Joseph Hage Aaronson

Failing to Request Leave to Amend Complaint Prior to Dismissal, or Including Only a One-Line Request in Brief without Explaining Basis for Proposed Amendment, Warrants Denial of Belated Application

Muathe v. Fifth Third Bank, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 17618 (10th Cir. Oct. 8, 2015): Assuming his complaint was properly dismissed, Mr. Muathe says the district court at least should have allowed him to amend. But before the entry of…

RICO Statute of Limitations Accrual = Injury + (Reasonable) Discovery — No Fraudulent Tolling Absent Due Diligence — Limitations Period Extended Only by Length of Period Due Dilig. Exerted; Period Doesn’t Start Anew at End of Due Diligence

Madison 92nd St. Assocs., LLC v. Courtyard Mgmt. Corp., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 16386 (2d Cir. Sept. 15, 2015): ON CONSIDERATION WHEREOF, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that the order of the district court is AFFIRMED.…

Sanctions Appeal by Counsel Mooted Where Sanction Imposed on Client (for Counsel’s Conduct) and Client Settles Sanction, Despite Harm to Counsel’s Reputation from Language in Opinion — 2 to 1 Decision — Where Is the Line on Appealability?

Tesco Corp. v. Nat’l Oil Well Varco, LP, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 18903 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 30, 2015): Plaintiff Tesco Corporation ("Tesco") and interested parties-appellants [*2] Glenn A. Ballard, Jr. and John F. Luman, III (collectively "the Attorneys") filed this …

Facebook Authentication — Witness Who Accepted Friend Request Testifies She Was Tagged on Threatening Posts and Received Threatening Photo Via Facebook News Feed, and Her Screenshots of Posts and Photos Are Fair and Accurate

People v. Wooten, 2015 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 8115 (Cal. Ct. App. Nov. 12, 2015): A jury convicted William Fred Wooten of making a criminal threat.*** FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Jene Yates suspected that her 16-year-old sister was acting as…

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Can Emails of Public Entities Be Judicially Noticed as “Official Acts?” (Would Requisite Foundation Be Tantamount to Conventional Authentication?)

Takla v. Regents of the Univ. of Calif., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150587 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 2, 2015): I. INTRODUCTION On August 28, 2015, plaintiffs Nefertiti Takla ("Takla") and Kristen Hillaire Glasgow ("Glasgow") filed their First Amended Complaint ("FAC") against…

§ 1927 & Inherent Power Sanctions for Sending Settlement Agreement to Adversary Ostensibly Signed by Dead Client — Cross-Motion Denied Where “The Consequences of Counsel’s Violation Are Too Minimal to Justify Monetary Sanctions” (Good Quote)

Hubbard v. Plaza Bonita, LP, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 19715 (9th Cir. Nov. 12, 2015): The Appellant, Lynn Hubbard III, represented his mother in a lawsuit against a shopping mall and its tenants, alleging they denied her equal access to …

Attorney-Client Privilege — Banks Have Common Interest with Borrower in Getting Favorable Tax Treatment for Restructuring Where Viability Has Tax Law Element & Banks Retain Control of Legal Decisions — Work Product Extended to E&Y Tax Memo

Schaeffler v. United States, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 19617 (2d Cir. Nov. 10, 2015): Georg F.W. Schaeffler ("Mr. Schaeffler" or "Schaeffler") and associated entities ("Schaeffler Group") (collectively "appellants") appeal from Magistrate Judge Gorenstein's order denying a petition to quash an…

Attorney-Client Privilege — Crime-Fraud Exception: Factors — Perlman Doctrine — Failure to Provide Privilege Log As Waiver of Request for In Camera Review, Even Where Documents Held by Third Party (Counsel)

In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 15911 (1st Cir. Sept. 4, 2015): Appellant is the target of an ongoing grand jury investigation into an alleged scheme to defraud investors regarding the salvaging of a sunken vessel. The…

Text Messages Authenticated by 902(11) Certification from Carrier Plus Evidence Cell Number Was Defendant’s, Self-Identification in Texts and Their Contents — 902(11) Certification Also Renders Texts Non-Hearsay

Wilson v. Commonwealth, 2015 Ky. Unpub. LEXIS 70 (Ky. Sup. Ct. Sept. 24, 2015): A Kenton Circuit Court jury found Appellant, Pharo Wilson, guilty of three counts of criminal attempt to commit murder and found him to be a second-degree…

Email Evidence — Forwarded Emails Are Duplicate Originals within Best Evidence Rule — Circumstantial Authentication Includes Fact That Content within Messages Is Logically Interconnected and Connected to Oral Communications

State v. Robinson, 2015 Kan. LEXIS 929 (Kan. Sup. Ct. Nov. 6, 2015): John E. Robinson, Sr., was charged with multiple offenses related to the murders of six women–killings that constituted parts of a common scheme or course of conduct…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Failing to Request Leave to Amend Complaint Prior to Dismissal, or Including Only a One-Line Request in Brief without Explaining Basis for Proposed Amendment, Warrants Denial of Belated Application

RICO Statute of Limitations Accrual = Injury + (Reasonable) Discovery — No Fraudulent Tolling Absent Due Diligence — Limitations Period Extended Only by Length of Period Due Dilig. Exerted; Period Doesn’t Start Anew at End of Due Diligence

Sanctions Appeal by Counsel Mooted Where Sanction Imposed on Client (for Counsel’s Conduct) and Client Settles Sanction, Despite Harm to Counsel’s Reputation from Language in Opinion — 2 to 1 Decision — Where Is the Line on Appealability?

Facebook Authentication — Witness Who Accepted Friend Request Testifies She Was Tagged on Threatening Posts and Received Threatening Photo Via Facebook News Feed, and Her Screenshots of Posts and Photos Are Fair and Accurate

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Can Emails of Public Entities Be Judicially Noticed as “Official Acts?” (Would Requisite Foundation Be Tantamount to Conventional Authentication?)

§ 1927 & Inherent Power Sanctions for Sending Settlement Agreement to Adversary Ostensibly Signed by Dead Client — Cross-Motion Denied Where “The Consequences of Counsel’s Violation Are Too Minimal to Justify Monetary Sanctions” (Good Quote)

Attorney-Client Privilege — Banks Have Common Interest with Borrower in Getting Favorable Tax Treatment for Restructuring Where Viability Has Tax Law Element & Banks Retain Control of Legal Decisions — Work Product Extended to E&Y Tax Memo

Attorney-Client Privilege — Crime-Fraud Exception: Factors — Perlman Doctrine — Failure to Provide Privilege Log As Waiver of Request for In Camera Review, Even Where Documents Held by Third Party (Counsel)

Text Messages Authenticated by 902(11) Certification from Carrier Plus Evidence Cell Number Was Defendant’s, Self-Identification in Texts and Their Contents — 902(11) Certification Also Renders Texts Non-Hearsay

Email Evidence — Forwarded Emails Are Duplicate Originals within Best Evidence Rule — Circumstantial Authentication Includes Fact That Content within Messages Is Logically Interconnected and Connected to Oral Communications

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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