Complex Lit Blog

Facebook Evidence — New Hampshire Supreme Court Upholds Circumstantial Authentication Based on Defendant’s Access to iPad Used to Send Messages and the Messages’ Contents and Timing

State v. Palermo, 2015 N.H. LEXIS 130 (N.H. S.Ct. Dec. 18, 2015): Following a jury trial in Superior Court (Nicolosi, J.), the defendant, Christopher M. Palermo, was convicted on one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault, see RSA 632-A:2, I(i) (2007), one count of criminal trespass, see R ...

Arbitration — Incorporation of AAA Rules Does Not Render Availability of Class Arbitration a Matter for the Arbitrators Rather Than Court (Case Law But Not Circuit Split) — Does Incorporation Permit Class Arbitration? — Undecided Here

Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC v. Scout Petroleum, LLC, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 42 (3d Cir. Jan. 5, 2016): In Opalinski v. Robert Half International Inc., 761 F.3d 326 (3d Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 1530, 191 L. Ed. 2d 558 (2015), we held that the availability of class arbitration constitutes a "ques ...

Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC v. Scout Petroleum, LLC, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 42 (3d Cir. Jan. 5, 2016): In Opalinski v. Robert Half International Inc., 761 F.3d 326 (3d Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 1530, 191 L. Ed. 2d …

Rule 11 Sanctions — Absence of Case Law Recognizing Constitutional Right Does Not Necessarily Render Claim Frivolous — Claim of Conspiracy with Gov’t Officials Falls Outside 1st Amend., Hence No Improper Purpose

Buckler v. MacGregor, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 21613 (11th Cir. Dec. 15, 2015): The Druid Hills Civic Association, Inc. (DHCA) and Robert Bruce MacGregor, III, appeal the district court's [*2] denial of their motions for sanctions and attorney's fees in Robert H. Buckler and H. Anthony McCullar's 42 U.S.C. � ...

Buckler v. MacGregor, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 21613 (11th Cir. Dec. 15, 2015): The Druid Hills Civic Association, Inc. (DHCA) and Robert Bruce MacGregor, III, appeal the district court's [*2] denial of their motions for sanctions and attorney's fees in…

If Defendant Stipulates to a Judgment for All Relief Plaintiff Seeks, Plaintiff Is Not Entitled to Trial on Issues That Wouldn’t Affect the Judgment — No Need to Use Rule 68 — Defendant May Disclaim Liability

Rienzi & Sons, Inc. v. N. Puglisi & F. Industria Paste Alimentari S.P.A., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19358 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 18, 2015): The issue before the Court is whether entry of judgment is appropriate where a defendant has consented to judgment for all [*2] the relief the plaintiff seeks at trial, but the pla ...

Rule 56(h) Sanctions — Willful Blindness = Bad Faith in Filing False Client Affid. on SJ — Withdrawing Claims from Overly Inclusive Complaint Doesn’t Warrant § 1927 or Inherent Power Sanctions —Good Quotes: Litigation ≠ Sport or Lottery

Jimenez v. City of NY, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165359 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 9, 2015): I. INTRODUCTION On September 24, 2015, this Court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment in this action brought under section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code. Defendants now move for attorneys' fees under se ...

Jimenez v. City of NY, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165359 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 9, 2015): I. INTRODUCTION On September 24, 2015, this Court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment in this action brought under section 1983 of Title 42 of the…

Removal — Is It Sufficient for One Defendant, in a Timely Notice of Removal, to Recite That All Co-Defendants Consent to Removal or Must Each of Them Separately Consent in Writing? — Circuit Split

Baldy v. First Niagara Pavilion, CCRL, LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162123 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 3, 2015): B. The Circuit Split District [*13] courts within the Third Circuit have recognized that "[u]nanimity may be expressed by defendants either jointly filing the notice of removal or consenting to the r ...

Baldy v. First Niagara Pavilion, CCRL, LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162123 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 3, 2015): B. The Circuit Split District [*13] courts within the Third Circuit have recognized that "[u]nanimity may be expressed by defendants either jointly filing …

Securities — Scienter — May a Plaintiff Plead Collective Scienter against an Entity without Pleading Scienter against an Individual Associated with It? — Circuit Split

Sun v. Han, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170005 (D.N.J. Dec. 21, 2015): This matter comes before the Court by way of Defendant Mazars CPA Limited ("Mazars CPA" or "Defendant")'s Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 30, "Def s. Mov. Br.") Plaintiff Bin Qu's amended putative class action complaint ("Amended Com ...

