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

§ 1927 Sanctions Shouldn’t Chill Zealous Advocacy, Don’t Apply to Novel Arguments Not Considered by Circuit or That Challenge Precedent, But Are Apt for “Slipshod and Misleading” Argument Based on Clearly Inapposite Authority (Good Quotes)

Diaz v. Messer, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 20247(9th Cir. July 20, 2018) (unpublished): Appellants Charles R. Messer, David J. Kaminski, and Stephen A. Watkins-attorneys for Defendant Collecto, Inc.-challenge sanctions the district court imposed against them under 28 U.S.C. § …
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Post-Appellate Proceedings on Remand: Under the Rule of Mandate, District Court May Decide Anything Not Foreclosed by Mandate & May Deviate from Mandate If Doing So Is Not Counter to the Spirit of the Circuit’s Opinion

Alexander v. Wessell, 2018 WL 3433825 (9th Cir. July 17, 2018): MEMORANDUM* *1 Kevin W. Wessell appeals the district court’s amended judgment of March 6, 2017 awarding Thomas E. Alexander $ 1,574,355, along with post-judgment interest and attorney’s fees, for…
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Sanctions: Shotgun Complaint (All Counts Aimed at All Defendants, Each Incorporating All Factual Allegations) Is Facially Dismissible in 11th Circuit, Constitutes Obstruction when Filed to Delay (Here, Foreclosure) — FRAP 38 Sanctions for Appeal

Jackson v. Bank of Am., N.A., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 21517 (11th Cir. Aug. 3, 2018): This appeal involves an abuse of process engineered to delay or prevent execution of a foreclosure judgment on a residence and the consequent …
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Arbitration: Court Uses Look-Through (Not Well-Pleaded Complaint) Approach to Decide Federal Question Jurisdiction over Motion to Compel — Circuit Split as to Whether That Approach Applies to Petition to Confirm, Vacate or Modify

HealthSpring Life & Health Ins. Co. v. Tex. Health Mgmt. LLC,  , ,8 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105467, 2018 WL 3105655 (E.D. Tex. June 25, 2018): Pending before the Court is Plaintiff HealthSpring Life & Health Insurance Company, Inc.'s ("HealthSpring")…
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Facebook/Social Media Photos — Unnecessary to Authenticate Account to Authenticate Photos — Postings on Social Media Aren’t Business Records of the Platform — Circumstantial Authentication (Surroundings)

United States v. Farrad, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 19614 (6th Cir. July 17, 2018): Although the phrase "going undercover" may still connote high-stakes masquerading, twenty-first century undercover investigations can begin and end in cyberspace. This case stems from an …
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Spoliation: Rule 37(e) Inadequate to Deal with Intentional Manipulation, Modification of ESI — Inherent Power Dismissal Apt — Appropriate to Punish Wife & Closely Held Corp., Too, when Husband Is Malefactor, Benefits All, & She Declines to Testify

Malone v. Weiss, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129606 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 2, 2018): MEMORANDUM OPINION This case arises out of the sale of Second Opinion, Inc. ("Second Opinion"), a service business which connects lawyers representing personal injury plaintiffs to …
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Instructions—Commingling Rule: If Case Sent to Jury on Multiple Legal Theories, 1 of Which Is Invalid, Verdict Infirm — If Multiple Factual Theories, 1 Lacking Sufficient Evidence, Not So — Circumstantial YouTube Authentication, Failure to Rebut

Nester v. Textron, Inc., 888 F.3d 151 (5th Cir. 2018): Gini Nester suffered permanent injuries when an unmanned utility vehicle ran her over. Gini and her husband sued Textron, the vehicle's manufacturer, alleging that the vehicle was defectively designed. …
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Recent Articles

Rule 37 Default Judgment Sanction: (1) Abuse of Discretion Review = Legal Conclusions De Novo. Factual Findings for Clear Error — (2) Client May Be Sanctioned for Misconduct of Its Counsel, Though Here Client Was Directly Involved in Bad Faith Misbehavior — (3) Is There A Difference, Under Rule 11 As Opposed to Rule 37, Concerning Whether A Client Can Be Sanctioned for Its Counsel’s Misconduct? — (4) While Sanctions of Last Resort (Dismissal/Default) Are Apt Only If Lesser Sanctions Wouldn’t Ensure Compliance, Rule 37 Doesn’t Require the Vain Gesture of First Imposing Lessert Sanctions When It Is Clear They Would be Ineffective — (5) Court’s Reconsideration of Non-Final Orders Is Governed by Rule 54(b), And Court’s Discretion under That Rule Is Governed by the Law-of-the-Case-Doctrine

