Joseph Hage Aaronson

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

RICO Securities Bar: Purchase of Shares in Tax Shelter Scheme ≠ Actionable Secs. Fraud — Can’t Base Closed End Continuity on Bald Assertions As to 3d Parties or Open End by Pinpointing a Moment in Time & Disregarding Contrary Facts (Good Quotes)

Menzies v Seyfarth Shaw LLP, 943 F.3d 328 (7th Cir. Nov. 12, 2019): Insurance executive Steven Menzies sold over $64 million in his company’s stock but did not report any capital gains on his 2006 federal income tax return. He …

12(b)(6) Dismissal Motion: Judicial Notice of News Reports & Non-Official Websites, including YouTube & Wikipedia, Only to Establish What Was in Public Realm, Not for Truth — Motion Converted to SJ to Consider Truth

Strojnik v. Azul Hosp. Grp., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 207424 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 2, 2019): Plaintiff is proceeding in this matter pro se, but he is licensed as an attorney in the state of California; pre-trial proceedings are accordingly referred to …

R. 37 Sanctions — Default Judgment — Bad Faith/Willfulness/Fault —Well-Pleaded Allegations Must Show Liability As a Matter of Law — Failure to Object to Magistrate Judge R&R Waives Review — Discretionary Review for Plain Error

Isigi v. Dorvilier, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 38054, 2019 WL 6997902 (2d Cir. Dec. 19, 2019) (unpublished): SUMMARY ORDER UPON DUE CONSIDERATION WHEREOF, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgment entered on April 2, 2018, is…

Waiver of Right to Arbitrate — 3 Factors — 18 Month Delay, Litigation of Motion to Dismiss Effects Waiver — What Constitutes Prejudice to Opponent

Flores v. Adir Int'l, LLC, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 37262 (9th Cir. Dec. 17, 2019) (unpublished): MEMORANDUM* Defendant-Appellant Adir International, LLC (Adir) appeals the district court's denial of its motion to compel arbitration in an action brought by Plaintiff-Appellee…

Arbitration: Public Policy Defense to Enforcement in N.Y. Convention Is Very Narrow — Must Be Explicit, Well-Defined, Dominant — Must Violate Most Basic Notions of Morality — Loss of Federal Statutory Claim Not Enough

Cvoro v. Carnival Corp., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 30940 (11th Cir. Oct. 17, 2019): Plaintiff Sladjana Cvoro appeals the district court's denial of her petition to "vacate and/or alternatively to deny recognition and enforcement" of the foreign arbitral award in…

RICO Extortion: Hobbs Act Requires Plaintiff Part with $ — Not Enough to Claim Right to $ Def Possesses — “Wrongful” Requires Def Have No Lawful Claim to $ in Dispute — Market Power Alone Doesn’t Invalidate Contract Freely Entered (Good Quote)

Crawford's Auto Ctr. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 37964, 2019 WL 6974428 (11th Cir. Dec. 20, 2019): *1 Plaintiffs Crawford’s Auto Center, Inc. and K & M Collision, LLC are two auto body …

Spoliation Sanctions: Seventh Circuit Requires Bad Faith Based on Pre-37(e) Case Law, While Citing Rule 37(e) Which Does Not Require It — Is a Video “Electronically-Stored Information?”

Conner v. Rubin-Asch, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32880 (7th Cir. Nov. 4, 2019) (unpublished): Eric Conner, a Wisconsin inmate, sued a prison psychologist and eight correctional officers for retaliation and deliberate indifference because they removed him from clinical observation, despite…

12(b)(6) Dismissal Motion: Judicial Notice of News Reports & Non-Official Websites, including YouTube & Wikipedia, Only to Establish What Was in Public Realm, Not for Truth — Motion Converted to SJ to Consider Truth

Strojnik v. Azul Hosp. Grp., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 207424 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 2, 2019): Plaintiff is proceeding in this matter pro se, but he is licensed as an attorney in the state of California; pre-trial proceedings are accordingly referred to …

Summary Judgment: Mere Denial of Statement of Undisputed Fact (SUF) without Actually Rejecting Paragraphs Responded to Properly Deemed Admissions — Attempt to Create Appearance of Factual Disputes = Sanctionalbe Non-Compliance with SUF Local Rule

Rau v. Allstate Fire & Cas. Ins. Co., 2019 WL 6358755 (3d Cir. Nov. 27, 2019) (non-precedential): *1 Appellant Rau claims that Allstate handled her underinsured motorist claim in bad faith, in violation of 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 8371. …

Hague Service Convention Article 15 Applies Only to Service of Process on Non-Parties, Not to Service of Documents on Participant in Existing Action

Lynch v. Mascini Holdings Ltd. (In re Kirwan Offices S.à.r.L.), 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 38068 (2d Cir. Dec. 20, 2019) (unpublished): SUMMARY ORDER UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court …

