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

Complex Lit Blog

Rule 37 Sanctions — Party Who Did Not Attend Court-Ordered Deposition Barred from Submitting Testimony — No Error in Imposing Sanctions Even Though “the Court Did Not Make It as Easy as Possible for Him to Be Deposed” (Good Quote)

United States v. Cornejo-Reynoso, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 19127 (9th Cir. Nov. 2, 2015): Leonardo Cornejo-Reynoso appeals the district court's judgment in favor of the Government in this civil forfeiture action regarding $2,164,431.00 in United States currency. We affirm. The district court did not err in denying Corne ...
United States v. Cornejo-Reynoso, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 19127 (9th Cir. Nov. 2, 2015): Leonardo Cornejo-Reynoso appeals the district court's judgment in favor of the Government in this civil forfeiture action regarding $2,164,431.00 in United States currency. We affirm. The …
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No RICO Causation between Misstatements Concealing Lack of Licensure to Sell Crop Insurance and Subsequent Claims Mishandling (after 7 Years of Competent Claims Handling) — 5th Circuit’s Single-Transaction Rule Noted But Not Applied

Shannon v. Ham, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 2404 (5th Cir. Feb. 11, 2016): In this appeal, the Shannons challenge the district court's dismissal of their civil RICO complaint for failing to state [*2]  a claim. The district court ruled that the Shannons' complaint ran afoul of this circuit's "single transaction" rule f ...
Shannon v. Ham, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 2404 (5th Cir. Feb. 11, 2016): In this appeal, the Shannons challenge the district court's dismissal of their civil RICO complaint for failing to state [*2]  a claim. The district court ruled that…
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Federal Court May Not Impose Sanctions for Misconduct Occurring in Prior State Court Action That Was Dismissed with Prejudice before Federal Action Was Filed

Rivera-Carrasquillo v. Centro Ecuestre Madrigal, Inc., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 1180 (1st Cir. Jan. 25, 2016): Spending time astride an animal as magnificent, spirited, and powerful as a horse can be risky business. Unfortunately, Ángela Rivera-Carrasquillo experienced this first-hand when she was thrown from a horse in the midst of a gu ...
Rivera-Carrasquillo v. Centro Ecuestre Madrigal, Inc., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 1180 (1st Cir. Jan. 25, 2016): Spending time astride an animal as magnificent, spirited, and powerful as a horse can be risky business. Unfortunately, Ángela Rivera-Carrasquillo experienced this first-hand when…
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Once Plaintiff Moves to Dismiss under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i), Case Is Effectively Over and Court May Not Attach Conditions — Rule Allows Forum-Shopping — Sanctions Should Not Be a Consequence of Dismissal Nor a Condition Placed on It

Bechuck v. Home Depot USA, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 2633 (5th Cir. Feb. 16, 2016): Stephan Bechuck appeals an order dismissing, without prejudice, Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. ("Home Depot"), and Advantage Sales & Marketing, L.L.C. ("ASM") and requiring that any suits that Bechuck refiles against those parties be brought in ...
Bechuck v. Home Depot USA, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 2633 (5th Cir. Feb. 16, 2016): Stephan Bechuck appeals an order dismissing, without prejudice, Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. ("Home Depot"), and Advantage Sales & Marketing, L.L.C. ("ASM") and requiring that any…
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RICO: “Where There is a Single Scheme, Single Injury and Few Victims, It Will Be Virtually Impossible to State a RICO Claim” — Parsing Injury Doesn’t Multiply It (Good Quotes)

Eastern Sav. Bank, FSB v. Papageorge, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 17744 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 9, 2015): On July 29, 2013, appellant Eastern Savings Bank, FSB, filed a complaint in the district court raising nine claims arising out of an alleged conspiracy related to the financing of the purchase of a townhouse located in the District of Co ...
Eastern Sav. Bank, FSB v. Papageorge, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 17744 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 9, 2015): On July 29, 2013, appellant Eastern Savings Bank, FSB, filed a complaint in the district court raising nine claims arising out of an alleged …
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Is the Time Stamp on a Facebook Post Hearsay or the Non-Hearsay Product of a Scientific Process? — Issue Raised But Not Decided