RICO: (1) Special Pleading Requirements? — (2) Although Enterprise Must Be More Than a Summation of the Predicate Acts, The Predicate Acts Can Demonstrate the Existence of the Enterprise — (3) Requirement That Association-in-Fact Exist For Purposes Other Than Just to Commit Predicate Acts Merely Requires Continuity — (4) To State an Association-in-Fact Enterprise Consisting of One Natural Person and Collection of Legal Fictions Requires Factual Detail As to How They Acted Together — (5) “A § 1962(c) Enterprise Must Be More Than An Association of Individuals Or Entities Conducting the Normal Affairs of a Defendant Corporation” (Good Quote)

RICO: (1) Fee Award May Exceed Amount Recovered — Strict Proportionality Not Required — (2) Nonmonetary Benefits and Injunctive Relief Recovered Also Relevant Factors — (3) Loss on Some Claims Need Not Result in Lowered Fees, Especially When Both Arise Out of The Same Nucleus of Operative Facts

RICO: Indirect Purchasers (Car Buyers/Renters) Lack Standing to Sue Manufacturers for RICO Violations Even Though Intermediaries (Auto Dealer Direct Purchasers) Lack Any Damages

RICO: Statutory Requirement that RICO Be Liberally Construed Does Not Establish a More Liberal Pleading Standard for RICO Claims — “To Be Sure, Adequately Pleading a RICO Claim Can Be Challenging” (Good Quote) — Court May Dismiss Action Pursuant to Rule 41(b) Absent A Motion

Electronic Spoliation/Rule 37(e): (1) Finding of Recklessness But Neither Gross Negligence Nor Willfulness in Loss of Video Evidence Precludes Rule 37(e)(2)’s Severest Sanctions Because (i) No Intent to Deprive and (ii) Rule 37(e)(2) Displaces District Court’s Power to Invoke Inherent Power to Impose Those Sanctions — (2) Appellate Review = Abuse of Discretion, With The Caveat That Whether The District Court Applied The Correct Legal Standards Is Reviewed De Novo — (3) Inherent Power Is Often Available As An Alternate Source of Sanctioning Power But Can Be Limited by Rule or Statute, Something Which Courts Do Not Lightly Presume — (4) The Text of Rule 37(e)(2), As Confirmed by the Advisory Committee Note, Displaces Inherent Power to Impose the Sanctions Specified in the Rule or Any More Severe Sanctions — (5) “Intent to Deprive” in Rule 37(e)(2) = “The Willful Destruction Of Evidence With The Purpose Of Avoiding Its Discovery By An Adverse Party” — (6) Appellate Standing Conferred by Virtue of Issuance of Sanctions Regardless of Merits Outcome — (7) Value of Advisory Committee Notes in Interpreting Rules Enacted without Change Despite General Reticence to Rely on Legislative History

RICO: (1) Plaintiff Need Not Suffer Injury from Each Predicate Act to Establish Standing, And The Pattern May Include Predicates As to Which No Plaintiff Has Standing — (2) 7 Elements of a Civil RICO Claim (2d Circuit Articulation) Which Must Be Established As to Each Defendant — (3) Requirements of an Association-in-Fact Enterprise — (4) Each Defendant Must Personally Commit 2 or More Predicate Acts — (5) Pattern of Racketeering Activity: Horizontal and Vertical Elements — (6) No Requirement That All Members of a RICO Enterprise Joined at Inception — Can Join Over Time/Others Can Quit — (7) Cannot Charge 2 Predicate Acts Where One Action Violates Two Statutes — (8) A Footnote to Consider for Briefs: “Unless Otherwise Noted, When Quoting Judicial Decisions This Order Accepts All Alterations And Omits All Citations, Footnotes, And Internal Quotation Marks.”

For An Appeal to Be Timely, A Motion for Reconsideration in The District Court (A Rule 59(e) Motion) Must Be Filed, And Not Just Served within 30 Days of The Decision, to Toll The 30-Day Period for Filing An Appeal

There Is No Good-Faith Defense For Issuing An Overly Burdensome Subpoena

Purposes of Rule 37 and Section 1927 Sanctions

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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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