to Review Order Compelling Fifth Amendment Materials in Tax Case — Post-Judgment Appeal Enough — Entertaining Opinion on Differing Approaches to Marijuana Industry Taken by DOJ (No Prosecution) & IRS (No Deductions)

Feinberg v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22161 (10th Cir. Dec. 18, 2015): This case owes its genesis to the mixed messages the federal government is sending these days about the distribution of marijuana. The Feinbergs…

Facebook Evidence — New Hampshire Supreme Court Upholds Circumstantial Authentication Based on Defendant’s Access to iPad Used to Send Messages and the Messages’ Contents and Timing

State v. Palermo, 2015 N.H. LEXIS 130 (N.H. S.Ct. Dec. 18, 2015): Following a jury trial in Superior Court (Nicolosi, J.), the defendant, Christopher M. Palermo, was convicted on one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault, see RSA 632-A:2, I(i)…

Arbitration — Incorporation of AAA Rules Does Not Render Availability of Class Arbitration a Matter for the Arbitrators Rather Than Court (Case Law But Not Circuit Split) — Does Incorporation Permit Class Arbitration? — Undecided Here

Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC v. Scout Petroleum, LLC, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 42 (3d Cir. Jan. 5, 2016): In Opalinski v. Robert Half International Inc., 761 F.3d 326 (3d Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 1530, 191 L. Ed. 2d …

Rule 11 Sanctions — Absence of Case Law Recognizing Constitutional Right Does Not Necessarily Render Claim Frivolous — Claim of Conspiracy with Gov’t Officials Falls Outside 1st Amend., Hence No Improper Purpose

Buckler v. MacGregor, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 21613 (11th Cir. Dec. 15, 2015): The Druid Hills Civic Association, Inc. (DHCA) and Robert Bruce MacGregor, III, appeal the district court's [*2] denial of their motions for sanctions and attorney's fees in…

If Defendant Stipulates to a Judgment for All Relief Plaintiff Seeks, Plaintiff Is Not Entitled to Trial on Issues That Wouldn’t Affect the Judgment — No Need to Use Rule 68 — Defendant May Disclaim Liability

Rienzi & Sons, Inc. v. N. Puglisi & F. Industria Paste Alimentari S.P.A., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19358 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 18, 2015): The issue before the Court is whether entry of judgment is appropriate where a defendant has consented to…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Federal Jurisdiction — Can the All Writs Act Provide Removal Jurisdiction in Extraordinary Circumstances when There Is No Independent Basis for Jurisdiction? — Circuit Split

Spoliation of Tangible Evidence — 10th Circuit Standards — Failure to Preserve Life as Potential Spoliation — No Liability for Spoliation by Unaffiliated Third Party

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions — Failure to Disclose Important Conversation in Complaint or Response to Interrogatory Leads to Exclusion When Offered on Summary Judgment (and to Loss on Summary Judgment) — Particularly Wide Latitude Given 37(c)(1) Sanctions

RICO — Fraud-Based Conspiracy Must Meet 9(b) — Can’t Create Specificity by “Page-Number Shock & Awe” — Mere Hint of Tribal Law Doesn’t Defeat Fed. Jur. — One Person’s Nefarious Acts Don’t Define Enterprise (Good Quotes)

Email Admissibility — Hearsay — State of Mind Exception — There Is No “Self-Serving” Objection

No Mandamus to Review Order Compelling Fifth Amendment Materials in Tax Case — Post-Judgment Appeal Enough — Entertaining Opinion on Differing Approaches to Marijuana Industry Taken by DOJ (No Prosecution) & IRS (No Deductions)

Facebook Evidence — New Hampshire Supreme Court Upholds Circumstantial Authentication Based on Defendant’s Access to iPad Used to Send Messages and the Messages’ Contents and Timing

Arbitration — Incorporation of AAA Rules Does Not Render Availability of Class Arbitration a Matter for the Arbitrators Rather Than Court (Case Law But Not Circuit Split) — Does Incorporation Permit Class Arbitration? — Undecided Here

Rule 11 Sanctions — Absence of Case Law Recognizing Constitutional Right Does Not Necessarily Render Claim Frivolous — Claim of Conspiracy with Gov’t Officials Falls Outside 1st Amend., Hence No Improper Purpose

If Defendant Stipulates to a Judgment for All Relief Plaintiff Seeks, Plaintiff Is Not Entitled to Trial on Issues That Wouldn’t Affect the Judgment — No Need to Use Rule 68 — Defendant May Disclaim Liability

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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