Complex Lit Blog

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — On Summary Judgment, Court May Take Notice, for Background Purposes, of Facts about Parties from Their Websites

Powers v. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130068 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2015): This case involves claims that false representations and warranties made in connection with a corporate acquisition justified the buying company in refusing to release to the seller certain funds held in escrow. On A ...

Powers v. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130068 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2015): This case involves claims that false representations and warranties made in connection with a corporate acquisition justified the buying company in refusing to release …

Experts — When Testimony Contains Reliable & Unreliable Opinions That Are Easily Distinguished, Only Latter Should Be Excluded — “While the District Court’s Discretion Is Considerable, It Is Not Unfettered” (Good Quote)

In re Pfizer Inc. Securities Litig., 819 F.3d 642 (2d Cir. 2016): Plaintiffs-Appellants Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana and Christine Fleckles, acting on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated investors (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), brought suit in the United States District Court for the Southern Dis ...

RICO PSLRA Bar — N.D. Ill. Rejects Several Circuit (and other N.D. Ill.) Decisions Holding That Bar Applies If Conduct Is Actionable as Securities Fraud by Anyone — Holds It Must Be Actionable by Plaintiff

Menzies v. Seyfarth Shaw LLP, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92765 (N.D. Ill. July 15, 2016) (Blakey, D.J.): Plaintiff is a rich man who, ostensibly through hard work and good fortune, put himself in a position to sell over sixty million dollars in stock in a company he helped create. No crime in that, closing on such a sale exemplifies part o ...

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions Inapt Where Info Undisclosed Per 26(a)(1) Is Revealed in Discovery & No Sandbagging — Settlement Agreement (Release) Binding on Drafter Who Performs (Pays) Even Though Only Counterparty Ever Signs

Baker Hughes Inc. v. S&S Chem., LLC, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16257 (6th Cir. Sept. 2, 2016): Bruce Stevens worked for Baker Petrolite Corporation and its predecessor for approximately seven years. When his employment ended, Stevens signed a contract in which he promised to maintain the confidentiality of Baker Petrolite's trade secre ...

Good Quotes: In Pleading, As in Many Aspects of Life, Quality Matters More Than Quantity — Plaintiffs’ Unwieldy, Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Approach — Rule 9(b) Does Not Permit Us to Assemble…Disjointed Facts into a Collage

Lawrie v Ginn Dev. Co., LLC, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 13706 (11th Cir. July 28, 2016): In pleading, as in many aspects of life, quality matters more than quantity. Plaintiffs in this lawsuit have tried to plead a cause of action for real estate fraud four times, with their most recent complaint [*3] launching a ...

Lawrie v Ginn Dev. Co., LLC, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 13706 (11th Cir. July 28, 2016): In pleading, as in many aspects of life, quality matters more than quantity. Plaintiffs in this lawsuit have tried to plead a cause …

Appeals — TRO Appealable Only If It Decides Merits of the Case or Is Equivalent to Dismissal — Absolute Judicial Immunity on Injunctive Claim, Regardless of Error, Malice or Excess of Jurisdiction, Unless Jurisdiction Clearly Absent

Ellakkany v. Common Pleas Court of Montgomery Cnty., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 13652 (3d Cir. July 27, 2016) : Appellant Mourad Ellakkany appeals from the district court's order denying his motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Because we conclude that this appeal presents no substantial question, we will ...

Inherent Power/Contempt Sanctions: Premature Notice of Appeal Cured by Entry of Judgment — Bad Faith Finding “Especially Critical” When Fees Shifted

Hernandez v. City of Vancouver, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 14625 (9th Cir. Aug. 9, 2016): MEMORANDUM* * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. Boothe, an attorney, was f ...

Discovery Sanctions — Attorney’s Fees under Rule 37(b)(5) — Although Phrased in Seemingly Mandatory Terms, Court’s Discretion Is Broad — Excessive Fee Request May Be Denied as “Unjust” — Standard under 12(c) = Summary Judgment

Jones v. Dufek, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 13549 (D.C. Cir. July 26, 2016): Tawanda Jones owed $1,050.29 to Bank of America. Bank of America sold the debt to CACH, LLC. That company hired the Law Office of David Sean Dufek in San Diego, California, to help it collect on the debt. In 2013, Dufek sent Jones the following letter:

Supreme Court Precedent & Dicta: “Federal Courts Are Not Free to Limit Supreme Court Opinions to The[ir] Facts” & Are Bound by the Supreme Court’s Considered Dicta Almost as Firmly as by Its Outright Holdings (Good Quotes)

In re: Pre -Filled Propane Tank Antitrust Litigation, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 15748 (8th Cir. Aug. 25, 2016) (Benton, J., dissenting): [F]ederal courts "are not free to limit Supreme Court opinions to the facts of each case." McDonough v. Anoka Cnty., 799 F.3d 931, 942 (8th Cir. 2015) ...