28 U.S.C. § 1782 — Statutory & Discretionary Factors — International (UNCITRAL) Arbitration Is a “Foreign Proceeding” for Which Discovery May Be Ordered under § 1782

In re Application of Republic of Ecuador, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169500 (D. Mass. Dec. 18, 2015): The Republic of Ecuador and its civil attorney general, Dr. Diego García Carrión (collectively, the "Republic") submitted an application under 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) for an order allowing them to serve a subpoena on Dr. ...

Email Admissible for Nonhearsay Purpose of Showing Recipient Was Informed of Info It Reflects (Here, Party’s Interpretation of Alleged Contract) — Authenticated by Affidavit of Recipient and Fact Objecting Party Produced It in Discovery

Nola Fine Art, Inc. v. Ducks Unlimited, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17450 (E.D. La. Feb. 12, 2015): a. Ducks Unlimited's Motion to Strike Plaintiffs' Summary Judgment Exhibits Ducks Unlimited moves to strike two of plaintiffs' summary judgment exhibits. First, Ducks Unlimited moves to strik ...

Nola Fine Art, Inc. v. Ducks Unlimited, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17450 (E.D. La. Feb. 12, 2015): a. Ducks Unlimited's Motion to Strike Plaintiffs' Summary Judgment Exhibits Ducks Unlimited moves to strike two of plaintiffs' summary judgment exhibits. First,…

Inherent Power Sanctions Require Bad Faith or Willful Disobedience of Order — Court Must Be Sure of Facts and Law on Which It Acts (Good Quote) — Contempt Immediately Appealable by Nonparty — Premature Notice of Appeal Takes Effect When Case Ends

Trade Well Int’l v. United Central Bank, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 2100 (7th Cir. Feb. 10, 2015): Maurice Salem, a member of the New York Bar, was admitted pro hac vice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in connection with some commercial litigation. Salem represents Trade Well International, a Paki ...

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Facebook Evidence — New Hampshire Supreme Court Upholds Circumstantial Authentication Based on Defendant’s Access to iPad Used to Send Messages and the Messages’ Contents and Timing

Arbitration — Incorporation of AAA Rules Does Not Render Availability of Class Arbitration a Matter for the Arbitrators Rather Than Court (Case Law But Not Circuit Split) — Does Incorporation Permit Class Arbitration? — Undecided Here

Rule 11 Sanctions — Absence of Case Law Recognizing Constitutional Right Does Not Necessarily Render Claim Frivolous — Claim of Conspiracy with Gov’t Officials Falls Outside 1st Amend., Hence No Improper Purpose

If Defendant Stipulates to a Judgment for All Relief Plaintiff Seeks, Plaintiff Is Not Entitled to Trial on Issues That Wouldn’t Affect the Judgment — No Need to Use Rule 68 — Defendant May Disclaim Liability

Rule 56(h) Sanctions — Willful Blindness = Bad Faith in Filing False Client Affid. on SJ — Withdrawing Claims from Overly Inclusive Complaint Doesn’t Warrant § 1927 or Inherent Power Sanctions —Good Quotes: Litigation ≠ Sport or Lottery

Removal — Is It Sufficient for One Defendant, in a Timely Notice of Removal, to Recite That All Co-Defendants Consent to Removal or Must Each of Them Separately Consent in Writing? — Circuit Split

Securities — Scienter — May a Plaintiff Plead Collective Scienter against an Entity without Pleading Scienter against an Individual Associated with It? — Circuit Split

28 U.S.C. § 1782 — Statutory & Discretionary Factors — International (UNCITRAL) Arbitration Is a “Foreign Proceeding” for Which Discovery May Be Ordered under § 1782

Email Admissible for Nonhearsay Purpose of Showing Recipient Was Informed of Info It Reflects (Here, Party’s Interpretation of Alleged Contract) — Authenticated by Affidavit of Recipient and Fact Objecting Party Produced It in Discovery

Inherent Power Sanctions Require Bad Faith or Willful Disobedience of Order — Court Must Be Sure of Facts and Law on Which It Acts (Good Quote) — Contempt Immediately Appealable by Nonparty — Premature Notice of Appeal Takes Effect When Case Ends

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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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