Joseph Hage Aaronson

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Trial Time Limits May Be Imposed But Court’s Power “Not Unbounded” — Trial Efficiency Can Undermine Fairness (Good Quotes) — Importance of Objecting —Sanctions (R. 37): Attorney’s Fees Needn’t Be Calculated with “Exacting Specificity”

Raynor v. G4S Solutins (USA), Inc., 2020 WL 917060 (4th Cir. Feb. 26, 2020) (unpublished): *1 After 15 years of employment, G4S Secure Solutions, Inc. (“G4S”), fired E. Ray Raynor. He brings a host of federal and state law claims…

For Rooker-Feldman (RF) to Bar Claim, Source of Injury Must Be State Court Judgment, Not Ministerial Act of Clerk Or Post-Judgment Conduct of Counsel — Concurrence: “Here’s to Urging [Supreme] Court to Give 1 Last Requiem to RF”

Vanderkodde v. Mary Jane M. Elliott, P.C., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 5838 (6th Cir. Feb. 26, 2020): In Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the Supreme Court made clear that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine—which prohibits the lower federal courts …

Social Media Photo: Page Ownership Irrelevant If Photo Independently Authenticated — Presence of Depicted Persons in Court Allows Jury to Determine Identity, Evidence of Hair Color, Clothing, Happy New Year Filter Allows Determination of Date

Holmes v. State, 2020 Md. App. LEXIS 104 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. Feb. 3, 2020): Appellant Jamar Lee Holmes was convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court for Harford County of attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault,…

Even Though There Is No Safe Harbor in § 1927, Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion in Declining to Sanction Party Who Withdrew One Challenged Claim, and Attempted to Withdraw the Other, Before Opponent Filed Sanctions Motion

Alcantra v. Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 5829 (9th Cir. Feb. 25, 2020) (unpublished): Defendants appeal the denial of sanctions against Plaintiff Correy Alcantra's counsel under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 and 28 U.S.C. …

Disqualification — Trial Taint—Meaning of Substantially Related —Subst’l Relationship Raises Presumption Confidences Shared — Lack of Recollection Irrelevant — Malleability of Memory — Pre-Indictment Delay in Moving Not Counted in Waiver Ana

United States v. Huawei Techs. Co., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32144 (Feb. 25, 2020): On May 2, 2019, the Government moved to disqualify one of the defendants' attorneys, James M. Cole of Sidley Austin LLP. Mr. Cole was Deputy [*2] …

Arbitration Clause Doesn’t Strip Fed. Ct. of Jurisdiction — Meaning of “Pursuant to” — Sanctions: Inherent Power (IHP) to Revoke Pro Hac Vice, R. 11 Improper Purpose for Determined Indifference to Merits, §1927 $ to Adversary & Ct. (IHP?)

Royce v. Michael R. Needle P.C., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 5233 (7th Cir. Feb. 20, 2020): This dispute over attorney's fees has a long, tortured history. Not because it is unduly complex or involves novel legal issues, but because one…

Arbitration: Appropriate for Arbitrator to Apply Fed. Ct. Standards for Reconsideration & Arguments Not Timely Raised, Including First Raised on Reply — Doing So ≠ “Misbehavior in Any Sense” (Good Quote)

Anderson v. Am. Gen. Life Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 5031 (11th Cir. Feb. 19, 2020) (unpublished): PER CURIAM: William Anderson, a plaintiff proceeding pro se, appeals the district court's denial of his motion to vacate his arbitration award…

Rule 11 Sanctions Rejected for Reciting Correct Standard for Retaliation Claim But Mistakenly Citing Title VII, Not ADA (& Then Correcting Error) — Movant “Essentially Seeks $100,000 for An Inconsequential Typographical Error” (Good Quote)

Alston v. Miss. DOT, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 4783 (5th Cir. Feb. 12, 2020) (unpublished): PER CURIAM:* In this pro se employment-discrimination case, Jason D. Alston appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment to the Mississippi Department of…

Disqualification: Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction Is Decided before Motion to Disqualify, Moots DQ Motion If Jurisdiction Lacking

Washington-St. Tammany Elec. Coop., Inc. v. La. Generating, LLC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27177 (M.D. La. Feb. 20, 2020): 1 At oral argument, the Court also heard argument on Louisiana Generating LLC's Motion to Disqualify Counsel for Plaintiffs. (Doc. 203.) …

