Joseph Hage Aaronson

Inherent Power & 41(b) Sanctions: Dismissal with Prejudice upon Disregard of An Order Generally OK If Party Forewarned — Finding Lesser Sanctions Wouldn’t Suffice May Be Implicit

Novero v. Duke Energy, 2018 WL 5013823 (11th Cir. Oct. 16, 2018): PER CURIAM: In this employment action, Plaintiff Primo C. Novero appeals the district court’s dismissal of his Complaint for failure to comply with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure …

Facebook Posts, Photos Authenticated by Messages betw Defendant (D) & Known Assocs, Contents of Posts, Witness Testimony That He Set Meetings with D by FB and D Came, Selfies, Birthday Message Posted on D’s Birthday, No Evidence Anything Planted

People v. Delgado, 2018 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 8357 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 11, 2018): I. Introduction Defendant Alejandro Ernesto Hernandez-Delgado appeals after a jury convicted him of first degree murder (Pen. Code, 187, subd. (a))[1] and …

§1927 Sanctions Unreviewable, Even Though Notice of Appeal Stated That Review of §1927 Award Was Its Purpose, Where Appeal Filed in Name of Client and Counsel Was Not Named as Appellant

King v. Burr, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 34702 (3d Cir. Dec. 10, 2018) (unpublished): OPINION* AMBRO, Circuit Judge This is the second appeal filed in this case. See King v. Burr et al., 728 F. App'x 83 …

Dismissal Sanction: Factors (11th Cir.) — Disregard of Order, If Warned, Enough — Implicit Finding Lesser Sanctions Insufficient OK — Party Personally Responsible — No Recusal Based on Rulings, Standard Consumer Transactions

Barone v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 34589 (11th Cir. Dec. 10, 2018): PER CURIAM: John Barone, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court's dismissal with prejudice of his lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ("Wells…

Experts: “Rule 702 Is a Screening Procedure, Not an Opportunity to Substitute the Trial Court’s Judgment for That of a Jury” (Good Quote) — Updated Guidelines after Trial Not Considered on Appeal, Potential Basis for New Trial Motion

United States v. Barton, 2018 WL 6374201 (11th Cir. Dec. 6, 2018): *1 Robert Barton was charged by a grand jury sitting in the Middle District of Florida, tried by a petit jury, and convicted in a single count of…

Denial of Rule 11 Motion Does Not Preclude Order to Show Cause Detailing Independent Grounds for Sanctions — Doubling Down on Frivolous Args., Baseless Attacks on Judge Warrant Sanctions — Dist. Ct’s Reliance on Out-of-Circuit Unpublished Opins. OK

Overcash v. Shelnutt, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 28741 (11th Cir. Oct. 12, 2018): PER CURIAM: The facts underlying this dispute are—to put it charitably—sprawling and convoluted. They are also well known to the parties, so we address them here…

Rule 37 Sanctions: “If a Party Gets 4 Extensions … & Blows Thru All of Them without Justification, He May Well Not Get a 5th” (Good Quote) — Dismissal Doesn’t Require Prejudice (That’s Just One Factor)

Cox v. UPS, Inc., 2018 WL 4922803 (3d Cir. Oct. 10, 2018) (unpublished): *1 If a party gets four extensions of his discovery deadlines and blows through them all without justification, he may well not get a fifth chance. The…

Experts: Lack of Specialization Goes to Weight — Expert Not Strictly Confined to His or Her Area of Specialty But May Testify Concerning Related Applications (Good Quotes)

Cedar Lodge Plantation, L.L.C. v. CSHV Fairway View I, L.L.C., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 28535, 2018 WL 4932716 (5th Cir. Oct. 10, 2018) (unpublished): PER CURIAM:* Plaintiff, Cedar Lodge Plantation, L.L.C. ("Cedar Lodge"), challenges the district court's summary…

FRAP 38 Sanctions Appropriate Because Appellant Ignored Rulings, Warnings and Sanctions Entered by District Court and Pursued Essentially All of the Frivolous Claims on Appeal

Momo Enters., LLC v. Popular Bank, 2018 WL 4846333 (7th Cir. Oct. 4, 2018) (unpublished): *1 The plaintiffs-appellants in this case filed this suit challenging the sales and foreclosures of a residential and a commercial condominium in Chicago and their…

R. 37 Sanctions: Vigor of Review Fact-Dependent—“Substantial” Sxs Merit More — $50K Not Substantial — Prof’l, Personal Obligations No Excuse to Miss Deadlines — Opponent’s Non-Responsivenes Justifies Skipping Premotion Conf.

