Joseph Hage Aaronson

RICO — Allegedly Inflated Cost of Appraisal in Mortgage Transaction Does Not Constitute Concrete Financial Loss Absent Factual Allegations Demonstrating It Exceeded Market Price or Was Not Independent, as Billed

Gomez v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 7370 (8th Cir. April 12, 2012): Grant A. Gomez and Lanie L. Gomez (the Gomezes) sought to establish a nationwide class of thousands of borrowers who allegedly paid inflated appraisal…

Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) Printouts Received in Evidence on Preliminary Injunction Motion Evidently without Further Authentication — Courts Warming to Reliability

Keystone Retaining Wall Sys., Inc. v. Basalite Concrete Prods., LLC, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145545 (D. Minn. Dec. 19, 2011): As evidence, Basalite relies on printouts of Keystone’s website dated 2006 and retrieved from the Internet Archive (or “Wayback Machine”);…

Disqualification: While Prior Representation of Adversary’s Predecessor in Interest May Warrant Disqualification, Representation of Assignor of Rights Does Not — Burden of Proving Specific Confidential Information Posses

My First Shades v. Baby Blanket Suncare, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19881 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 16, 2012): Plaintiffs My First Shades (“MFS”) and Venetian Holdings, LLC (“Venetian”) brought this action against defendants Baby Blanket Suncare and the Mercer Group, Ltd. (“Mercer”),…

Limits on Equitable Tolling — Exceptions to Client Responsibility for Lawyer Negligence — Gross Negligence vs. Negligence (Good Quote)

Hutchinson v. Florida, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 7960 (11th Cir. April 19, 2012): A petitioner has the burden of establishing his right — if “right” is not too strong a word in the area of equity — to equitable tolling.…

Spoliation — Unsuccessful Applicant’s Emails Asking Why She Was Not Hired Insufficient to Trigger Duty to Preserve — Sixth Circuit Applies Residential Funding Standard — Destruction in Ordinary Course

Perryman v. Postmaster General, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 7328 (6th Cir. April 11, 2012): Perryman’s ADEA claim stems from USPS’s denial of Perryman’s application for the position of customer services supervisor at the Chagrin Falls, Ohio Post Office, the same…

Settlement Negotiations Are Not Privileged — Circuit Split — Utility of Rule 26 — Heightened Standard for Discovery

In re MSTG, Inc., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 7092 (Fed. Cir. April 9, 2012): This [mandamus] petition arises out of an order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois compelling MSTG, Inc. (“MSTG”) to produce…

Where Testifying Expert Is Salaried Employee, Compensation Disclosure Requirement of Rule 26(a)(2)(B) Does Not Apply unless Salary Is Tied to or Dependent on Opinions — Full-Time Employee Status Alone Sufficient to Show Bias

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Nadel, , 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53173 (E.D.N.Y. April 16, 2012): Dr. Porter is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Iowa State University who is currently serving at the SEC’s Division of Risk, Strategy and…

Class Actions — Superiority — Circuit Split as to Whether, Where Predominance Is Lacking, Court May Certify Sub-Issues for Class Adjudication Even Though Claim as a Whole Does Not Satisfy Predominance — Does This Split Survive Dukes?

Oakley v. Verizon Commc’ns, Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12975 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 1, 2012): Where predominance is lacking, a Court may certify sub-issues for class adjudication; in Nassau County [In re Nassau County Strip Search Cases, 461 F.3d 219 (2d…

Is a Court Officer Entitled to Absolute Quasi-Judicial Immunity — or Only Qualified Immunity — When Using Excessive Force to Remove a Person from the Courtroom pursuant to a Judge’s Order? Circuit Split

Ingram v. Township of Deptford, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34031 (D.N.J. Mar. 13, 2012): A Circuit split exists with respect to whether a court officer is entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity when the officer allegedly uses excessive force to remove…

A Post-Trial Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law under Rule 50(b) May Only be Made on the Same Specific Grounds as the Pre-Verdict Motion under Rule 50(a)

Lore v. City of Syracuse, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 1954 (2d Cir. Feb. 2, 2012): Rule 50 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides in part that “[a] motion for judgment as a matter of law may be made…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

RICO — Allegedly Inflated Cost of Appraisal in Mortgage Transaction Does Not Constitute Concrete Financial Loss Absent Factual Allegations Demonstrating It Exceeded Market Price or Was Not Independent, as Billed

Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) Printouts Received in Evidence on Preliminary Injunction Motion Evidently without Further Authentication — Courts Warming to Reliability

Disqualification: While Prior Representation of Adversary’s Predecessor in Interest May Warrant Disqualification, Representation of Assignor of Rights Does Not — Burden of Proving Specific Confidential Information Posses

Limits on Equitable Tolling — Exceptions to Client Responsibility for Lawyer Negligence — Gross Negligence vs. Negligence (Good Quote)

Spoliation — Unsuccessful Applicant’s Emails Asking Why She Was Not Hired Insufficient to Trigger Duty to Preserve — Sixth Circuit Applies Residential Funding Standard — Destruction in Ordinary Course

Settlement Negotiations Are Not Privileged — Circuit Split — Utility of Rule 26 — Heightened Standard for Discovery

Where Testifying Expert Is Salaried Employee, Compensation Disclosure Requirement of Rule 26(a)(2)(B) Does Not Apply unless Salary Is Tied to or Dependent on Opinions — Full-Time Employee Status Alone Sufficient to Show Bias

Class Actions — Superiority — Circuit Split as to Whether, Where Predominance Is Lacking, Court May Certify Sub-Issues for Class Adjudication Even Though Claim as a Whole Does Not Satisfy Predominance — Does This Split Survive Dukes?

Is a Court Officer Entitled to Absolute Quasi-Judicial Immunity — or Only Qualified Immunity — When Using Excessive Force to Remove a Person from the Courtroom pursuant to a Judge’s Order? Circuit Split

A Post-Trial Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law under Rule 50(b) May Only be Made on the Same Specific Grounds as the Pre-Verdict Motion under Rule 50(a)

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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