Sanctions: Dismissal for Shotgun Pleading (Defined), Dismissal Factors (11th Circuit) — Must Give 1 Amendment — Dismissal for Disregarding Order ≠ Abuse of Discretion, Especially If Warned — Pro Se Must Comply with Rules

Sarhan v. Miami Dade College, 2020 WL 428926 (11th Cir. Jan. 28, 2020) (unpublished): PER CURIAM: *1 Robert Sarhan, an adjunct professor at Miami-Dade College, filed several complaints in the underlying case against the College’s Board of Trustees, alleging violations…

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Recent Articles

RICO — Pleading Conspiracy — Plaintiffs Must Plausibly Allege That the Defendants Knowingly Joined the RICO Conspiracy — Sparse Allegations of Knowledge of Fraud Due to Participation in a Commercial Transaction Insufficient to State RICO Conspiracy Claim Where Allegations Not Inconsistent with Ordinary Commercial Behavior — While Knowledge May Be Pled “Generally” under Rule 9(b), It Cannot Be Alleged Conclusorily and Must Satisfy the Twiqbal Plausibility Standard

Depositions: Improper to Object to Form to Straightforward Questions (Not Compound, Vague, Leading or Speculative) — Lack of Foundation Objection Improper in 30(b)(6) Deposition — Improper to “Educate” Witness During Breaks of 30(b)(6) Deposition Through Witness Calls to Knowledgeable Corporate Colleagues — Magistrate Judge May Impose Financial Sanctions

Spoliation/Sanctions: “A Party Does Not Spoliate Evidence When, Without Notice Of The Evidence’s Potential Relevance, It Destroys The Evidence According To Its Policy Or In The Normal Course Of Its Business” (Good Quote)

RICO: Fraud on Government Entities Causing Plaintiffs to Pay More for Inmate Calls Actionable on Bridge v. Phoenix Bond Analysis — Fact That Governments Had Separate Injuries As Part of the Scheme (from Reduced Commissions) Irrelevant — Plaintiffs’ Injuries Not Derivative of Governments’ — The Fraud on the Governments Was Not Too Distinct From Plaintiffs’ Injuries But Rather Necessary to Injure Plaintiffs — No Risk of Duplicative Recoveries and No Plaintiff Better Situated to Sue for Plaintiffs’ Injuries

Inherent Power Sanctions — Dismissal for Threatening Defendant and Magistrate Judge — No First Amendment Right to Threaten Violence

RICO: Domestic Injury — Delivery of Fraudulently Non-Conforming Goods FOB Los Angeles for Shipment to China Means Injury Arose Domestically When Purchaser Took Title —Other Relevant Factors Include That The Non-Conforming Goods Were Sourced and Made in the U.S. and The Racketeering Activity (Mail/Wire Fraud) Occurred in, and Was Directed from, the United States — Irrelevant to Domestic Injury Inquiry Whether Property Is Tangible or Intangible — 7th Circuit’s “Injury-Felt” Test of Domestic Injury Rejected by Supreme Court — RICO Standing Requires Concrete Financial Loss, Not Merely Injury to Valuable Intangible Property Interest (9th Circuit)

RICO Causation: Parents of Children with Disabilities Deprived In-Person Education and Services during the Pandemic Were Not Causally Injured by Teachers’ False Assurances to Federal Authorities That IDEA-Complaint Policies Were in Place, Which Caused Funds to Issue But Not to the Benefit of the Disabled Children — Damages Too Indirect — Proper Plaintiff Is U.S. Government — Private Injunctive Relief Under RICO Uncertain in Third Circuit

Sanctions: Rule 37(b)(2) Dismissal — Sixth Circuit Factors

Inherent Power Sanctions — Extrajudicial Misconduct: Sanctions Power Extends to Conduct Intended to Sabotage Court’s Ability to Adjudicate the Case Before It, Here, By Commencing State Court Actions Seeking to Enjoin the Federal Plaintiffs from Proceeding with Their Federal Litigation — Sanctions Fee Awards: The Factors Used For Calculating A Fee Award To A Prevailing Party Do Not Govern — Under Goodyear, the Relevant Inquiry Is Whether There Is A Sufficient Causal Link Between The Sanctioned Misconduct And The Fees Awarded

RICO: Members of Association-in-Fact Enterprise Must Act with a Common Purpose—Mere Allegation That Various Defendants Agreed at Different Times to Engage in Various Fraudulent Schemes Does Not Plausibly Support the Essential Inference, That They Acted with s Sufficiently Common Purpose

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration