Complex Lit Blog

Rule 11 Sanctions — Email Doesn’t Satisfy Safe Harbor — Failure to File Bill of Costs Timely under Local Rule Requires Reversal of That Award, Too

Askins v. Hagopian, 2018 WL 1136029 (5th Cir. Mar. 1, 2018): Daniel Askins filed this lawsuit against Jeffrey Hagopian in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on May 13, 2016, claiming Hagopian made defamatory statements about him and tortiously interfered with his contract with Noble Drilling LLC.

Diversity Jurisdiction: National Bank Is “Located” (28 U.S.C. §1348) in the State Designated in Its Articles of Ass’n As Its Main Office — LLC Has Citizenship of All of Its Members

TD Bank, N.A. v. Bapa, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7067 (M.D.N.C. Jan. 17, 2018): ***In this case, the Complaint fails to specify the jurisdictional basis upon which it rests. (See Docket Entry 1, ¶ 6 (stating only that "[t]his Court has jurisdiction over the parties to this action and the subject matter of the claims set forth ...

Contempt Sanction: Reading Only PACER Entry & Not Order = Bad Faith — Magistrate Judge Lacks Power to Adjudicate Contempt — Summary Adjudication OK for Violation in Court’s Presence (Failure to Have Client Present, As Ordered) — $2,500 Penalty

Deutsch v. Annis Enters., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 3028 (5th Cir. Feb. 8, 2018): PER CURIAM: This is a companion case to

Deutsch v. Annis Enters., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 3028 (5th Cir. Feb. 8, 2018): PER CURIAM: This is a companion case to Deutsch v. Travis County Shoe Hospital, Inc., No. 16-51431, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 2647 (5th Cir. …

Attorney-Client Privilege: Simply Filing Suit to Which Privileged Info Is Relevant Doesn’t Effect Waiver — Mere Relevance Is Never Enough — Excellent Collection of Waiver Cases with Factual and Legal Analysis — Hearn Overruled by Swidler

In re Iltron, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 4136 (5th Cir. Feb. 21, 2018): This mandamus petition calls on us to correct a significant misapplication of attorney-client privilege law. The underlying lawsuit springs from a disputed corporate merger. Plaintiff-Petitioner Itron acquired a company called SmartSynch. According to Itro ...

In re Iltron, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 4136 (5th Cir. Feb. 21, 2018): This mandamus petition calls on us to correct a significant misapplication of attorney-client privilege law. The underlying lawsuit springs from a disputed corporate merger. Plaintiff-Petitioner Itron …

28 U.S.C. § 1782: Does a Magistrate Judge Have Jurisdiction to Issue a Final Order to Compel Discovery or May the MJ Issue Only a Report & Recommendation? — Circuit Split

Ex Parte Application of Godfrey, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29794 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 22, 2018): REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON RESPONDENT'S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENA AND PETITIONERS' MOTION TO COMPEL COMPLIANCE WITH SUBPOENA Respondent Stephen P. Lynch moves to quash the subpoena that Petitioners David ...

Ex Parte Application of Godfrey, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29794 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 22, 2018): REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON RESPONDENT'S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENA AND PETITIONERS' MOTION TO COMPEL COMPLIANCE WITH SUBPOENA Respondent Stephen P. Lynch moves to quash the…

Diversity Jurisdiction — Defective Allegations May Be Amended in Court of Appeals under 28 U.S.C. § 1653 — Opportunity to Amend Freely Given

Maitland v. Fishbein, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 4591 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2018): UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, ANDDECREED that the judgment of the district c ...

Maitland v. Fishbein, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 4591 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2018): UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, ANDDECREED that the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED IN PART and VACATED IN PART, and…

No § 1927 Sanctions for Conduct in Other Court (Here, Dist. Ct. on App.) — Rule 11 Inapt on Appeal — No Rule 38 Sanctions for Meritless But Not Frivolous Appeal — Rule 15(a) vs. (d): Is Leave to Supplement As Freely Granted as to Amend?

Connor v. Castro, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 4511 (5th Cir. Feb. 23, 2018): PER CURIAM:* * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Madeleine Connor appea ...

Rule 408 Yields (Mostly) to Court’s Ongoing Supervision over Injunction — Rule 407 Inapt If Feasibility Denied — Law of the Case & Mandate Rule Bar Reexamination by Dist. or App. Ct. of Issue Decided on Prior Appeal — Exceptions

Ball v. LeBlanci, 881 F.3d 346, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 2402, 2018 WL 632503 (5th Cir. 2018): Elzie Ball, Nathaniel Code, and James Magee are death row inmates in the Louisiana State Penitentiary ("LSP") and are housed in cells without air conditioning. The three sued in 2013, claiming a violation of the Eighth Amen ...

