Complex Lit Blog

LinkedIn Admissibility: Profile of Employee Is Hearsay as to Employer Concerning Whether She Was a Manager Authorized to Accept Service of Process for Employer — “Proper Service of Process Is Not Some Mindless Technicality” (Good Quote)

Genesis Diamonds, LLC v. John Hardy, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83165 (M.D. Tenn. June 27, 2016): Before the court are multiple motions: (1) defendant John Hardy, Inc.'s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. No. 8); (2) a Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction and Insufficiency of Servic ...

Genesis Diamonds, LLC v. John Hardy, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83165 (M.D. Tenn. June 27, 2016): Before the court are multiple motions: (1) defendant John Hardy, Inc.'s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. No. 8); (2) a …

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions — Two-Page Expert Report Properly Excluded for Failure to Set forth All Opinions — Report “Sufficiently Sparse” as to Fail to Satisfy 702/Daubert

U.S. ex rel. Tennessee Valley Auth. v. 1.72 Acres of Land in Tennessee, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 8287 (6th Cir. May 5, 2016): This is an appeal by the landowner, Karl Thomas, from an award made by the district court in a condemnation action brought by the Tennessee Valley Authority [**2] ("TVA") under the TV ...

Spoliation of Tangible Evid. — Adverse Inference Instruction Requires Intentionality & Prejudice (8th Cir.) — Court Must Make Findings on the Record — Plain Error If No Objection to Instructions — Failure to Appeal Again after R. 59 Motion Denied

Lincoln Composites, Inc. v. Firetrace USA, LLC, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 10346 (8th Cir .June 8, 2016): Firetrace USA, LLC (Firetrace) appeals the district court's1 denial of its Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59 motion for new trial or remittitur, following a jury verdict in favor of Lincoln Composites, Inc. (Lincoln). Fi ...

Arbitration: A Reasoned Award Is A Simple Result; Need Not Delve Into Every Argument — A Claim Arbitrators Exceeded Their Authority Is Judged Under the “Barely Colorable Justification” Standard

Leeward Constr. Co. v. American Univ. of Antigua – College of Medicine, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 11570 (2d Cir. June 24, 2016): American University of Antigua-College of Medicine ("AUA") appeals from the March 26, 2013 memorandum opinion and the March 28, 2013 judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern Distr ...

Arbitration — Manifest Disregard Lives, Is Doctrine of Last Resort, Limited to Exceedingly Rare Instances of Egregious Impropriety — Three Elements — Dissent, Alone, Not Enough

American Univ. of Antigua-College of Medicine v. Leeward Constr. Co., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 11548 (2d Cir. June 24, 2016): Leeward Construction Company appeals from the May 1, 2015 opinion and order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Cote, J.) confirming an international arbitral award w ...

Rule 37(c) Sanctions — Are Attorney’s Fees for Lawyer Not Admitted Pro Hac Vice Recoverable? (Circuit Split) — Only Paralegal Tasks Traditionally Performed by Lawyers Generate Recoverable Fees — Local Rates Govern

Warder v. Shaw Grp., Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81822 (E.D. La. June 23, 2016): On March 16, 2016, this Court heard oral argument on Shaw Environmental, Inc.'s Second Motion to Compel [Doc. #200] and Shaw Environmental, Inc.'s Motion for Attorney's Fees [Doc. #201]. On March 22, 2016, this Court granted the motion to comp ...

Arbitration — Is It for the Court or Arbitrators to Decide Whether Claim Can Proceed as a Class Claim? — Circuit Split — Incorporation of AAA Rules Dictates Conclusion That Arbitrators Decide

III. Availability of Class Arbitration Hedrick v. BNC Nat’l Bank, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64679 (D. Kan. May 16, 2016): Plaintiff argues that the question of whether his claim can proceed to arbitration as a class claim is a procedural question that the arbitrator, rather than the Court, should decide. Alternat ...

III. Availability of Class Arbitration Hedrick v. BNC Nat’l Bank, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64679 (D. Kan. May 16, 2016): Plaintiff argues that the question of whether his claim can proceed to arbitration as a class claim is a procedural…

Facebook Admissibility — Reversible Error to Exclude Printout of Authenticated Facebook Messages Even Though Testimony about Them Was Permitted — A Basic Principle of Evidence Law Is That What Is Relevant Is Generally Admissible (Good Quote)

People v. Nunn, 2016 IL App (3d) 140137-U; 2016 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 957 (Ill. Ct. App. May 16, 2017): [*P1] Held: In a felony murder case in which defendant claimed that the trial court erred in refusing to admit certain documentary evidence at trial, the appellate court agreed and found that the error was not harmless. ...

Rule 16(f) / 37(b) Sanctions — Exclusion of Witness Testimony / Supplemental Expert Opinions Not Disclosed in Compliance with Pretrial Order — 8th Circuit Factors

Amplatz v. Country Mut. Ins. Co., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 9540 (8th Cir. May 25, 2016): A jury awarded Maria Amplatz, an insured under a commercial-property insurance policy issued by Country Mutual Insurance Company, $76,065.50 for covered hail and wind damage to the exterior of two properties, but it found that the policy did n ...

Amplatz v. Country Mut. Ins. Co., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 9540 (8th Cir. May 25, 2016): A jury awarded Maria Amplatz, an insured under a commercial-property insurance policy issued by Country Mutual Insurance Company, $76,065.50 for covered hail and wind …

$282,000 in Rule 11, Inherent Power and § 1927 Sanctions Reversed — Colorable Claims in Complex Area of the Law Preclude Any Award

Wolfchild v. Redwood Cnty., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 9976 (8th Cir. June 1, 2016): Appellants-plaintiffs filed this purported class action claiming the right to title and possession of twelve square miles of land in southern Minnesota ("twelve square miles"). Specifically, Appellants allege they are lineal descendants o ...

Wolfchild v. Redwood Cnty., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 9976 (8th Cir. June 1, 2016): Appellants-plaintiffs filed this purported class action claiming the right to title and possession of twelve square miles of land in southern Minnesota ("twelve square miles"). Specifically, …

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

LinkedIn Admissibility: Profile of Employee Is Hearsay as to Employer Concerning Whether She Was a Manager Authorized to Accept Service of Process for Employer — “Proper Service of Process Is Not Some Mindless Technicality” (Good Quote)

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions — Two-Page Expert Report Properly Excluded for Failure to Set forth All Opinions — Report “Sufficiently Sparse” as to Fail to Satisfy 702/Daubert

Spoliation of Tangible Evid. — Adverse Inference Instruction Requires Intentionality & Prejudice (8th Cir.) — Court Must Make Findings on the Record — Plain Error If No Objection to Instructions — Failure to Appeal Again after R. 59 Motion Denied

Arbitration: A Reasoned Award Is A Simple Result; Need Not Delve Into Every Argument — A Claim Arbitrators Exceeded Their Authority Is Judged Under the “Barely Colorable Justification” Standard

Arbitration — Manifest Disregard Lives, Is Doctrine of Last Resort, Limited to Exceedingly Rare Instances of Egregious Impropriety — Three Elements — Dissent, Alone, Not Enough

Rule 37(c) Sanctions — Are Attorney’s Fees for Lawyer Not Admitted Pro Hac Vice Recoverable? (Circuit Split) — Only Paralegal Tasks Traditionally Performed by Lawyers Generate Recoverable Fees — Local Rates Govern

Arbitration — Is It for the Court or Arbitrators to Decide Whether Claim Can Proceed as a Class Claim? — Circuit Split — Incorporation of AAA Rules Dictates Conclusion That Arbitrators Decide

Facebook Admissibility — Reversible Error to Exclude Printout of Authenticated Facebook Messages Even Though Testimony about Them Was Permitted — A Basic Principle of Evidence Law Is That What Is Relevant Is Generally Admissible (Good Quote)

Rule 16(f) / 37(b) Sanctions — Exclusion of Witness Testimony / Supplemental Expert Opinions Not Disclosed in Compliance with Pretrial Order — 8th Circuit Factors

$282,000 in Rule 11, Inherent Power and § 1927 Sanctions Reversed — Colorable Claims in Complex Area of the Law Preclude Any Award

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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