Shumpert v. City of Tupelo, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 27263, 2018 WL 4561268 (5th Cir. Sept. 24, 2018): Plaintiffs-Appellants appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment dismissing their Fourth Amendment, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 excessive force and state…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Inherent Power & 41(b) Sanctions: Dismissal with Prejudice upon Disregard of An Order Generally OK If Party Forewarned — Finding Lesser Sanctions Wouldn’t Suffice May Be Implicit

Facebook Posts, Photos Authenticated by Messages betw Defendant (D) & Known Assocs, Contents of Posts, Witness Testimony That He Set Meetings with D by FB and D Came, Selfies, Birthday Message Posted on D’s Birthday, No Evidence Anything Planted

§1927 Sanctions Unreviewable, Even Though Notice of Appeal Stated That Review of §1927 Award Was Its Purpose, Where Appeal Filed in Name of Client and Counsel Was Not Named as Appellant

Dismissal Sanction: Factors (11th Cir.) — Disregard of Order, If Warned, Enough — Implicit Finding Lesser Sanctions Insufficient OK — Party Personally Responsible — No Recusal Based on Rulings, Standard Consumer Transactions

Experts: “Rule 702 Is a Screening Procedure, Not an Opportunity to Substitute the Trial Court’s Judgment for That of a Jury” (Good Quote) — Updated Guidelines after Trial Not Considered on Appeal, Potential Basis for New Trial Motion

Denial of Rule 11 Motion Does Not Preclude Order to Show Cause Detailing Independent Grounds for Sanctions — Doubling Down on Frivolous Args., Baseless Attacks on Judge Warrant Sanctions — Dist. Ct’s Reliance on Out-of-Circuit Unpublished Opins. OK

Rule 37 Sanctions: “If a Party Gets 4 Extensions … & Blows Thru All of Them without Justification, He May Well Not Get a 5th” (Good Quote) — Dismissal Doesn’t Require Prejudice (That’s Just One Factor)

Experts: Lack of Specialization Goes to Weight — Expert Not Strictly Confined to His or Her Area of Specialty But May Testify Concerning Related Applications (Good Quotes)

FRAP 38 Sanctions Appropriate Because Appellant Ignored Rulings, Warnings and Sanctions Entered by District Court and Pursued Essentially All of the Frivolous Claims on Appeal

R. 37 Sanctions: Vigor of Review Fact-Dependent—“Substantial” Sxs Merit More — $50K Not Substantial — Prof’l, Personal Obligations No Excuse to Miss Deadlines — Opponent’s Non-Responsivenes Justifies Skipping Premotion Conf.

Recent Articles

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)

Supreme Court: Relief under Rule 60(b)(6) Requires Extraordinary Circumstances Even If It Is Invoked to Allow Amendment of The Complaint–Rule 15’s Liberal Approach to Amendment Does Not Change That (Reversing Second Circuit)

FRAP 38 Sanctions — Eleventh Circuit Generally Does Not Impose FRAP 38 Sanctions on Pro Se Litigants, But May Do So If They Have Persisted Despite Judicial Warnings of Frivolousness

Inherent Power Sanctions: No Dismissal with Prejudice If Lesser Sanctions Will Suffice — The Liberal Pleading Standard of Swierkiewicz “Is Still Good Law”

Statements in Briefs As Judicial Admissions

Supreme Court: TRO As Appealable Order — And District Court Inaction As Tantamount to Refusing An Injunction And Thus Appealable

“Slow-Playing Discovery” in Response to Court Order, Prejudicing Opponent, Violates Rule 37(b)(2)(A)

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