Ball v. LeBlanci, 881 F.3d 346, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 2402, 2018 WL 632503 (5th Cir. 2018): Elzie Ball, Nathaniel Code, and James Magee are death row inmates in the Louisiana State Penitentiary ("LSP") and are housed in cells without …

Rule 11 Sanctions: Assertions of Fact “Not Entirely Inaccurate” Don’t Show “Deliberate Indifference to Obvious Facts” and Aren’t Sanctionable

Benedek v. Adams, 2018 WL 823983 (11th Cir. Feb. 12, 2018): *1 Dezso and Ann Benedek (collectively, “the Benedeks”) appeal the district court’s denial of

Benedek v. Adams, 2018 WL 823983 (11th Cir. Feb. 12, 2018): *1 Dezso and Ann Benedek (collectively, “the Benedeks”) appeal the district court’s denial of Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 sanctions against the defendants and the court’s Fed. R. Civ. …

Rule 11—Where Detailed SJ Opinion Puts Plaintiff on Notice of Legal Deficiency of Claim, Fact Leave to Appeal Granted Doesn’t Preclude Sanctions for Filing Amended Complaint without Addressing Deficiency — FRAP 38 Sanctions for Same on Appeal

Debeikes v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., 2018 WL 991377 (9th Cir. Feb. 21, 2018): MEMORANDUM** *1 Matthew J. Debeikes appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment and challenges its denial of his request to reopen discovery. He also, along wit ...

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Rule 11 Sanctions — Email Doesn’t Satisfy Safe Harbor — Failure to File Bill of Costs Timely under Local Rule Requires Reversal of That Award, Too

Diversity Jurisdiction: National Bank Is “Located” (28 U.S.C. §1348) in the State Designated in Its Articles of Ass’n As Its Main Office — LLC Has Citizenship of All of Its Members

Contempt Sanction: Reading Only PACER Entry & Not Order = Bad Faith — Magistrate Judge Lacks Power to Adjudicate Contempt — Summary Adjudication OK for Violation in Court’s Presence (Failure to Have Client Present, As Ordered) — $2,500 Penalty

Attorney-Client Privilege: Simply Filing Suit to Which Privileged Info Is Relevant Doesn’t Effect Waiver — Mere Relevance Is Never Enough — Excellent Collection of Waiver Cases with Factual and Legal Analysis — Hearn Overruled by Swidler

28 U.S.C. § 1782: Does a Magistrate Judge Have Jurisdiction to Issue a Final Order to Compel Discovery or May the MJ Issue Only a Report & Recommendation? — Circuit Split

Diversity Jurisdiction — Defective Allegations May Be Amended in Court of Appeals under 28 U.S.C. § 1653 — Opportunity to Amend Freely Given

No § 1927 Sanctions for Conduct in Other Court (Here, Dist. Ct. on App.) — Rule 11 Inapt on Appeal — No Rule 38 Sanctions for Meritless But Not Frivolous Appeal — Rule 15(a) vs. (d): Is Leave to Supplement As Freely Granted as to Amend?

Rule 408 Yields (Mostly) to Court’s Ongoing Supervision over Injunction — Rule 407 Inapt If Feasibility Denied — Law of the Case & Mandate Rule Bar Reexamination by Dist. or App. Ct. of Issue Decided on Prior Appeal — Exceptions

Rule 11 Sanctions: Assertions of Fact “Not Entirely Inaccurate” Don’t Show “Deliberate Indifference to Obvious Facts” and Aren’t Sanctionable

Rule 11—Where Detailed SJ Opinion Puts Plaintiff on Notice of Legal Deficiency of Claim, Fact Leave to Appeal Granted Doesn’t Preclude Sanctions for Filing Amended Complaint without Addressing Deficiency — FRAP 38 Sanctions for Same on Appeal

Recent Posts

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)

RICO: Mail and Wire Fraud: Act of Emailing Transcript of Court Proceedings Containing Allegedly False Statements Made in Court ≠ Wire Fraud — Mailing (Serving on Opposing Party) Declarations Allegedly Containing False Statements ≠ Mail Fraud

FRAP 38 Sanctions — Sixth Circuit Usually Declines to Impose FRAP 38 Sanctions Unless An Improper Purpose Was Behind the Appeal

FRAP 38: Permissible for Appeals Court to Affirm Sanctions But Deny FRAP 38 Sanctions for Appeal — A Defendant’s Voluntary Cessation of Complained of Behavior Does Not Moot a Case Unless It Is Clear That The Behavior Could Not Reasonably Be Expected to Recur

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