Joseph Hage Aaronson

Supreme Court — Removal — § 1446(a) Requires Only Plausible Allegation of Amount in Controversy — Evidence Required Only If Plaintiff Contests, or Court Questions, Defendant’s Allegation — No Presumption against Removal in CAFA Cases

Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Company, LLC v. Owens, 2014 U.S. LEXIS 8435 (U.S. Dec. 15, 2014): To remove a case from a state court to a federal court, a defendant must file in the federal forum a notice of removal…

Sanctions Wrongly Based in Part on Speculation (X May Have Submitted False Filings) — Defendant Not Tarred with Co-Defendant’s Misconduct — Ninth Circuit Default Standards — Discretion Narrows as Severity of Sanction Increases (Good Quote)

Loops, LLC v. Phoenix Trading, Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 21602 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 13, 2014): The issue before us on appeal is whether the district court abused its discretion in granting sanctions of default judgment, attorney's fees, and costs …

Email Admissibility — Admissions, State of Mind, Excited Utterance, Intent or Plan — Courts Sometimes More Lenient with Affidavits and Documents of Party Opposing Summary Judgment

Fleming v. Purcell Painting & Coatings Sw., Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178471 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 30, 2014): Defendant Purcell Painting and Coatings Southwest moves for summary judgment. (Def.'s Corrected Mot. Summ. J., ECF No. 29.) Plaintiff Jay Fleming opposes…

Three Good Quotes When You Have to Change Position or Ask a Judge to

“Justice Frankfurter once remarked that, ‘Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late.’ Henslee v. Union Planters Nat’l Bank & Trust Co., 355 U.S. 595, 600 (Frankfurter, J.,…

Circumstantial Email Authentication — Testimony from One User of a Shared Account That Emails Bore the Typical Signature of One Defendant (Sender) and Contents Reflected Matters Known to Her Husband (On Whose Behalf The Messages Were Sent)

Commonwealth v. Johnson, 470 Mass. 300, 2014 Mass. LEXIS 955 (Mass. Dec. 23, 2014): This case concerns the constitutionality of the criminal harassment statute, G. L. c. 265, § 43A (a), and its application to acts of cyberharassment among others.…

Inherent Power Sanction: Stripping Pro Hac Vice Status (PHV) for Slipping Note to Witness — PHV as Property Right — Tossing Note = Spoliation — That Lawyer Was Corner-Cutting Before Relevant to Sanction (Good Quote)

Ryan v. Astra Tech, Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 21628 (1st Cir. Nov. 14, 2014) (Kayatta, J.): Attorney Jeffrey Ryan ("Ryan") appeals from the district court's revocation of his permission to practice pro hac vice for the plaintiff in the …

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Obituary Posted on Funeral Home Website Properly Noticed, Like Obituary Appearing in Newspaper

Shaut v. Sec’y of Dep’t of HHS, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176591 (N.D.N.Y. Dec. 22, 2014): On July 23, 2014, pro se Plaintiff Anna M. Shaut filed a complaint against the United States Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS")…

Supreme Court: Application of Res Judicata to Nonparties — Six Situations — Federal vs. State Law on the Preclusive Effect of Federal-Court Judgments (Federal Question vs. Diversity Cases)

Taylor v. Sturgell, 553 U.S. 880 (2008): The preclusive effect of a federal-court judgment is determined by federal common law. See Semtek Int'l Inc. v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 531 U.S. 497, 507-508, 121 S. Ct. 1021, 149 L. Ed. 2d…

Attorney-Client Privilege — Three Approaches to Waiver of Privilege and Work Product Protection — Evidence of Reliance on Advice of Counsel in Settling Case = Waiver in Insurer’s Trial against Adjuster and His Firm

Seneca Ins. Co. v. Western Claims, Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 24172 (10th Cir. Dec. 22, 2014): Seneca Insurance Company paid $1 million to settle a lawsuit in which its insured alleged Seneca had mishandled insurance claims for hail damage…

Realignment of Parties — Court Must Look Beyond Pleadings and Arrange Parties by Their Side in the Dispute — Competing Tests: Primary Purpose vs. Collision of Interests (Circuit Split)

Am. Econ. Ins. Co. v. Aspen Way Enters., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166747 (D. Mont. Dec. 2, 2014): Before the Court are two motions. *** The second is Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Co.'s ("Hartford Fire") Motion for Realignment (Doc. 41).…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Supreme Court — Removal — § 1446(a) Requires Only Plausible Allegation of Amount in Controversy — Evidence Required Only If Plaintiff Contests, or Court Questions, Defendant’s Allegation — No Presumption against Removal in CAFA Cases

Sanctions Wrongly Based in Part on Speculation (X May Have Submitted False Filings) — Defendant Not Tarred with Co-Defendant’s Misconduct — Ninth Circuit Default Standards — Discretion Narrows as Severity of Sanction Increases (Good Quote)

Email Admissibility — Admissions, State of Mind, Excited Utterance, Intent or Plan — Courts Sometimes More Lenient with Affidavits and Documents of Party Opposing Summary Judgment

Three Good Quotes When You Have to Change Position or Ask a Judge to

Circumstantial Email Authentication — Testimony from One User of a Shared Account That Emails Bore the Typical Signature of One Defendant (Sender) and Contents Reflected Matters Known to Her Husband (On Whose Behalf The Messages Were Sent)

Inherent Power Sanction: Stripping Pro Hac Vice Status (PHV) for Slipping Note to Witness — PHV as Property Right — Tossing Note = Spoliation — That Lawyer Was Corner-Cutting Before Relevant to Sanction (Good Quote)

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Obituary Posted on Funeral Home Website Properly Noticed, Like Obituary Appearing in Newspaper

Supreme Court: Application of Res Judicata to Nonparties — Six Situations — Federal vs. State Law on the Preclusive Effect of Federal-Court Judgments (Federal Question vs. Diversity Cases)

Attorney-Client Privilege — Three Approaches to Waiver of Privilege and Work Product Protection — Evidence of Reliance on Advice of Counsel in Settling Case = Waiver in Insurer’s Trial against Adjuster and His Firm

Realignment of Parties — Court Must Look Beyond Pleadings and Arrange Parties by Their Side in the Dispute — Competing Tests: Primary Purpose vs. Collision of Interests (Circuit Split)

Recent Articles

nherent Power Sanction of Dismissal — Preponderance of the Evidence Burden of Proof, Not Clear and Convincing Evidence (7th Circuit)

§ 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

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