Joseph Hage Aaronson

First Amendment Bars Courts from Deciding Religious Questions, But Not Disputes Secular in Nature — RICO Claim Dependent on Resolution of Disputed Religious Question Precluded — Judicial Estoppel: Factors (Majority View)

Hutterville Hutterian Brethren, Inc. v. Sveen, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 523 (8th Cir. Jan. 13, 2015): This case publishes a new chapter in the legal struggle for control of Hutterville Hutterian Brethren, Inc. (Hutterville), a South Dakota religious nonprofit corporation …

Appellate Review of Decisions under Rule 56(h) (Bad Faith Affidavit on Summary Judgment) = Abuse of Discretion

Olem Shoe Corp. v. Washington Shoe Corp., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 434 (11th Cir. Jan. 12, 2015): In this copyright case, Washington Shoe Company1 seeks reversal of the District Court's summary judgment ruling that Olem Shoe Corporation did not willfully…

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Party’s Financial Condition as Reflected in Its 10-K Retrieved from EDGAR Considered on Irreparable Harm Prong of Preliminary Injunction Application

Honeywell Int’l, Inc. v. N. Am Refractories Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust (In re All Matters Related to N. Am. Refractories Co.), 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 4191 (Bankr. Dec. 16, 2015): Presently before the Court for decision following an extensive hearing,…

District Court Cannot Grant Untimely Motion under Rule 59 — Circuit Split As to Whether Court May Consider an Amendment to a Timely Filed Motion After the Period Set Forth in Rule 59 — 59(e), 52(b) Factors — 59 vs. 60 Depends on Timing

Segundo v. Stephens, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163432 (N.D. Tex. Dec. 7, 2015): On July 13, 2015, petitioner Juan Ramon Meza Segundo filed his "Motion under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 59(e) and 60(a) to Amend and Correct Memorandum Opinion…

Sanctions — Striking Answer for Filing False Third Party Decl. on a Motion OK Even If Adversary’s Case Not Decimated; Prejudice = Prying Info. from Deceitful Person (Good Quote) — Party Can’t Complain of No Hearing When It Didn’t Depose

Forsberg v. Pefanis, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 21402 (11th Cir. Dec. 11, 2015): After Evangelina Forsberg sued James Pefanis, her boss, for inappropriately touching her and making lewd comments in front of a coworker, Pefanis filed in his defense a …

Supreme Court — Arbitration — Clause Incorporating State Law Barring Class Arbitration Void under FAA — State Law Can’t Treat Arbitration Contracts Different from Others — What State Law, If Any, Can Drafters Effectively Designate?

DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, 2015 U.S. LEXIS 7999 (U.S. Dec. 14, 2015): The Federal Arbitration Act states that a "written provision" in a contract providing for "settle[ment] by arbitration" of "a controversy . . . arising out of" that "contract…

Privilege — Crime-Fraud — Materials Must Be Intended to Further C/F — Intent vs. Effect — Violation of Ethics Waives Privilege Only As to Materials Generated by Violation — Overzealous Discovery Conduct ≠ Misconduct Waiving Privilege

In re GM LLC Ignition Switch Litig., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159721 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 25, 2015): This multi-district litigation proceeding ("MDL"), familiarity with which is presumed, relates to highly publicized defects in certain General Motors branded vehicles and associated vehicle…

Attorney-Client Privilege — No Adverse Inference from, Evidence of or Argument Concerning Assertion of Privilege Permitted

In re GM LLC Ignition Switch Litig., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163255 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 3, 2015): In its Ninth Motion in Limine, New GM asks the Court to rule that evidence or argument regarding [*383] New GM's privilege assertions is …

RICO — No Open- or Closed-End Continuity Stated by Alleged Eight-Month Scheme with Single Victim (Good Collection of Similar Cases)

Grubbs v. Sheakley Grp., Inc., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 21146 (6th Cir. Dec. 7, 2015): Plaintiffs Linda Grubbs and the companies she owns, Tri-Serve, Ltd.; TriServe #1, LLC; and Capital Concepts, Inc., appeal the order of the district court dismissing…

§ 1927 Sanctions — When Does Inactivity Multiply Litigation? — Lawyers Entitled to Time to Digest New, Adverse Information — “Losing Is Part of the Lawyer’s Lot” & Not, Alone, Sanctionable (Good Quote)

Baca v. Berry, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 20830 (10th Cir. Dec. 1, 2015): This case arises out of an award of attorneys' fees imposed as a sanction on attorneys who brought a voting-rights lawsuit against the Mayor of Albuquerque.…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

First Amendment Bars Courts from Deciding Religious Questions, But Not Disputes Secular in Nature — RICO Claim Dependent on Resolution of Disputed Religious Question Precluded — Judicial Estoppel: Factors (Majority View)

Appellate Review of Decisions under Rule 56(h) (Bad Faith Affidavit on Summary Judgment) = Abuse of Discretion

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Party’s Financial Condition as Reflected in Its 10-K Retrieved from EDGAR Considered on Irreparable Harm Prong of Preliminary Injunction Application

District Court Cannot Grant Untimely Motion under Rule 59 — Circuit Split As to Whether Court May Consider an Amendment to a Timely Filed Motion After the Period Set Forth in Rule 59 — 59(e), 52(b) Factors — 59 vs. 60 Depends on Timing

Sanctions — Striking Answer for Filing False Third Party Decl. on a Motion OK Even If Adversary’s Case Not Decimated; Prejudice = Prying Info. from Deceitful Person (Good Quote) — Party Can’t Complain of No Hearing When It Didn’t Depose

Supreme Court — Arbitration — Clause Incorporating State Law Barring Class Arbitration Void under FAA — State Law Can’t Treat Arbitration Contracts Different from Others — What State Law, If Any, Can Drafters Effectively Designate?

Privilege — Crime-Fraud — Materials Must Be Intended to Further C/F — Intent vs. Effect — Violation of Ethics Waives Privilege Only As to Materials Generated by Violation — Overzealous Discovery Conduct ≠ Misconduct Waiving Privilege

Attorney-Client Privilege — No Adverse Inference from, Evidence of or Argument Concerning Assertion of Privilege Permitted

RICO — No Open- or Closed-End Continuity Stated by Alleged Eight-Month Scheme with Single Victim (Good Collection of Similar Cases)

§ 1927 Sanctions — When Does Inactivity Multiply Litigation? — Lawyers Entitled to Time to Digest New, Adverse Information — “Losing Is Part of the Lawyer’s Lot” & Not, Alone, Sanctionable (Good Quote)

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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