Complex Lit Blog

Sanctions — Barring Litigant from Submitting Evidence at Summary Judgment under Rules 37 and 16(f) for Disobeying Orders and Failing to Attend Scheduled Conferences

Lasisi v. Follett Higher Education Grp., Inc., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 142 (7th Cir. Jan. 6, 2015): case ended at summary judgment. Follett moved to strike Lasisi's evidence and statement of facts as a sanction for his failure to answer discovery, as earlier recommended by the magistrate judge. The district judge accepted the recomme ...

Sanctions — Dismissal under Rule 37 Is Extreme, Reserved for Flagrant Cases of Bad Faith — 4th Circuit’s 4-Factor Test — Lesser Sanctions Should Be Considered

Kelly v. Suntrust Bank, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 124 (4th Cir. Jan. 6, 2015): Freddie J. Kelly appeals the district court's order dismissing with prejudice his action against SunTrust Bank and credit reporting agencies Equifax Information Services LLC, Experian Information Solutions, and TransUnion LLC. The district court dismissed Ke ...

Former Employee of Adversary as Adverse Party under Rule 611(c)(2)

See Jaffe v. Bank of Am., N.A., 395 Fed. App’x 583, 588–89 (11th Cir. 2010) (“Although Ross left Bank of America four years before the trial commenced, he was a[n] . . . employee when the alleged misrepresentations may have occurred, and Bank of America's counsel represented him personally throughout the litigation. Thus, Ross was in fact a ...

No RICO Continuity Where Predicates Are Part of Single, Otherwise Lawful Transaction — Outside Lawyers Don’t Operate / Manage Client — No Liability for Routine Legal Services — Contract Claim in RICO Garb (Good Quotes)

Zastrow v. Houston Auto Imports Greenway Ltd., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 9918 (5th Cir. June 12, 2015): Plaintiffs-Appellants Mark Zastrow and his company Heights Autohaus (collectively, "Zastrow") appeal from the district court's grant of summary judgment on their claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizatio ...

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Governmental vs. Non-Governmental, Including Parties’, Websites — Purpose & Extent of Notice

Gerritsen v. Warner Bros. Entm’t Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84978 (C.D. Cal. Jan 30, 2015): On April 29, 2014, Terry T. Gerritsen filed this action against Katja Motion Picture Corporation ("Katja"), New Line Productions, Inc. ("New Line"), and Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. ("WB") (collectively, &qu ...

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Website Information as to Origins of, and Private v. Public Ownership of, Corporation to Determine Status as State Actor under § 1983 — When Is a Corporation a State Actor? — Factors

Guo v. Independent Chinese Ctr., Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108294 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 13, 2015): In this action, Plaintiff pro se, Zhi Guo, asserts civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and a pendent state law claim against Independent Chinese Pen Center, Inc. ("ICPC"), National Endowment for Dem ...

Guo v. Independent Chinese Ctr., Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108294 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 13, 2015): In this action, Plaintiff pro se, Zhi Guo, asserts civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and a pendent state law claim against Independent …

No Rule 11 Sanctions for Derogatory Language in Brief Not Unfounded Legally or Factually — No § 1927 Sanctions for Failure to Grant Extension to File Brief — Local Rules, Judicial Discretion Determine Due Date

Waite v VCG Clark Cnty. Collection Serv., LLC, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 4934 (9th Cir. Mar. 26, 2015): Waite also contends that the district court erred in denying her motion for sanctions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11. That motion was premised on the contention that CCCS made false, unfounded, and offensive allegations i ...

Text / Email Authentication — Conduct Pursuant to Text Exchange Sufficient to Authenticate Disputed Texts — Authentication Issue Is for Jury — Court Need Not Be Persuaded Texts Are Authentic — Texts as Admissions

Cook v. State, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 2649 (Tex. Ct. App. Mar. 20, 2015): Appellant's conviction for cocaine delivery arises out of Appellant's sale of drugs to a confidential informant. The confidential informant, Lindsey Ford, testified that she had used and sold drugs in the past and that she was familiar with who sol ...

Cook v. State, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 2649 (Tex. Ct. App. Mar. 20, 2015): Appellant's conviction for cocaine delivery arises out of Appellant's sale of drugs to a confidential informant. The confidential informant, Lindsey Ford, testified that she had used …

Internet Authentication — Chat Logs — Chats on Alleged Speaker’s Password-Protected Computer; He Has Exclusive Possession; Chat Name = His First Name + Characters Extremely Similar to His Email Address

People v. Carothers, 2015 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 5414 (Cal. Ct. App. July 31, 2015): A jury found defendant James Carothers guilty of possessing child pornography. (Pen. Code, § 311.11, subd. (a).) The trial court granted a five-year term of probation and imposed probation conditions including one year in county jail and the requirem ...

§ 1927 Sanctions May Only Be Imposed on Attorneys, Not Law Firms — Circuit Split

Kaass Law v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 15127 (9th Cir. Aug. 27, 2015): In this appeal, Appellant Kaass Law challenges the district court's decision to grant Appellee Wells Fargo's motion for sanctions against it pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1927. We hold that 28 U.S.C. § 1927 does not permit the imposit ...

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Sanctions — Barring Litigant from Submitting Evidence at Summary Judgment under Rules 37 and 16(f) for Disobeying Orders and Failing to Attend Scheduled Conferences

Sanctions — Dismissal under Rule 37 Is Extreme, Reserved for Flagrant Cases of Bad Faith — 4th Circuit’s 4-Factor Test — Lesser Sanctions Should Be Considered

Former Employee of Adversary as Adverse Party under Rule 611(c)(2)

No RICO Continuity Where Predicates Are Part of Single, Otherwise Lawful Transaction — Outside Lawyers Don’t Operate / Manage Client — No Liability for Routine Legal Services — Contract Claim in RICO Garb (Good Quotes)

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Governmental vs. Non-Governmental, Including Parties’, Websites — Purpose & Extent of Notice

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Website Information as to Origins of, and Private v. Public Ownership of, Corporation to Determine Status as State Actor under § 1983 — When Is a Corporation a State Actor? — Factors

No Rule 11 Sanctions for Derogatory Language in Brief Not Unfounded Legally or Factually — No § 1927 Sanctions for Failure to Grant Extension to File Brief — Local Rules, Judicial Discretion Determine Due Date

Text / Email Authentication — Conduct Pursuant to Text Exchange Sufficient to Authenticate Disputed Texts — Authentication Issue Is for Jury — Court Need Not Be Persuaded Texts Are Authentic — Texts as Admissions

Internet Authentication — Chat Logs — Chats on Alleged Speaker’s Password-Protected Computer; He Has Exclusive Possession; Chat Name = His First Name + Characters Extremely Similar to His Email Address

§ 1927 Sanctions May Only Be Imposed on Attorneys, Not Law Firms — Circuit Split

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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