Joseph Hage Aaronson

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Authentication of Social Media Evid. Evaluated on Case-by-Case Basis — Proponent Must Corroborate ID of Author (Good Quotes) — Contextual Clues Inadequate Where No IP Address Obtained & 11 Other Pages Have Same Name

Commonwealth v. Gardner, 2019 Pa. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 3055 (Pa. Super. Ct. Aug. 13, 2019): Appellant, Leo A. Gardner, appeals from the Judgment of Sentence entered in the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas on August 16, 2018, following his …

Arbitration: Appealability — Order Compelling Arbitration Not Appealable Unless It Disposes of Entire Action — Merely Directing Arbitration Or Staying Action Pending Arbitration Requires §1292(b) Certification

Gold Coast Prop. Mgmt. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 27098 (11th Cir. Sept. 6, 2019): THE COURT: This appeal is DISMISSED, sua sponte, for lack of jurisdiction. The district court's June 14, 2019 order granting the …

Attorney-Client Privilege: Crime-Fraud Applies to Commc’n Precipitating Fraud Even If Different Tack Used — RICO: Unadjudicated Civil Action = Property — No Mens Rea for Unlawful Debt But Knowledge Statutory Definition Satisfied

United States v. Neff, 2019 WL 4235218 (3d Cir. Sept. 6, 2019) (unpublished): Charles Hallinan and Wheeler Neff were convicted of conspiring to collect unlawful debts in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), federal …

Statutory Interpretation —“Even Precise & Voluminous Legislative History [LH] Can Be Off the Mark” (RICO) — Don’t Use LH If Text Clear — Noscitur a Sociis Inapt If “Or” Used — Rule of Last Antecedent (Good Quotes)

Pellegrino v. United States Transp. Sec. Admin., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 26392 (3d Cir. Aug. 30, 2019): The Federal Government is typically immune from suit. The Federal Tort Claims Act waives the Government's immunity for certain torts committed by its …

Marital Communications Privilege: Factors — Invoker Must Establish Privilege Applies, But Opponent Must Defeat Presumption of Confidentiality — Applicability of a Priv. Is Fact Question, Scope Is Legal Question

United States v. Pugh, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 26204 (2d Cir. Aug. 29, 2019): Defendant-appellant Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh appeals from a judgment of conviction entered by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Garaufis, …

Sanctions: Omission Must Be Material before Dismissal May Be Apt — Materiality Defined — Importance of State of Mind (Contract, Tort Examples)

Greyer v. Ill. Dep’t of Corrections, 2019 WL 3798212 (7th Cir. Aug. 13, 2019): *1 One of Congress’s expressed goals when it passed the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”) was to rein in the flood of prisoner litigation—all too often…

Expert (701) vs. Lay (702) Opinion: Estimating Age = R. 701 Testimony — Under R. 704(b), Expert Can’t Opine on Def’s Intent But Can Give Testimony Supporting an Obvious Inference As to It

United States v. Stahlman, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 24571 (11th Cir. Aug. 19, 2019): After a jury trial, John David Stahlman appeals his conviction and 292-month sentence for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. On appeal,…

Rule 37(b)(2)(A) — Deeming Facts Admitted, Striking Defenses for Perjury, Filing Fraudulent Docs — Deeming Billions in Bitcoin Jointly Owned [Does a Magistrate Judge Have Power to Order This Sanction?] — MJ Can’t Find Indirect Criminal Contempt

Kleiman v. Wright, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147712 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 27, 2019): This matter is before the Court on the Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel, DE 210, and the Court's Order dated June 14, 2019. DE 217. The Court has…

Court Has No Inherent Power to Compel a Specific, High-Ranking State Official (U. Pres.) to Attend Settlement Conference Or to Make It Public — Purpose of Rule 16 Settlement Conference Is to Settle, Not Provide Public Forum

In re Univ. of Mich., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 25304 (6th Cir. Aug. 23, 2019): This case is about power. The power of district courts to manage their cases and our power to review that process. Questions about judicial power…

Rule 37(b)(2)(A) Sanctions — Dismissal for Violation of Discovery Order Reversed Where Party Appeared for Deposition Per Order, Was Questioned for Hours, Left for Work, and Order Stated No End Time — Unasked Questions Must Be ID’ed to Show Prejudice

Akins v. So. Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of Ark. LLC, 2019 WL 4071876 (8th Cir. Aug. 29, 2019) (unpublished): PER CURIAM. *1 Henry Akins appeals after the district court dismissed with prejudice his employment discrimination complaint as a sanction for…

Previous 55 56 575859 60 61 Next

Recent Articles

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

Rule 37 Default Judgment — Tenth Circuit Multifactor Test Is Not Exhaustive But a Non-Exclusive List of “Sometimes-Helpful Criteria Or Guide Posts”— Appeal from Preliminary Injunction Mooted by Entry of Permanent Injunction — Difficulty in Collecting Damages Award May Equal Irreparable Injury — A Monetary Award For Past Conduct Does Not Preclude A Permanent Injunction Against Similar Wrongful Conduct Likely To Occur In The Future

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

Supreme Court: Standing — When The Government Prohibits Or Impedes Company A from Using Company B’s Product, Both Are Objects of the Government’s Action And Have Standing to Contest It — “To Demonstrate Standing, Plaintiffs Must Answer A Basic Question—‘What’s It To You?’” (Good Quote) — Expert Evidence Not Required to Establish Standing — “Judges Are Not Required To Exhibit A Naiveté From Which Ordinary Citizens Are Free’” (Good Quote)

Rule 37(d) Sanctions — For Failure to Serve Answers, Objections, Or Written Response to Discovery Requests — Are Not Limited to Intentional Misconduct; Even Innocent Mistakes May Be Covered

Sanctions: (1) Rule 11 Does Not Apply to Litigation Papers Initially Filed in State Court — Only Reaffirmance in Federal Court Post-Removal Is Subject to Sanction — (2) “The Fact That A Legal Theory Is A Long-Shot Does Not Necessarily Mean It Is Sanctionable” (Good Quote)

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration