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

RICO and FRAP 38 Sanctions: (1) Four key elements of § 1962(c)-(d) claim; (2) Standing Alone, Neither A Breach of Fiduciary Duty Nor A Breach of Contract Constitutes Mail Fraud; (3) Falsity, Alone, Does Not Demonstrate Fraudulent Intent; (4) Common Law Fraud Not Implicating Mail or Wires ≠ Racketeering Activity; (5) FRAP 38 Sanctions Inapt for Weak But Not Frivolous Arguments; (6) Recidivism: Prior Sanctions, Alone, Insufficient to Convert Merely Weak into Sanctionable Claims

Efron v. UBS Fin. Servs. Inc. of P.R., 96 F.4th 430 (1st Cir. 2024): APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO [Hon. William G. Young,* U.S. District Judge] Opinion Plaintiff-appellant David …
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Inherent Power Sanctions—Goodyear v. Haeger—Arbitration Confirmation: Where Respondent Advanced Many Meritless Arguments, But Some with Merit, Court May Award Entire Cost of Litigating As “Rough Justice” But High Degree of Specificity in Findings Required — Presenting an Issue of First Impression in an Unsettled Area, Even If Position Rejected, Is Not Without Justification

Trustees. of the N.Y. State Nurses Ass’n Pension Plan v. White Oak Glob. Advisors, LLC, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 12152, 102 F.4th 572 (2d Cir. 2024): Respondent-Appellant White Oak Global Advisors, LLC (“White Oak”) appeals from a judgment of …
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“RICO Is a Judge’s Nightmare” — “The Requisite RICO Pleading Standards Are Far from Explicit, And The RICO Jurisprudence Offers Courts (And Plaintiffs) Little Guidance” (Good Quotes) — Common Elements of § 1962(a), (c) and (d)-Based Claims — Closed-End Continuity: Duration > 1 Year = Substantial Period of Time (E.g., 2 or 4) — Continuity: Courts Skeptical If Number of Victims and Schemes Is Limited — Untargeted Persons Who Suffer Derivative Injury from Injury to Immediate RICO Victim Do Not Add to the Number of Victims Considered for Continuity Purposes — Open Ended Continuity Can Be Established by Showing Defendant Commits Predicate Acts As “Regular Way of Doing Business” — Citing the Existence of Other Lawsuits Alleging Similar Predicates ≠ Pleading Facts Demonstrating Defendant’s Commission of Similar Predicates Against Others

D&T Partners, L.L.C. v. Baymark Partners Mgmt., LLC, 94 F.4th 198 (5th Cir. 2024): A group of individuals allegedly sought to steal the assets and trade secrets of an e-commerce company. They did so with shell entities, corrupt lending practices,…
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RICO: Personal Injury (Depression, Loss of Love and Affection) ≠ Injury to Business or Property — While Inability to Fulfill Employment Contract or Pursue Valuable Employment Opportunities as a Result of a RICO Violation Constitute Injury to Business or Property, Inability to Work Due to Emotional Trauma from RICO Violation Perpetrated on Another Is an Inactionable, Derivative Injury Too Remote from the RICO Violation — Statute of Limitations/Injury Discovery Rule — SOL Accrues When Plaintiff Knows Or Should Know of His or Her Injury, Regardless of Whether Plaintiff Knows the Injury Is Part of a Pattern of Racketeering — Separate Accrual Rule: New Cause of Action Accrues for Each New, Independent Injury, Even If RICO Violation Occurred > 4 Years Earlier — Private Citizens Cannot Compel a Criminal Prosecution Because They Lack a Cognizable Interest in the Prosecution of Another

Douglas v. Kalanta, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 10054, 2024 WL 1795160 (9th Cir. April 25, 2024) (unpublished) MEMORANDUM* *1 Plaintiffs Richard William Douglas, Jr., and Christine Anne Hurtt filed a complaint on October 18, 2021, alleging that defendants …
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Rule 11 Sanctions — Within District Court’s Discretion to Deny on Grounds That Imposing Sanctions Would Lead to a Continuation of Litigation Instead of Its Termination and That The Prospect of Recovering Significant Monetary Sanctions Was “Theoretical, Ephemeral and Perhaps Futile” — Neither Adverse Rulings Nor “Unsupported, Irrational, Or Highly Tenuous Speculation” Form a Basis for Recusal (Good Quotes)

Zia Shaikh v. Germadnig, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 13738 (3d Cir. June 6, 2024) (unpublished): OPINION* PER CURIAM *1 In July 2013, Zia Shaikh filed for divorce from his wife. In many lawsuits since, he has sued numerous person…
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(1) Inherent Power Must Arise From the Litigation before the Sanctioning Court — Abuse of Discretion to Use It to Sanction Other Conduct — (2) Additional [Criminal] Due Process Protections Required for Punitive Sanctions — (3) Although Movant Bears Burden Of Establishing Right To Intervene, Rule 24 Is To Be Liberally Construed

McClenny Moseley & Assocs., P.L.L.C. v. Equal Access Just. Fund, L.P., 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 13995 (5th Cir. June 7, 2024) (unpublished): DANA M. DOUGLAS, Circuit Judge:* *   This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5TH…
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Civil RICO Claim Survives Defendant’s Death (fn 24) (issue conceded) — Meaning of “Abuse of Discretion” (First Circuit) — Court Has Discretion to Decline to Substitute a New Party for a Deceased Party — Who Qualifies As A Deceased Party’s Successor or Representative — Arguments Forfeited Below Considered for Plain Error Only on Appeal — 4 Prongs of Plain Error — The 90-Day Substitution Period in Rule 25(a) Begins Upon Service of the Suggestion of Death — Default Judgment Is a Drastic Measure And Should Be Employed Only in an Extreme Situation

Universitas Education, LLC v. Granderson, 98 F.4th 357 (1st Cir. 2024): When Plaintiff Appellee Universitas Education, LLC (“Universitas”) first initiated this lawsuit against Jack E. Robinson, III (“Robinson”) in 2015, it sought damages against him for (among many other things)…
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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

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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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