New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Complex Lit Blog

Does Twiqbal’s Plausibility Standard Apply to Affirmative Defenses? Case Law Split — Policy Arguments against Application (Including Reliance on Official Form, All of Which Are Heading toward Extinction)

Jam Tire, Inc. v. Harbin, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124581 (N.D. Ohio Sept. 5, 2013): Since the Supreme Court's decision in Iqbal v. Ashcroft, 556 U.S. 662 (2009), more than 230 federal decisions have addressed whether the plausibility standard applies to affirmative defenses pled in an answer. William M. Jan ...
Jam Tire, Inc. v. Harbin, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124581 (N.D. Ohio Sept. 5, 2013): Since the Supreme Court's decision in Iqbal v. Ashcroft, 556 U.S. 662 (2009), more than 230 federal decisions have addressed whether the plausibility standard applies …
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Daubert — If Expert Failed to Follow Own Stated Methods, No Reliable Method Followed — Mere Expertise & Subjective Understanding ≠ Reliable Scientific Evidence (Good Quote) — De Novo Issue before Abuse of Discretion Applies

Brown v. Burlington N. Santa Fe Rwy., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 16865 (7th Cir. Aug. 29, 2014): Shannon Brown appeals the dismissal of his lawsuit against the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company ("BNSF"), which he filed under the Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA"), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq. Th ...
Brown v. Burlington N. Santa Fe Rwy., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 16865 (7th Cir. Aug. 29, 2014): Shannon Brown appeals the dismissal of his lawsuit against the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company ("BNSF"), which he filed under the Federal…
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Rule 11 & § 1927 Sanctions — Quantum — Deterrence vs. Compensation — While Detailed Opinion Usually Not Needed, Conclusory Explanation for De Minimus Award Inadequate Where Misconduct Egregious

Tilmon-Jones v. Boladian, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 17522 (6th Cir. Sept. 8, 2014): In 2006 Janyce Tilmon-Jones sued defendants Bridgeport Music, Inc. and Armen Boladian for allegedly failing to pay royalties on two musical works of her late husband, Abrim Tilmon, Jr. That underlying case, Tilmon-Jones v. Boladian, was set ...
Tilmon-Jones v. Boladian, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 17522 (6th Cir. Sept. 8, 2014): In 2006 Janyce Tilmon-Jones sued defendants Bridgeport Music, Inc. and Armen Boladian for allegedly failing to pay royalties on two musical works of her late husband, Abrim …
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Is Willfulness Judged by an Objective or Subjective Standard? Circuit Split (Bankruptcy/Restatement-Focused; Important for Pending Spoliation Rule 37(e))

Margulies v. Hough (In re Margulies), 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125843 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 9, 2014): On August 3, 2000, Joshua Margulies and Dennis Hough engaged in what has fairly been described as a slow-moving game of chicken on a Manhattan street. Margulies drove forward in his car at a slow rate of speed toward Hough, a ...
Margulies v. Hough (In re Margulies), 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125843 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 9, 2014): On August 3, 2000, Joshua Margulies and Dennis Hough engaged in what has fairly been described as a slow-moving game of chicken on a Manhattan …
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Default Judgment — Can a Letter to the Court Constitute an Answer, Defense to Complaint or Appearance? — Circuit Split — Examples of Inadequate Letters Even Where Informality Permitted

United States v. Abdul Rahim, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117621 (E.D. Va. July 25, 2014): On June 13, 2013, Plaintiff filed a Complaint against Defendant alleging willful concealment or misrepresentation of material fact to procure naturalization, and requesting revocation and cancellation of Defendant's naturalization. (Dkt. No. 1.) D ...
United States v. Abdul Rahim, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117621 (E.D. Va. July 25, 2014): On June 13, 2013, Plaintiff filed a Complaint against Defendant alleging willful concealment or misrepresentation of material fact to procure naturalization, and requesting revocation and…
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Email and Audio File Evidence — Business Records, Business Duty and Double Hearsay

Guardian Ins. & Annuity Co., Inc. v. White, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125920 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 9, 2014): This civil action is before the Court on Defendant Kathryn Bransom's motion in limine for findings that records maintained by Plaintiff are admissible as records of regularly conducted activity ("busin ...
Guardian Ins. & Annuity Co., Inc. v. White, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125920 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 9, 2014): This civil action is before the Court on Defendant Kathryn Bransom's motion in limine for findings that records maintained by Plaintiff are …
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Internet Evidence — Anonymous Postings — Authentication Challenges

Harris v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126776 (D. Minn. April 10, 2014): The above-captioned case comes before the undersigned on Plaintiffs Marcus Harris ("Harris"), Julius Caldwell ("Caldwell"), Demarkus Hobbs ("Hobbs"), and Dana Evenson's ("Evenson") (collectively, ...
Harris v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126776 (D. Minn. April 10, 2014): The above-captioned case comes before the undersigned on Plaintiffs Marcus Harris ("Harris"), Julius Caldwell ("Caldwell"), Demarkus Hobbs ("Hobbs"), and Dana Evenson's ("Evenson") (collectively, "Plaintiffs")…
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eDiscovery Costs under §1920— Not Steps Essential to ESI Production, Only “Making Copies”— Not OCRing, Native Processing, Load Files, Buying Concordance, or Steps Necessary to TIFF Conversion — But Cost of Converting Native to TIFF OK

In re Text Messaging Antitrust Litig., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121804 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 2, 2014): The plaintiffs in this case sued AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless along with their industry association on behalf of all those who purchased text messages on a pay-per-use basis in the United States. Plaintiffs alleged that defen ...
In re Text Messaging Antitrust Litig., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121804 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 2, 2014): The plaintiffs in this case sued AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless along with their industry association on behalf of all those who purchased…
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Bankruptcy Court Has Jurisdiction to Award 16(f) Sanctions after Dismissing for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction — 16(f) Sanctions Apt for Failure to Prepare for and Participate in Mediation in Good Faith—Abuse of Discretion Defined (6th Cir.)