Previous 34 35 363738 39 40 Next

Recent Articles

Rule 37 Default Judgment Sanction: (1) Abuse of Discretion Review = Legal Conclusions De Novo. Factual Findings for Clear Error — (2) Client May Be Sanctioned for Misconduct of Its Counsel, Though Here Client Was Directly Involved in Bad Faith Misbehavior — (3) Is There A Difference, Under Rule 11 As Opposed to Rule 37, Concerning Whether A Client Can Be Sanctioned for Its Counsel’s Misconduct? — (4) While Sanctions of Last Resort (Dismissal/Default) Are Apt Only If Lesser Sanctions Wouldn’t Ensure Compliance, Rule 37 Doesn’t Require the Vain Gesture of First Imposing Lessert Sanctions When It Is Clear They Would be Ineffective — (5) Court’s Reconsideration of Non-Final Orders Is Governed by Rule 54(b), And Court’s Discretion under That Rule Is Governed by the Law-of-the-Case-Doctrine

RICO: (1) Special Pleading Requirements? — (2) Although Enterprise Must Be More Than a Summation of the Predicate Acts, The Predicate Acts Can Demonstrate the Existence of the Enterprise — (3) Requirement That Association-in-Fact Exist For Purposes Other Than Just to Commit Predicate Acts Merely Requires Continuity — (4) To State an Association-in-Fact Enterprise Consisting of One Natural Person and Collection of Legal Fictions Requires Factual Detail As to How They Acted Together — (5) “A § 1962(c) Enterprise Must Be More Than An Association of Individuals Or Entities Conducting the Normal Affairs of a Defendant Corporation” (Good Quote)

RICO: (1) Fee Award May Exceed Amount Recovered — Strict Proportionality Not Required — (2) Nonmonetary Benefits and Injunctive Relief Recovered Also Relevant Factors — (3) Loss on Some Claims Need Not Result in Lowered Fees, Especially When Both Arise Out of The Same Nucleus of Operative Facts

RICO: Indirect Purchasers (Car Buyers/Renters) Lack Standing to Sue Manufacturers for RICO Violations Even Though Intermediaries (Auto Dealer Direct Purchasers) Lack Any Damages

RICO: Statutory Requirement that RICO Be Liberally Construed Does Not Establish a More Liberal Pleading Standard for RICO Claims — “To Be Sure, Adequately Pleading a RICO Claim Can Be Challenging” (Good Quote) — Court May Dismiss Action Pursuant to Rule 41(b) Absent A Motion

Electronic Spoliation/Rule 37(e): (1) Finding of Recklessness But Neither Gross Negligence Nor Willfulness in Loss of Video Evidence Precludes Rule 37(e)(2)’s Severest Sanctions Because (i) No Intent to Deprive and (ii) Rule 37(e)(2) Displaces District Court’s Power to Invoke Inherent Power to Impose Those Sanctions — (2) Appellate Review = Abuse of Discretion, With The Caveat That Whether The District Court Applied The Correct Legal Standards Is Reviewed De Novo — (3) Inherent Power Is Often Available As An Alternate Source of Sanctioning Power But Can Be Limited by Rule or Statute, Something Which Courts Do Not Lightly Presume — (4) The Text of Rule 37(e)(2), As Confirmed by the Advisory Committee Note, Displaces Inherent Power to Impose the Sanctions Specified in the Rule or Any More Severe Sanctions — (5) “Intent to Deprive” in Rule 37(e)(2) = “The Willful Destruction Of Evidence With The Purpose Of Avoiding Its Discovery By An Adverse Party” — (6) Appellate Standing Conferred by Virtue of Issuance of Sanctions Regardless of Merits Outcome — (7) Value of Advisory Committee Notes in Interpreting Rules Enacted without Change Despite General Reticence to Rely on Legislative History

RICO: (1) Plaintiff Need Not Suffer Injury from Each Predicate Act to Establish Standing, And The Pattern May Include Predicates As to Which No Plaintiff Has Standing — (2) 7 Elements of a Civil RICO Claim (2d Circuit Articulation) Which Must Be Established As to Each Defendant — (3) Requirements of an Association-in-Fact Enterprise — (4) Each Defendant Must Personally Commit 2 or More Predicate Acts — (5) Pattern of Racketeering Activity: Horizontal and Vertical Elements — (6) No Requirement That All Members of a RICO Enterprise Joined at Inception — Can Join Over Time/Others Can Quit — (7) Cannot Charge 2 Predicate Acts Where One Action Violates Two Statutes — (8) A Footnote to Consider for Briefs: “Unless Otherwise Noted, When Quoting Judicial Decisions This Order Accepts All Alterations And Omits All Citations, Footnotes, And Internal Quotation Marks.”

For An Appeal to Be Timely, A Motion for Reconsideration in The District Court (A Rule 59(e) Motion) Must Be Filed, And Not Just Served within 30 Days of The Decision, to Toll The 30-Day Period for Filing An Appeal

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration