Complex Lit Blog

1st Circuit: Bankruptcy Court Has Inherent Power to Sanction (Circuit Split) — Bad Faith Not Always Needed — Punitive Non-Contempt vs. Contempt — Factors in Evaluating Court’s Discretion in Imposing Sanctions

In re Charbono (Charbono v. Sumski), 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 10053 (1st Cir. June 15, 2015): This appeal poses the question of whether a bankruptcy court has inherent power to sanction parties for noncompliance with court orders. We hold that it does -- and we reject the debtor's attempt to subsume this power within the bankr ...

In re Charbono (Charbono v. Sumski), 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 10053 (1st Cir. June 15, 2015): This appeal poses the question of whether a bankruptcy court has inherent power to sanction parties for noncompliance with court orders. We hold that …

Authentication of Map of Locations Based on Cell Phone Signals to Towers — Expert Testimony re Technology Plus Circumstantial Evidence Linking Phones to Owners at Relevant Times — Use of Names vs. Phone Numbers on Exhibit Upheld

United States v. Reed, 780 F.3d 260 (4th Cir. 2015): Four masked men committed a string of robberies around Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia, in December 2012. During the third and final robbery, the thieves took $60,411.15 from a credit union. [**2] They also unwittingly took three GPS tracking devices embedded in the cash ...

United States v. Reed, 780 F.3d 260 (4th Cir. 2015): Four masked men committed a string of robberies around Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia, in December 2012. During the third and final robbery, the thieves took $60,411.15 from a credit union. …

Sanctions — Appealability — Judicial Referral of Attorney Conduct to a Disciplinary Committee, Absent a Specific Finding of Misconduct by the Court, Is Not a Sanction and Is Not Appealable

Zente v. Credit Mgmt., LP, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 10063 (5th Cir. June 15, 2015): Albeit in the name of Plaintiff-Appellant Joseph Zente, his attorney, Sergei Lemberg, appeals the district court's referral of his conduct to the disciplinary committee of the Western District of Texas. We conclude that neither Zente nor Lember ...

Zente v. Credit Mgmt., LP, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 10063 (5th Cir. June 15, 2015): Albeit in the name of Plaintiff-Appellant Joseph Zente, his attorney, Sergei Lemberg, appeals the district court's referral of his conduct to the disciplinary committee of …

Rule 11: Failure to Address Controlling Decision Issued Post-Filing/Pre-Dismissal Brief Warrants Sanctions — FRAP 38 Sanctions Imposable, But Denied, for Rehashing Arguments from Below without Addressing District Court’s Conclusions

Duncan v. CitiMortgage, Inc., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 10111 (11th Cir. June 16, 2015): Appellants Brendalynne and Tyrone Duncan appeal the district court's grants of motions to dismiss filed by Appellees Citimortgage, Inc., Pendergast & Associates, P.C., Howell A. Hall, and John F. Pendergast. Their attorney, Deirdre M. Stephens-John ...

RICO & Res Judicata — Continuation of Same Activity at Issue in Prior Action Doesn’t Raise New or Independent RICO Claim — Test Isn’t Whether New Facts Occurred after Judgment But Whether Material Facts, Witnesses, Docs Are the Same in Both Suits

Foster v Denenberg, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 9644 (3d Cir. June 10, 2015): Frederick Foster appeals from an order of the District Court dismissing his complaint. For the reasons that follow, we will summarily affirm. Foster filed suit in 2010 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against David ...

YouTube Admissibility — Admission of Defendant’s Words in Video, However Accomplished, Violates Crawford Confrontation

State v. Patton, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 1783 (Ohio Ct. App. May 15, 2015): [*P1] Daurin Patton, appeals a December 10, 2012 judgment of conviction and sentence of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas on two counts of aggravated murder with two accompanying firearms specifications and one count of aggravated robbery. The aggravated m ...

§ 1927 Sanctions Affirmed for Issuing Trial Subpoena after Court Has Precluded Deposition of Same Apex Witness and While Motion to Compel Witness’s Attendance at Trial Is Pending

Wagner v. Gallup, Inc., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 9856 (8th Cir. June 12, 2015): Rodd Wagner appeals various district court decisions, the sum total of which limited matters of discovery, imposed sanctions on Wagner's attorney and ultimately dismissed Wagner's age discrimination and appropriation claims. We affirm. I ...

Facebook Post Authenticated by Its Content, Timing, Appended Name, Witness Testimony She Recognizes Page as Alleged Author’s & Fact Page Is Password Protected — There Are as Many Ways to Try a Case as There Are Trial Lawyers (Good Quote)

State v. Fawver, 2015 Wash. App. LEXIS 1208 (Wash. Ct. App. June 9, 2015): Corey Fawver challenges his convictions for first degree burglary and second degree assault, alleging both that his counsel's performance was flawed and the evidence did not support the assault conviction. We disagree and affirm. FACTS

Appeals — Liberal Construction of Pro Se Notice of Appeal — Discovery Sanctions/Due Process — Fact That Agreement Is Unsigned Does Not Make It Per Se Inadmissible (Good Quote) — Standards of Review of Damages Determinations

Chen v. Chan, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 9271 (2d Cir. June 4, 2015): Appellant Wai Yin Chan appeals from a judgment of the district court awarding damages to the plaintiffs on their claims under the New York Labor Law ("NYLL"). Chan asserts that the district court erred by (1) excluding evidence of a purported settlement agreemen ...

Rooker-Feldman Doesn’t Bar Federal Jurisdiction over Independent Claim, Even If It Denies a Legal Conclusion State Court Reached — Plaintiff Must Seek Relief That Directly Attacks the Validity of a State Court Judgment

Avdeef v. Royal Bank of Scotland, PLC, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 9498 (5th Cir. June 8, 2015): 1. The Rooker-FeldmanDoctrine The Rooker-Feldman doctrine occupies "narrow ground": it bars only "cases brought by state-court ...

Avdeef v. Royal Bank of Scotland, PLC, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 9498 (5th Cir. June 8, 2015): 1. The Rooker-FeldmanDoctrine The Rooker-Feldman doctrine occupies "narrow ground": it bars only "cases brought by state-court losers complaining of injuries caused by state-court …

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

1st Circuit: Bankruptcy Court Has Inherent Power to Sanction (Circuit Split) — Bad Faith Not Always Needed — Punitive Non-Contempt vs. Contempt — Factors in Evaluating Court’s Discretion in Imposing Sanctions

Authentication of Map of Locations Based on Cell Phone Signals to Towers — Expert Testimony re Technology Plus Circumstantial Evidence Linking Phones to Owners at Relevant Times — Use of Names vs. Phone Numbers on Exhibit Upheld

Sanctions — Appealability — Judicial Referral of Attorney Conduct to a Disciplinary Committee, Absent a Specific Finding of Misconduct by the Court, Is Not a Sanction and Is Not Appealable

Rule 11: Failure to Address Controlling Decision Issued Post-Filing/Pre-Dismissal Brief Warrants Sanctions — FRAP 38 Sanctions Imposable, But Denied, for Rehashing Arguments from Below without Addressing District Court’s Conclusions

RICO & Res Judicata — Continuation of Same Activity at Issue in Prior Action Doesn’t Raise New or Independent RICO Claim — Test Isn’t Whether New Facts Occurred after Judgment But Whether Material Facts, Witnesses, Docs Are the Same in Both Suits

YouTube Admissibility — Admission of Defendant’s Words in Video, However Accomplished, Violates Crawford Confrontation

§ 1927 Sanctions Affirmed for Issuing Trial Subpoena after Court Has Precluded Deposition of Same Apex Witness and While Motion to Compel Witness’s Attendance at Trial Is Pending

Facebook Post Authenticated by Its Content, Timing, Appended Name, Witness Testimony She Recognizes Page as Alleged Author’s & Fact Page Is Password Protected — There Are as Many Ways to Try a Case as There Are Trial Lawyers (Good Quote)

Appeals — Liberal Construction of Pro Se Notice of Appeal — Discovery Sanctions/Due Process — Fact That Agreement Is Unsigned Does Not Make It Per Se Inadmissible (Good Quote) — Standards of Review of Damages Determinations

Rooker-Feldman Doesn’t Bar Federal Jurisdiction over Independent Claim, Even If It Denies a Legal Conclusion State Court Reached — Plaintiff Must Seek Relief That Directly Attacks the Validity of a State Court Judgment

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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