Spradlin v. Richard, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 13756 (6th Cir. July 15, 2014): PEG argues that the bankruptcy court lacked jurisdiction to award sanctions against them for bad faith and lack of preparedness in the mediation. Their argument rests on the timing of various motions and rulings by the bankruptcy court. PEG moved to dismiss Spra ...
Spradlin v. Richard, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 13756 (6th Cir. July 15, 2014): PEG argues that the bankruptcy court lacked jurisdiction to award sanctions against them for bad faith and lack of preparedness in the mediation. Their argument rests on…
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Must Intervenors Who Inject New Claims into Case Have Standing Independent from the Original Plaintiff? Circuit Split

N.C. St. Conference, NAACP v. McRory, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109626 (M.D.N.C. Aug. 8, 2014): Finally, Intervenors contend that they are "not require[d]" to "have standing independent from the original [P]laintiffs." (Id. at 9.) While that may be true as to claims that other Plaintiffs actually assert, here, no other ...
N.C. St. Conference, NAACP v. McRory, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109626 (M.D.N.C. Aug. 8, 2014): Finally, Intervenors contend that they are "not require[d]" to "have standing independent from the original [P]laintiffs." (Id. at 9.) While that may be true as…
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Recent Posts

RICO: Indirect Purchasers (Car Buyers/Renters) Lack Standing to Sue Manufacturers for RICO Violations Even Though Intermediaries (Auto Dealer Direct Purchasers) Lack Any Damages

RICO: Statutory Requirement that RICO Be Liberally Construed Does Not Establish a More Liberal Pleading Standard for RICO Claims — “To Be Sure, Adequately Pleading a RICO Claim Can Be Challenging” (Good Quote) — Court May Dismiss Action Pursuant to Rule 41(b) Absent A Motion

Electronic Spoliation/Rule 37(e): (1) Finding of Recklessness But Neither Gross Negligence Nor Willfulness in Loss of Video Evidence Precludes Rule 37(e)(2)’s Severest Sanctions Because (i) No Intent to Deprive and (ii) Rule 37(e)(2) Displaces District Court’s Power to Invoke Inherent Power to Impose Those Sanctions — (2) Appellate Review = Abuse of Discretion, With The Caveat That Whether The District Court Applied The Correct Legal Standards Is Reviewed De Novo — (3) Inherent Power Is Often Available As An Alternate Source of Sanctioning Power But Can Be Limited by Rule or Statute, Something Which Courts Do Not Lightly Presume — (4) The Text of Rule 37(e)(2), As Confirmed by the Advisory Committee Note, Displaces Inherent Power to Impose the Sanctions Specified in the Rule or Any More Severe Sanctions — (5) “Intent to Deprive” in Rule 37(e)(2) = “The Willful Destruction Of Evidence With The Purpose Of Avoiding Its Discovery By An Adverse Party” — (6) Appellate Standing Conferred by Virtue of Issuance of Sanctions Regardless of Merits Outcome — (7) Value of Advisory Committee Notes in Interpreting Rules Enacted without Change Despite General Reticence to Rely on Legislative History

RICO: (1) Plaintiff Need Not Suffer Injury from Each Predicate Act to Establish Standing, And The Pattern May Include Predicates As to Which No Plaintiff Has Standing — (2) 7 Elements of a Civil RICO Claim (2d Circuit Articulation) Which Must Be Established As to Each Defendant — (3) Requirements of an Association-in-Fact Enterprise — (4) Each Defendant Must Personally Commit 2 or More Predicate Acts — (5) Pattern of Racketeering Activity: Horizontal and Vertical Elements — (6) No Requirement That All Members of a RICO Enterprise Joined at Inception — Can Join Over Time/Others Can Quit — (7) Cannot Charge 2 Predicate Acts Where One Action Violates Two Statutes — (8) A Footnote to Consider for Briefs: “Unless Otherwise Noted, When Quoting Judicial Decisions This Order Accepts All Alterations And Omits All Citations, Footnotes, And Internal Quotation Marks.”

For An Appeal to Be Timely, A Motion for Reconsideration in The District Court (A Rule 59(e) Motion) Must Be Filed, And Not Just Served within 30 Days of The Decision, to Toll The 30-Day Period for Filing An Appeal

There Is No Good-Faith Defense For Issuing An Overly Burdensome Subpoena

Purposes of Rule 37 and Section 1927 Sanctions

While Rule 11 Doesn’t Apply to Appellate Proceedings (Unless It Has Been Incorporated in Local Appellate Rules), Rule 11 Caselaw Is Looked to for Guidance in Interpreting Applicable Sanctions Powers on Appeal

Rule 11 Sanctions & Appellate Review: Abuse of Discretion Standard Applies Unless Sanctions Are Based Solely (Not Just in Part) on Legal Issues, in Which Case Review Is De Novo

Rule 37(b)(2)(A) Sanctions for Altering Expert’s 26(a)(2)(B) Report — Without the Expert’s Knowledge or Approval — by Converting It from PDF to Word, Changing Headings and Other Formatting, and Omitting a Page of Relevant Text and Appendices, Even Though Expert Testified That The Overall Substance of the Report Was Unchanged — Rule 37(b)(2)(A) Sanctions May Be Reversed If Failure to Comply with Discovery Order Was Due to Misunderstanding or Inability to Comply

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New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

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