Ellis v. Commonwealth of VA., 2016 Va. App. LEXIS 18 (Va. Ct. App. Jan. 26, 2016): A Hampton jury convicted Emanuel Dale Ellis of robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of that robbery. Ellis wished to introduce into evidence at trial a photograph from his Facebook page with an accompanying timestamp. The trial judge, ...
Ellis v. Commonwealth of VA., 2016 Va. App. LEXIS 18 (Va. Ct. App. Jan. 26, 2016): A Hampton jury convicted Emanuel Dale Ellis of robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of that robbery. Ellis wished to introduce …
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Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — State Agency (Department of Corrections) Policies as Reflected on Its Website

Dugas v. Wittrup, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3055 (S.D. Ohio Jan. 11, 2016): Plaintiff, formerly incarcerated by the State of Ohio at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution ("CCI"), brings this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Brian Wittrup, Chief of the Bureau of Classification for the Ohio Department of Rehabil ...
Dugas v. Wittrup, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3055 (S.D. Ohio Jan. 11, 2016): Plaintiff, formerly incarcerated by the State of Ohio at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution ("CCI"), brings this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Brian Wittrup, Chief of…
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§ 1927 Sanctions for Failure for Weeks to Respond to Messages Imploring Out of Court Resolution of Baseless Application Followed by Last-Minute Withdrawal Too Late to Avoid Hearing — Law Firm Vicariously Liable (Circuit Split)

MJS Las Croabas Props., Inc. v. FDIC, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 498 (B.A.P. 1st Cir. Feb. 17, 2016): Castellanos Group Law Firm, L.L.C. (the "Castellanos Firm") appeals from the following bankruptcy court orders: (1) the March 13, 2015 order imposing sanctions against the firm (the "March 2015 Order");2 and (2) ...
MJS Las Croabas Props., Inc. v. FDIC, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 498 (B.A.P. 1st Cir. Feb. 17, 2016): Castellanos Group Law Firm, L.L.C. (the "Castellanos Firm") appeals from the following bankruptcy court orders: (1) the March 13, 2015 order imposing sanctions…
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Inherent Power Sanctions — Egregious Overstatement of Time in Fee Application Meets 11th Circuit’s Objective Recklessness Standard for Bad Faith — 85% Reduction of Requested Award Is a Reasonable Sanction

Reyes v. Aqua Life Corp., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 20462 (11th Cir. Nov. 25, 2015): This matter arises out of several post-verdict motions filed by appellant Humberto Reyes ("Mr. Reyes") and appellee Aqua Life Corp. ("Aqua Life"), after a jury found in favor of Mr. Reyes in his suit to recover unpaid overtime wages und ...
Reyes v. Aqua Life Corp., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 20462 (11th Cir. Nov. 25, 2015): This matter arises out of several post-verdict motions filed by appellant Humberto Reyes ("Mr. Reyes") and appellee Aqua Life Corp. ("Aqua Life"), after a jury…
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Rule 11 Sanctions — Injunction Barring Litigant Who Filed Three Attempts to Litigate Same Claims from Filing More without Notice to, and OK from, District Judge Upheld — Federal Court Can’t Decide Moot Issue — Equals Advisory Opinion (Good Quote)

Langermann v. Dubbin, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 9200 (11th Cir. June 3, 2015): Robert Langermann brought this action alleging that the Defendants improperly denied him benefits he is due under a class action settlement. The district court dismissed his suit as barred by res judicata and denied his pending summary judgment motion as moot. < ...
Langermann v. Dubbin, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 9200 (11th Cir. June 3, 2015): Robert Langermann brought this action alleging that the Defendants improperly denied him benefits he is due under a class action settlement. The district court dismissed his suit…
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Recent Posts

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

While Rule 11 Doesn’t Apply to Appellate Proceedings (Unless It Has Been Incorporated in Local Appellate Rules), Rule 11 Caselaw Is Looked to for Guidance in Interpreting Applicable Sanctions Powers on Appeal

Rule 11 Sanctions & Appellate Review: Abuse of Discretion Standard Applies Unless Sanctions Are Based Solely (Not Just in Part) on Legal Issues, in Which Case Review Is De Novo

Rule 37(b)(2)(A) Sanctions for Altering Expert’s 26(a)(2)(B) Report — Without the Expert’s Knowledge or Approval — by Converting It from PDF to Word, Changing Headings and Other Formatting, and Omitting a Page of Relevant Text and Appendices, Even Though Expert Testified That The Overall Substance of the Report Was Unchanged — Rule 37(b)(2)(A) Sanctions May Be Reversed If Failure to Comply with Discovery Order Was Due to Misunderstanding or Inability to Comply

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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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