Complex Lit Blog

Public Access to Motion Papers Hinges on Whether the Motion Is “More Than Tangentially Related to the Merits,” Not Whether It Is Dispositive (9th Cir. — 3 Opinions) — Other Circuits’ Case Law Reviewed

Center for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 374 (9th Cir. Jan. 11, 2016): The Center for Auto Safety (CAS) appeals from the district court's order denying CAS's motions to intervene and unseal documents filed in a putative class action lawsuit between Chrysler Group, LLC (Chrysler) and certain [* ...

Removal — If Complaint Seeks Nonmonetary Relief, Notice of Removal Need Only Plausibly Allege That Amount in Controversy Exceeds $75,000 — Valuing Injunctive Relief from Plaintiff’s vs. Defendant’s Viewpoint (Circuit Split)

Heartland Mt. Airy of Cincinnati OH., LLC v. Johnson, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18688 (S.D. Ohio Feb. 17, 2015): Federal courts have jurisdiction over actions between citizens of different states when the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). When a plaintiff invokes federal jurisdiction by filing an action ...

Personal Jurisdiction — Is a Corporation Still Subject to Jurisdiction Because It Appointed an Agent for Process When It Registered to Do Business? — Circuit Split — Admission of Personal Jurisdiction in One Case Doesn’t Extend to Another

Takeda GMBH v. Mylan Pharma. Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3490 (D.N.J. Jan. 12, 2016): Plaintiffs, Takeda GmbH, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, and AstraZeneca UK Limited (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), bring this Hatch-Waxman Act patent infringement suit against Defendant Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Defe ...

Website Evidence — Because a Website Is a Dynamic Collection of Changing Data, Reference to It in Complaint Does Not Incorporate Any Specific Page as of Any Specific Date — No Judicial Notice of Wayback Machine in Seventh Circuit

My Health, Inc. v. Gen. Elec. Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172252 (W.D. Wis. Dec. 28, 2015): My Health, Inc. alleges that General Electric Company infringes its federally registered trademark, MY HEALTH. (The court will use all capitals to refer to the mark and "My Health" to refer to the plaintiff.) My Health uses MY HEALTH i ...

Federal Jurisdiction — Can the All Writs Act Provide Removal Jurisdiction in Extraordinary Circumstances when There Is No Independent Basis for Jurisdiction? — Circuit Split

Camellia Grill Holdings, Inc. v. Grill Holdings, LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 132930 (E.D. La. Sept. 30, 2015): II. All Writs Act In the alternative, Defendants assert that the Court should exercise jurisdiction pursuant to the All Writs Act, which states that "[t]he Supreme Court and all courts established ...

Camellia Grill Holdings, Inc. v. Grill Holdings, LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 132930 (E.D. La. Sept. 30, 2015): II. All Writs Act In the alternative, Defendants assert that the Court should exercise jurisdiction pursuant to the All Writs Act, which…

Spoliation of Tangible Evidence — 10th Circuit Standards — Failure to Preserve Life as Potential Spoliation — No Liability for Spoliation by Unaffiliated Third Party

Jones v. Norton, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22792 (10th Cir. Dec. 29, 2015): This case arises from the death of Ute Tribe member Todd R. Murray on [*2] April 1, 2007, following a police pursuit. Murray's parents Debra Jones and Arden Post, on behalf of themselves and Murray's estate, brought a 13-count complaint i ...

Jones v. Norton, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22792 (10th Cir. Dec. 29, 2015): This case arises from the death of Ute Tribe member Todd R. Murray on [*2] April 1, 2007, following a police pursuit. Murray's parents Debra Jones and…

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions — Failure to Disclose Important Conversation in Complaint or Response to Interrogatory Leads to Exclusion When Offered on Summary Judgment (and to Loss on Summary Judgment) — Particularly Wide Latitude Given 37(c)(1) Sanctions

Oyarzo v. Turner, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22718 (9th Cir. Dec. 28, 2015): 3. We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment for board members Darlene Hutchins and Joseph Turner on Oyarzo's First Amendment claim that they deterred him from protected political activity. In his opposition to summary judgment, [*4]� ...

RICO — Fraud-Based Conspiracy Must Meet 9(b) — Can’t Create Specificity by “Page-Number Shock & Awe” — Mere Hint of Tribal Law Doesn’t Defeat Fed. Jur. — One Person’s Nefarious Acts Don’t Define Enterprise (Good Quotes)

Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla. v. Cypress, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22518 (11th Cir. Dec. 22, 2015): Plaintiff Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida (the "Tribe") appeals from two orders and a final judgment in a fraud-and-embezzlement-related RICO suit against former tribal officials, several attorneys, a law firm, and in ...

Email Admissibility — Hearsay — State of Mind Exception — There Is No “Self-Serving” Objection

Brown v. Golden State Foods Corps., 2015 Wash. App. LEXIS 371 (Wash. Ct. App. Feb. 24, 2015): Anthony Brown appeals from the trial court's order granting summary judgment to Golden State Foods Corporation (GSF) on Brown's claims of disability discrimination, retaliatory discharge, and failure to provide rest or meal breaks. Br ...

No Mandamus to Review Order Compelling Fifth Amendment Materials in Tax Case — Post-Judgment Appeal Enough — Entertaining Opinion on Differing Approaches to Marijuana Industry Taken by DOJ (No Prosecution) & IRS (No Deductions)

Feinberg v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22161 (10th Cir. Dec. 18, 2015): This case owes its genesis to the mixed messages the federal government is sending these days about the distribution of marijuana. The Feinbergs and Ms. McDonald run Total Health Concepts, or THC, a not-so-subtly-named Colorado marijuana dispe ...

Feinberg v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22161 (10th Cir. Dec. 18, 2015): This case owes its genesis to the mixed messages the federal government is sending these days about the distribution of marijuana. The Feinbergs…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Public Access to Motion Papers Hinges on Whether the Motion Is “More Than Tangentially Related to the Merits,” Not Whether It Is Dispositive (9th Cir. — 3 Opinions) — Other Circuits’ Case Law Reviewed

Removal — If Complaint Seeks Nonmonetary Relief, Notice of Removal Need Only Plausibly Allege That Amount in Controversy Exceeds $75,000 — Valuing Injunctive Relief from Plaintiff’s vs. Defendant’s Viewpoint (Circuit Split)

Personal Jurisdiction — Is a Corporation Still Subject to Jurisdiction Because It Appointed an Agent for Process When It Registered to Do Business? — Circuit Split — Admission of Personal Jurisdiction in One Case Doesn’t Extend to Another

Website Evidence — Because a Website Is a Dynamic Collection of Changing Data, Reference to It in Complaint Does Not Incorporate Any Specific Page as of Any Specific Date — No Judicial Notice of Wayback Machine in Seventh Circuit

Federal Jurisdiction — Can the All Writs Act Provide Removal Jurisdiction in Extraordinary Circumstances when There Is No Independent Basis for Jurisdiction? — Circuit Split

Spoliation of Tangible Evidence — 10th Circuit Standards — Failure to Preserve Life as Potential Spoliation — No Liability for Spoliation by Unaffiliated Third Party

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions — Failure to Disclose Important Conversation in Complaint or Response to Interrogatory Leads to Exclusion When Offered on Summary Judgment (and to Loss on Summary Judgment) — Particularly Wide Latitude Given 37(c)(1) Sanctions

RICO — Fraud-Based Conspiracy Must Meet 9(b) — Can’t Create Specificity by “Page-Number Shock & Awe” — Mere Hint of Tribal Law Doesn’t Defeat Fed. Jur. — One Person’s Nefarious Acts Don’t Define Enterprise (Good Quotes)

Email Admissibility — Hearsay — State of Mind Exception — There Is No “Self-Serving” Objection

No Mandamus to Review Order Compelling Fifth Amendment Materials in Tax Case — Post-Judgment Appeal Enough — Entertaining Opinion on Differing Approaches to Marijuana Industry Taken by DOJ (No Prosecution) & IRS (No Deductions)

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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