New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Joseph Hage Aaronson

Federal Post-Judgment Interest Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1961(c)(4), Applies to Adversary Proceedings in Bankruptcy, Unless a More Particular Provision of the Bankruptcy Code Dictates A Different Result (Issue of First Impression in Fifth Circuit)

Carmichael v. Balke (In re Imperial Petro. Recovery Corp.), 84 F.4th 264 (5th Cir. 2023): [*268]  Per Curiam: This appeal arises from an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy. We affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand. I. This litigation stems…
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Inherent Power Sanctions — Dismissal with Prejudice Appropriate for Threats of Violence Or Other Insubordination That Disables The Judiciary From Functioning

Freeman v. Anderson, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 31213 (7th Cir. Nov.  22, 2023) (unpublished): ORDER Dismissal of a lawsuit, although a severe sanction, is sometimes warranted. The district court properly dismissed this suit filed by Sovereignty Joeseph Helmueller Sovereign Freeman…
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Inherent Power Sanctions Require Willful Disobedience of Court Order Or Act Taken in Bad Faith, Vexatiously, Wantonly or For Oppressive Reasons — Finding of Bad Faith Warranted for Knowingly or Recklessly Raising Frivolous Argument Or Arguing Meritorious Claim for Purposes of Harassing Opponent

Rooter Hero Phx., Inc. v. Beebe, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 32661 (9th Cir Dec. 11, 2023) (unpublished): MEMORANDUM* Plaintiffs Rooter Hero Phoenix, Inc. and Call Pro’s, Inc. appeal the district court’s order imposing monetary sanctions on their counsel under …
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Rule 11 Sanctions for Complaint — Two-Pronged Inquiry: (a) Whether Complaint Is Objectively Frivolous and (b) Whether Attorney Conducted A Reasonable Inquiry; (2) Relevant Factors Include Access To Information, Experience Of Attorney Versus The Level Of Specialized Expertise Necessary, Whether The Allegations Are Related To Knowledge, Purpose, Or Intent, The Relation Of Allegedly Frivolous Claim To The Pleading As A Whole, Length Of Time The Attorney Had To Investigate, And The Complexity Of The Case

Persian Gulf, Inc. v. Alon United States Energy, Inc., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 34169 (9th Cir. Dec. 26, 2023) (unpublished) MEMORANDUM* *1 In these consolidated cases, Defendant-Appellant Alon USA Energy, Inc. (Alon) appeals the district court’s denial of its…
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Spoliation Sanctions — Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e) —Adverse Inference — Fifth Circuit Equates “Intent to Deprive Another Party of the Information’s Use in the Litigation” with Its Traditional Test of “‘Bad Faith’ or ‘Bad Conduct’”

Ford v. Anderson Cnty., 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 506 (5th Cir. Jan. 8, 2024) Per Curiam: On June 15, 2018, pretrial detainee Rhonda Newsome died in Anderson County Jail due to complications [*2]  from Addison’s disease. Newsome’s family members filed…
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Criminal Spoliation — Eleventh Circuit Has Never Ruled That A Spoliation Instruction Should Be Given in a Criminal Case, But Holds That Bad Faith Would Be Required Were It Ever To So Rule — Also Surveying Other Circuits’ Law on Criminal Spoliation

United States v. Fey, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 34456 (11th Cir. Dec. 28, 2023): Criminal Spoliation — Eleventh Circuit Has Never Ruled That A Spoliation Instruction Should Be Given in a Criminal Case, But Holds That Bad Faith Would Be …
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Rule 37(d) and 41(b) Dismissal Sanction: (1) Sixth Circuit Factors (Bad Faith/Fault, Prejudice, Warning, Lesser Sanctions Considered); (2) Deliberate Disregard of Court Order Excuses District Court’s Failure to Warn Litigant That Case Could Be Dismissed (Here, Opposing Counsel Had So Warned in Writing); (3) While Lesser Sanctions Should Be Considered, District Court May Dismiss As First And Only Sanction; (4) Type of Misconduct Justifying Dismissal with Prejudice

Moore v. Erickson, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 26639 (6th Cir. Oct. 5, 2023) (unpublished) ORDER *1 In this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, Anthony Lamont Moore, a former Michigan prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals a district court judgment imposing costs…
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Spoliation Sanctions: Sixth Circuit Standards — Using Residential Funding Framework For Electronic Spoliation — Call to Ethics Hotline Absent Threat of Litigation or Preservation Demand Insufficient to Trigger Duty to Preserve

Goodale v. Elavon, Inc., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 32861 (6th Cir. Dec. 12, 2023) (unpublished) ORDER Elizabeth Ann Goodale, proceeding through counsel, appeals the district court’s judgment in favor of Elavon, Inc., on her employment-discrimination claims. The parties have waived…
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Recent Articles

FRAP 38 Sanctions: An Appeal May Not Be “Wholly Without Merit” — And Therefore May Not Be Sanctionable — Even If Several of Appellant’s Arguments Are Frivolous; Soundness of Central Arguments May Dominate

Standing: An “Identifiable Trifle” Suffices — PSLRA/Rule 11: District Court Must Make Findings As to Compliance with Rule 11 Whether or Not Asked — Filing Securities Lawsuit to Obtain Immaterial Disclosures Presumptively Violative of Rule 11

FRAP 38 Sanctions for Frivolous Claims of Judicial Bias, Citing Non-Existent Cases/Sources, Inventing Quotes from Real Ones, And Exhibiting Inflammatory and Antagonistic Tone — Recusal: “Adverse Rulings Are Not Evidence of Bias” (Good Quote) — Critical Judicial Remarks Ordinarily Do Not Support A Claim of Bias — Circuit-Wide Filing Bar Until $5,000 Fine Paid

Court’s Inherent Power to Police the Conduct of Litigants and Attorneys Extends to Persons Engaged in the Unauthorized Practice of Law Before Them

(1) Inherent Power Sanctions — Duty to Correct or Withdraw — Strategic Silence As Bad Faith — Failure to Advise Court of Absence of Diversity Jurisdiction for 15 Months for Strategic Reasons, Only “Pull[ing] Out The Diversity-Destroying Card” After Losing = “A Textbook Example of Bad Faith” — (2) Under Goodyear, The Court’s Fundamental Job Is to Decide Whether Fees Would Have Been Incurred Absent the Sanctioned Conduct — (3) Appellate Review: While Sanctions Orders Are Reviewed for Abuse of Discretion, A Finding of Bad Faith Is Reviewed for Clear Error — (4) When There Are Two Permissible Views of The Evidence, The Factfinder’s Choice Between Them Cannot Be Clearly Erroneous — (5) “A District Court Is Not Required To Consider Irrelevant Evidence” — (Good Quotes)

Criminal Spoliation Can Be A Due Process Violation — Defendant Must Show That (1) The Evidence Had Exculpatory Value Before It Was Destroyed, (2) Defendant Is Unable to Obtain Comparable Evidence by Reasonable Means, and (3) Bad Faith Failure to Preserve

1) Rule 11 Sanctions: “No First Amendment Exception to a Rule 11 Violation” — “[T]he First Amendment Covers Novel, Nonfrivolous Arguments, But Many Frivolous Arguments Are Also Novel” (Good Quotes) — Frivolous To Continue To Make Rejected Novel Arguments; (2) FRAP 38 Sanctions: District Court In Best Position to Set Sanctions, Attorney’s Fees and Costs

3 Prerequisites for Inherent Power and § 1927 Sanctions in Second Circuit: (1) Bad Faith, (2) Conduct That Is Entirely Without Color [Thus, An Ill-Motivated Colorable Position Appears to Be Protected in the Second Circuit], and (3) Improper Purpose— “To Gain A Strategic Advantage” Is An Improper Purpose — Due Process Satisfied by Opponent’s Motion and Multiple Court Conferences, After Which Target Was Allowed to Submit Additional Letters

Inherent Power Sanctions — Untimeliness as Laches — Laches Properly Applied to Deny Sanctions Motion — Note Waived Defenses to Laches

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions: Substantial Justification or Harmless Error (Ninth Circuit Factors) — Erie: When State Supreme Court Has Not Squarely Addressed an Issue, Circuit Must Predict How It Would Rule, Using Intermediate Appellate Decisions, Decisions from Other Jurisdictions, Statutes, Treatises And Restatements for Guidance

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New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

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