Complex Lit Blog

Rule 11 — No Bad Faith, No Sanctions for Contradictory Complaints — OK to Decide “That Devoting Further Resources to Investigating the Alleged [Rule 11 Violation] Was Not Worth the Candle Since the Case Was Already Terminated” (Good Quote)

Hourani v. Mirtchev, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13342 (D.C. Cir. July 31, 2015) (the RICO rulings of this decision are excerpted in a separate post): Rule 11 Sanctions Mirtchev and Krull Corporation cross-appeal the district court's denial of their motion for Rule 11 sanctions. They claim that the plaintiffs reli ...

Hourani v. Mirtchev, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13342 (D.C. Cir. July 31, 2015) (the RICO rulings of this decision are excerpted in a separate post): Rule 11 Sanctions Mirtchev and Krull Corporation cross-appeal the district court's denial of their motion…

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — LEXIS Results, Governmental, Newspaper, Party Websites — Notice Doesn’t Convert 12(b)(6) to Summary Judgment — Improperly Raising New Arguments by Letter after Oral Argument without Permission

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Wrights Mill Holdings, LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115610 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 31, 2015): At issue in this interpleader action is whether Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ("Wells Fargo"), the Trustee responsible for the assets held in a collateralized debt obligation ("CDO"), is obliged, under the terms ...

Rule 37 and Inherent Power Sanctions Not Stayed by Bankruptcy Filing — Judge’s Adverse Rulings ≠ Grounds to Recuse

Coope v. Dallas Police Ass’n, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 21663 (5th Cir. Nov. 14, 2014): Jay Sandon Cooper moves for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) in his appeal of the district court's order compelling him to respond to a postjudgment discovery request by the Dallas Police Association and Glenn White, the order i ...

Coope v. Dallas Police Ass’n, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 21663 (5th Cir. Nov. 14, 2014): Jay Sandon Cooper moves for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) in his appeal of the district court's order compelling him to respond to …

Contempt Sanctions (Monetary) Not Stayed by Bankruptcy Filing

United States v. Coulton, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 22233 (11th Cir. Nov. 25, 2014): A June 2007 indictment in the Southern District of Florida charged Patrick Coulton with a formidable array of drug and money-laundering offenses. Although not admitted to practice in the Southern District of Florida, Emmanuel Roy (now disbarred and ...

United States v. Coulton, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 22233 (11th Cir. Nov. 25, 2014): A June 2007 indictment in the Southern District of Florida charged Patrick Coulton with a formidable array of drug and money-laundering offenses. Although not admitted to …

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Federal Courts May Take Judicial Notice of Related State Court Records on State Court Websites

Two Cases: 1. Ceras v. Janda, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175586 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 18, 2014) (“The Court takes judicial notice of Internet records relating to this action in the state appellate courts (available at http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov) ("state court records"). See Smith v. Duncan, 297 F.3d ...

Two Cases: 1. Ceras v. Janda, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175586 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 18, 2014) (“The Court takes judicial notice of Internet records relating to this action in the state appellate courts (available at http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov) ("state court records"). See…

Law of the Case Doctrine Is Not Jurisdictional but Discretionary — As Long as Case Is Alive, Court Can Always Revoke Earlier Rulings (Good Quote) — 3 Exceptions to Mandate Rule: New Evidence, New Law, Manifest Injustice

Muecke Co. v. CVS Caremark Corp., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 15158 (5th Cir. Aug. 25, 2015): The plaintiffs argue that the law-of-the-case doctrine or, alternatively, the mandate rule prevents the district [*9] court from reconsidering its previous order denying the defendants' motion to compel arbitration. Th ...

Muecke Co. v. CVS Caremark Corp., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 15158 (5th Cir. Aug. 25, 2015): The plaintiffs argue that the law-of-the-case doctrine or, alternatively, the mandate rule prevents the district [*9] court from reconsidering its previous order denying the…

Authentication of Internet Evidence — Witness Affidavit Plus Printout Showing URL, Date of Printing or Other Identifying Information — Wayback Machine Printout + Custodian’s Affidavit to Establish Date Material Appeared

SEC v. Berrettini, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115963 (N.D. Ill. Sept 1, 2015): The SEC brings an insider trading action against Defendants Morando Berrettini ("Berrettini") and Ralph Pirtle ("Pirtle"). Before the Court are the SEC's motions in limine numbers 7 through 10 [191-94]. For the reasons s ...

