Joseph Hage Aaronson

Standards for Settlement Class Laxer Than for Litigation Class — Trial Management Problems Irrelevant — Securities Fraud Plaintiffs Needn’t Enjoy Fraud on the Market Presumption to Satisfy Predominance

In re AIG Int’l Grp., Inc., Secs. Litig., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 16911 (2d Cir. Aug. 13, 2012): In this class action case, we face a rare joint appeal from a district court’s order. After the parties arrived at a…

When International Arbitration Agreement Designates a Non-Existent Forum, New York Convention and Federal Arbitration Act Mandate that District Court Compel Arbitration in Its District

Control Screening LLC v. Technological Application & Prod. Co. (TECAPRO), HCMC-Vietnam, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 15418 (3d Cir. July 26, 2012): This dispute involves New Jersey-based Control Screening, LLC and Vietnam-based Technological Application and Production Company, HCMC-Vietnam (“Tecapro”). Control Screening…

Lingering Doubt — and Circuit Split — Concerning Continued Vitality of Sliding Scale Standard for Preliminary Injunctive Relief

Holiday CVS, LLC v. Holder, 839 F. Supp. 2d 145 (D.D.C. 2012): Footnote 8. Several members of the Circuit have read the Supreme Court’s decision in Winter to cast doubt on the continued validity of the sliding scale approach. See…

Barebones 26(a)(2)(C) Disclosure Adequate Where Supplemented by Expert’s Testing Results and His 30(b)(6) Deposition

Ira Green, Inc. v. J.L. Darling Corp., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113746 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 13, 2012): This matter comes before the court on Plaintiff Ira Green, Inc.’s Motion to Exclude Expert Witness Disclosures and Report and to Preclude Testimony.…

Relationship between Attorney Ethics Rules and Malpractice Liability — Non-Client Has No Cause of Action under Rule 4.3, Which Creates No Duty toward Non-Clients

Rosenbaum v. White, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 17184 (7th Cir. Aug. 16, 2012): [T]he plaintiffs also argue that, even if no attorney-client relationship existed, the defendants still owed them a duty under the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct. The plaintiffs…

Inherent Power Sanction of Counsel for Bad Faith Defense of Motion Not Immediately Appealable — Rule 11 Reprimand Threatening Reputational Damage Distinguished — Rule 54(b) Jurisdiction Unachieved by Mere Recital of Standard

Square, Inc. v. REM Holdings 3, LLC, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 17257 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 14, 2012): Square brought the underlying suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against REM Holdings 3, LLC (REM),…

RICO — Neither Attorneys’ Fees Nor Cost of Surgeries Nor Injury to Intangible Interest in Personal Medical Information Constitute Concrete or Quantifiable Injury to Business or Property within § 1964(d) — Declaratory Relief Discretionary

Dickerson v. TLC The Laser Eye Center Institute, Inc., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 17395 (4th Cir. Aug. 15, 2012); Charles Benjamin Dickerson appeals the district court’s grant of motions to dismiss the first amended complaint (“FAC”) filed by Appellees TLC…

While Motion to Compel Arbitration Should Reference §3 or §4 of the FAA, Absence Does Not Preclude Appellate Jurisdiction under § 16 — Party Does Not Default on Right to Arbitrate by Delay and Participation, Alone — Actual Prejudice Essential

Wheeling Hosp., Inc. v. The Health Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley, Inc., 683 F.3d 577 (4th Cir. 2012): Appellees Wheeling Hospital and Belmont Hospital***, along with other medical providers, commenced this putative class action in West Virginia state court…

Appealability — Failure to Appeal Sanction in Name of Counsel Does Not Deprive Circuit of Jurisdiction Where Body of Notice Recites That Sanction Imposed on Counsel Is Appealed

Guckenberger v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 13881 (2d Cir. July 9, 2012): [W]e conclude that we have jurisdiction over the claim on appeal that the district court improperly sanctioned Guckenberger’s counsel pursuant to Federal Rule…

Documents Beyond Complaint That May Be Considered on 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss and for What Purpose — Utility of Affidavit or Declaration

Biro v. Condé Nast, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112466 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 9, 2012): When determining the sufficiency of a claim under Rule 12(b)(6), the court is normally required to consider only the allegations on the face of the pleading. “Documents…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Standards for Settlement Class Laxer Than for Litigation Class — Trial Management Problems Irrelevant — Securities Fraud Plaintiffs Needn’t Enjoy Fraud on the Market Presumption to Satisfy Predominance

When International Arbitration Agreement Designates a Non-Existent Forum, New York Convention and Federal Arbitration Act Mandate that District Court Compel Arbitration in Its District

Lingering Doubt — and Circuit Split — Concerning Continued Vitality of Sliding Scale Standard for Preliminary Injunctive Relief

Barebones 26(a)(2)(C) Disclosure Adequate Where Supplemented by Expert’s Testing Results and His 30(b)(6) Deposition

Relationship between Attorney Ethics Rules and Malpractice Liability — Non-Client Has No Cause of Action under Rule 4.3, Which Creates No Duty toward Non-Clients

Inherent Power Sanction of Counsel for Bad Faith Defense of Motion Not Immediately Appealable — Rule 11 Reprimand Threatening Reputational Damage Distinguished — Rule 54(b) Jurisdiction Unachieved by Mere Recital of Standard

RICO — Neither Attorneys’ Fees Nor Cost of Surgeries Nor Injury to Intangible Interest in Personal Medical Information Constitute Concrete or Quantifiable Injury to Business or Property within § 1964(d) — Declaratory Relief Discretionary

While Motion to Compel Arbitration Should Reference §3 or §4 of the FAA, Absence Does Not Preclude Appellate Jurisdiction under § 16 — Party Does Not Default on Right to Arbitrate by Delay and Participation, Alone — Actual Prejudice Essential

Appealability — Failure to Appeal Sanction in Name of Counsel Does Not Deprive Circuit of Jurisdiction Where Body of Notice Recites That Sanction Imposed on Counsel Is Appealed

Documents Beyond Complaint That May Be Considered on 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss and for What Purpose — Utility of Affidavit or Declaration

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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