In re: Pre -Filled Propane Tank Antitrust Litigation, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 15748 (8th Cir. Aug. 25, 2016) (Benton, J., dissenting): [F]ederal courts "are not free to limit Supreme Court opinions to the facts of each case." McDonough v.…

RICO: Bank + Outside Contractor, 2 Law Firms, Commc’ns & Processing Firms= AIF Enterprise—Pleading: “9(b) Does Not Require Omniscience” & 12(b)(6) Doesn’t Require “a Prima Facie Case for Each Element” (Good Quotes)

George v. Urban Settlement Servs., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 14934 (10th Cir. Aug. 15, 2016): Richard George, Steven Leavitt, Sandra Leavitt, and Darrell Dalton appeal the district court's dismissal of their putative class action against Urban Settlement Services, d/b/a Urban Lending Solutions (Urban) and Bank of Ameri ...

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — On Summary Judgment, Court May Take Notice, for Background Purposes, of Facts about Parties from Their Websites

Experts — When Testimony Contains Reliable & Unreliable Opinions That Are Easily Distinguished, Only Latter Should Be Excluded — “While the District Court’s Discretion Is Considerable, It Is Not Unfettered” (Good Quote)

RICO PSLRA Bar — N.D. Ill. Rejects Several Circuit (and other N.D. Ill.) Decisions Holding That Bar Applies If Conduct Is Actionable as Securities Fraud by Anyone — Holds It Must Be Actionable by Plaintiff

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions Inapt Where Info Undisclosed Per 26(a)(1) Is Revealed in Discovery & No Sandbagging — Settlement Agreement (Release) Binding on Drafter Who Performs (Pays) Even Though Only Counterparty Ever Signs

Good Quotes: In Pleading, As in Many Aspects of Life, Quality Matters More Than Quantity — Plaintiffs’ Unwieldy, Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Approach — Rule 9(b) Does Not Permit Us to Assemble…Disjointed Facts into a Collage

Appeals — TRO Appealable Only If It Decides Merits of the Case or Is Equivalent to Dismissal — Absolute Judicial Immunity on Injunctive Claim, Regardless of Error, Malice or Excess of Jurisdiction, Unless Jurisdiction Clearly Absent

Inherent Power/Contempt Sanctions: Premature Notice of Appeal Cured by Entry of Judgment — Bad Faith Finding “Especially Critical” When Fees Shifted

Discovery Sanctions — Attorney’s Fees under Rule 37(b)(5) — Although Phrased in Seemingly Mandatory Terms, Court’s Discretion Is Broad — Excessive Fee Request May Be Denied as “Unjust” — Standard under 12(c) = Summary Judgment

Supreme Court Precedent & Dicta: “Federal Courts Are Not Free to Limit Supreme Court Opinions to The[ir] Facts” & Are Bound by the Supreme Court’s Considered Dicta Almost as Firmly as by Its Outright Holdings (Good Quotes)

RICO: Bank + Outside Contractor, 2 Law Firms, Commc’ns & Processing Firms= AIF Enterprise—Pleading: “9(b) Does Not Require Omniscience” & 12(b)(6) Doesn’t Require “a Prima Facie Case for Each Element” (Good Quotes)

Recent Posts

RICO: Indirect Injury Unrecoverable — Indirect Purchaser Rule Imported from Antitrust

RICO: No Causation Where Harm Flowed Several Steps After the Fraudulent Acts — RICO Causation Same As Antitrust Causation

Sanctions vs. Automatic Stay: Imposition of Sanctions (Here, Inherent Power Sanctions) Is Subject to the Police Power Exception to the Automatic Stay in Bankruptcy

The Word “Include” May Be A Word of Limitation As Opposed to a Word of Enlargement, Depending on the Context

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)

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