Joseph Hage Aaronson

Discovery Sanctions — Default Judgment — Fourth Circuit Standards: Factors Considered for Default/Dismissal under Inherent Power and Separate Factors under Rule 37(b) — Party’s Failure to Act after Counsel’s Withdrawal = Evidence of Bad Faith

Davis v. United States, 2018 WL 4339710 (4th Cir. Sept. 11, 2018): *1 Larry Austin appeals the magistrate judge’s January 25, 2017, order granting the United States’ motion to compel his compliance with discovery requests, February 15, 2017, order granting …

RICO: Alleged Witness Tampering in State Proceeding ≠ Predicate Act — Normal Communications among Adverse Parties in Litigation ≠ Mail or Wire Fraud

Jaye v. Oak Knoll Vill. Condo. Owners Ass'n, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 25943 (3d Cir. Sept. 13, 2018) (unpublished): OPINION* PER CURIAM Chris Ann Jaye, proceeding pro se, appeals from orders of the United States District Court for…

All Litigants, Inlcuding Pro Ses ,Must Comply with Orders or Face Sanctions (Good Quote) — Refusal to Confine Discovery Requests to Facts of Case + Defiance of Orders + Frivolous Interlocutory Appeals Warrant 26(g), 37(b)(2) & Inherent Power Sxs

Vaigasi v. Solow Mgmt. Corp., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 26044 (2d Cir. Sept. 14, 2018) (unpublished): SUMMARY ORDER UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. This…

Expert Opinion Relying on Propensity Evidence Unreliable: Undisputed That Biomechanical Engineers Do Not Rely on Such Evidence in Forming Professional Conclusions

Sandifer v. Hoyt Archery, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 29973 (5th Cir. Oct. 24, 2018): This appeal arises from a most unfortunate, unintended, and unwitnessed death. Dr. Alan Sandifer was pierced in the head by the cable guard of …

An Expert Who Supplies Nothing But A Bottom Line Supplies Nothing of Value to the Judicial Process (Good Quote) — Absent Reasoning, Expert Testimony Properly Excluded

Milligan v. Rock on the River, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 27557, 2018 WL 4664122 (7th Cir. Sept. 27, 2018): Order While attending the "Rock on the River" music festival just outside Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 2013, Joshua…

Sanctions — Due Process Reviewed De Novo — Verbal Warning One Month Before Sanctions Ordered Gave Target Sufficient Opportunity to File a Brief, Be Heard

Pooshs v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 2018 WL 6015923 (9th Cir. Nov. 16, 2018): MEMORANDUM* Plaintiff Nikki Pooshs’s counsel, Appellant Gilbert L. Purcell appeals from the district judge’s March 7, 2016 Order Imposing Sanctions on Plaintiff’s Counsel for Misconduct During…

RICO Extraterritoriality: Injury to Tangible Property Is Felt Where Property Is — Factors for Setting Locus of Intangible Injury — Injury to Judgment Is Intangible, Felt Where Plaintiff Is — Can’t Incorporate D. Ct. Brief on Appeal: Violates Word

Cevdet Aksut Ve Ogullari Koll.Sti v. Cavusoglu, 2018 WL 6016549 (3d Cir. Nov. 16, 2018) (unpublished): *1 Plaintiff Cevdet Aksut Ve Ogullari Koll.Sti (“Cevdet”) appeals: (1) the District Court’s orders (a) dismissing its Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”)…

Sanctions — No FRAP 38 Sanctions Where Law/Facts Complex, But § 1927 Awarded against Prevailing Attorney for Misrepresentations Not Accompanied by Overt Signs of Bad Faith But Nonetheless Amounting to A Misleadingly Selective Reading of the Record

Mys v. Mich. Dep't of State Police, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 14311, 2018 WL 2448093 (6th Cir. May 31, 2018): In an opinion filed on March 28, 2018, we affirmed a jury's award of $350,000 in favor of Linda…

RICO: “Allegations of Frivolous, Fraudulent or Baseless Litigation Activities — Without More — Cannot Constitute a Predicate Act” (Good Quote)

Weaver v. Boriskin, 2018 WL 4829968 (2d Cir. Oct. 4, 2018) (unpublished): Appellant Everette Weaver, pro se, sued CitiMortgage, Inc. and others for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO…

§ 1927 Sanctions — Maintaining a Clearly Time-Barred Lawsuit Warrants Sanctions from Time Opponent Called Offender’s Attention to The Time Bar — Magistrate Judges: 1927, Like Rule 11, Sanctions Are Dispositive (Cf. 54(d))

Carter v. Hickory Healthcare, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 27589, 2018 WL 4627022 (6th Cir Sept. 27, 2018): [**1] After Hickory Healthcare fired Styla Carter from her job as a nursing assistant, she sued the company for discrimination. The district…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Discovery Sanctions — Default Judgment — Fourth Circuit Standards: Factors Considered for Default/Dismissal under Inherent Power and Separate Factors under Rule 37(b) — Party’s Failure to Act after Counsel’s Withdrawal = Evidence of Bad Faith

RICO: Alleged Witness Tampering in State Proceeding ≠ Predicate Act — Normal Communications among Adverse Parties in Litigation ≠ Mail or Wire Fraud

All Litigants, Inlcuding Pro Ses ,Must Comply with Orders or Face Sanctions (Good Quote) — Refusal to Confine Discovery Requests to Facts of Case + Defiance of Orders + Frivolous Interlocutory Appeals Warrant 26(g), 37(b)(2) & Inherent Power Sxs

Expert Opinion Relying on Propensity Evidence Unreliable: Undisputed That Biomechanical Engineers Do Not Rely on Such Evidence in Forming Professional Conclusions

An Expert Who Supplies Nothing But A Bottom Line Supplies Nothing of Value to the Judicial Process (Good Quote) — Absent Reasoning, Expert Testimony Properly Excluded

Sanctions — Due Process Reviewed De Novo — Verbal Warning One Month Before Sanctions Ordered Gave Target Sufficient Opportunity to File a Brief, Be Heard

RICO Extraterritoriality: Injury to Tangible Property Is Felt Where Property Is — Factors for Setting Locus of Intangible Injury — Injury to Judgment Is Intangible, Felt Where Plaintiff Is — Can’t Incorporate D. Ct. Brief on Appeal: Violates Word

Sanctions — No FRAP 38 Sanctions Where Law/Facts Complex, But § 1927 Awarded against Prevailing Attorney for Misrepresentations Not Accompanied by Overt Signs of Bad Faith But Nonetheless Amounting to A Misleadingly Selective Reading of the Record

RICO: “Allegations of Frivolous, Fraudulent or Baseless Litigation Activities — Without More — Cannot Constitute a Predicate Act” (Good Quote)

§ 1927 Sanctions — Maintaining a Clearly Time-Barred Lawsuit Warrants Sanctions from Time Opponent Called Offender’s Attention to The Time Bar — Magistrate Judges: 1927, Like Rule 11, Sanctions Are Dispositive (Cf. 54(d))

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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