SEC v. Berrettini, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115963 (N.D. Ill. Sept 1, 2015): The SEC brings an insider trading action against Defendants Morando Berrettini ("Berrettini") and Ralph Pirtle ("Pirtle"). Before the Court are the SEC's motions in limine numbers 7 …

Counsel Not Sanctionable under 37(c)(1) — Limits of Right to Rely on Inhouse Counsel for 26(a)(1) Disclosures — Due Process Failure Cured by Opportunity to Be Heard on Reconsideration, Where Court Didn’t Apply Heightened Standard of Review

Sun River Energy, Inc. v. Nelson, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 15645 (10th Cir. Sept. 2, 2015): James E. Pennington and Stephen E. Csajaghy, former counsel for plaintiff Sun River Energy, Inc. (Sun River) in the underlying proceedings, appeal from a judgment of the district court sanctioning them, jointly and severally, in the amount of $20,3 ...

Jury Trial — Improper Golden Rule Invocation — Fact vs. Legal Testimony by Lawyer — References to Rulings in Opening — Court Not Bound to Interrupt Argument Sua Sponte — Argument Must Be Quite Extreme to Warrant New Trial

Queen v. Schultz, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102169 (D.D.C. Aug. 5, 2015): The parties in this lawsuit first met in a hallway at an NBC television studio in January 2008, when the plaintiff, Michael Queen, approached Ed Schultz, the defendant. See May 13, 2015 Tr. at 13, ECF No. 169 (Testimony of Michael Queen). From all outward a ...

RICO — Mere Use of Traditional Customer Services Doesn’t Transform Non-Bank-Directed Misconduct into Bank Fraud (Good Quote) — Factually Pleading Intent to Defraud Essential to Stating Mail Fraud Predicate

H&Q Props., Inc. v. Doll, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12209 (8th Cir. July 15, 2015): Appellants H & Q Properties, Inc., John Quandahl, [*2] and Mark Houlton (collectively, "H&Q") appeal the district court's1 dismissal of their claims and denial of their motion for leave to file a second amended co ...

H&Q Props., Inc. v. Doll, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12209 (8th Cir. July 15, 2015): Appellants H & Q Properties, Inc., John Quandahl, [*2] and Mark Houlton (collectively, "H&Q") appeal the district court's1 dismissal of their claims and denial of…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Rule 11 — No Bad Faith, No Sanctions for Contradictory Complaints — OK to Decide “That Devoting Further Resources to Investigating the Alleged [Rule 11 Violation] Was Not Worth the Candle Since the Case Was Already Terminated” (Good Quote)

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — LEXIS Results, Governmental, Newspaper, Party Websites — Notice Doesn’t Convert 12(b)(6) to Summary Judgment — Improperly Raising New Arguments by Letter after Oral Argument without Permission

Rule 37 and Inherent Power Sanctions Not Stayed by Bankruptcy Filing — Judge’s Adverse Rulings ≠ Grounds to Recuse

Contempt Sanctions (Monetary) Not Stayed by Bankruptcy Filing

Judicial Notice of Internet Evidence — Federal Courts May Take Judicial Notice of Related State Court Records on State Court Websites

Law of the Case Doctrine Is Not Jurisdictional but Discretionary — As Long as Case Is Alive, Court Can Always Revoke Earlier Rulings (Good Quote) — 3 Exceptions to Mandate Rule: New Evidence, New Law, Manifest Injustice

Authentication of Internet Evidence — Witness Affidavit Plus Printout Showing URL, Date of Printing or Other Identifying Information — Wayback Machine Printout + Custodian’s Affidavit to Establish Date Material Appeared

Counsel Not Sanctionable under 37(c)(1) — Limits of Right to Rely on Inhouse Counsel for 26(a)(1) Disclosures — Due Process Failure Cured by Opportunity to Be Heard on Reconsideration, Where Court Didn’t Apply Heightened Standard of Review

Jury Trial — Improper Golden Rule Invocation — Fact vs. Legal Testimony by Lawyer — References to Rulings in Opening — Court Not Bound to Interrupt Argument Sua Sponte — Argument Must Be Quite Extreme to Warrant New Trial

RICO — Mere Use of Traditional Customer Services Doesn’t Transform Non-Bank-Directed Misconduct into Bank Fraud (Good Quote) — Factually Pleading Intent to Defraud Essential to Stating Mail Fraud Predicate

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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