Complex Lit Blog

§ 1927 Sanctions — Defendants’ Settlement with Plaintiffs for Attorney’s Fees They Owe ≠ Release of Counsel for “Excess” Fees — Ambush by Late Motion — Recklessness OK in 11th Cir. — Plain Error Review If No Objection to MJ R&R

Oliva v. NBTY, Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 18040 (11th Cir. Sept. 22, 2014): Attorney Brian Glick appeals the district court's order imposing sanctions on him based on 28 U.S.C. § 1927 and the court's inherent authority. Glick represented the plaintiffs in a personal injury lawsuit against NBTY, Inc. and NBTY Manufacturing LLC ...

Text / Email Admissibility — Direct Evidence Not Essential; Circumstantial Evidence Sufficient — Idaho Supreme Court, Construing Evidence Rules Identical to Fed. R. Evid.

State v. Koch, 2014 Ida. LEXIS 243 (Ida. Sup. Ct. Sept. 4, 2014): Michael Eugene Koch appeals from his judgment of conviction, entered following a verdict, for four counts of lewd conduct with a minor under sixteen. On appeal, Koch argues that the Ada County district court made multiple errors in the admission of evidence that warrant ...

26(a)(1) Initial Disclosures — Failure to Timely Update to Add Fact Witnesses Mentioned in Deposition Leads to Exclusion, Even Though They Were Identified 10 Months before Trial — Good Quotes on Prejudice

Ollier v. Sweetwater Union High Sch. Dist., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 18020 (9th Cir. Sept. 19, 2014): We next address the exclusion of fact witnesses. The general issue is whether witnesses not listed in Rule 26(a) disclosures--and who were identified 15 months after the discovery cutoff and only ten months before trial--were id ...

Ollier v. Sweetwater Union High Sch. Dist., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 18020 (9th Cir. Sept. 19, 2014): We next address the exclusion of fact witnesses. The general issue is whether witnesses not listed in Rule 26(a) disclosures–and who were identified …

Federal Arbitration Act — Inherently Biased Arbitration Clause Unenforceable — Unreasonable under M/S Bremen and Unconscionable — Does State or Federal Law Govern Forum Selection Clause in Diversity? Circuit Split

Jackson v. Payday Fin’l LLC, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 16257 (7th Cir. Aug. 22, 2014): Deborah Jackson, Linda Gonnella, and James Binkowski (collectively "the Plaintiffs") initially brought this action in Illinois state court against Payday Financial, LLC, and other defendant entities owned by, or doing business with, Martin A. ...

Taxation of Costs under § 1920 — Video Deposition Costs Unrecoverable Where Summary Judgment Granted and Videos Unnecessary for That

In re Text Messaging Antitrust Litig., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121804 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 2, 2014): The law permits a party to recover costs for both a paper transcript and video recording of a deposition; the standard is whether it was reasonably necessary for counsel to obtain both. See Little v. Mitsubishi Motors N. ...

In re Text Messaging Antitrust Litig., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121804 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 2, 2014): The law permits a party to recover costs for both a paper transcript and video recording of a deposition; the standard is whether it …

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 …

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 ...

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 …

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 …

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 ...

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

§ 1927 Sanctions — Defendants’ Settlement with Plaintiffs for Attorney’s Fees They Owe ≠ Release of Counsel for “Excess” Fees — Ambush by Late Motion — Recklessness OK in 11th Cir. — Plain Error Review If No Objection to MJ R&R

Text / Email Admissibility — Direct Evidence Not Essential; Circumstantial Evidence Sufficient — Idaho Supreme Court, Construing Evidence Rules Identical to Fed. R. Evid.

26(a)(1) Initial Disclosures — Failure to Timely Update to Add Fact Witnesses Mentioned in Deposition Leads to Exclusion, Even Though They Were Identified 10 Months before Trial — Good Quotes on Prejudice

Federal Arbitration Act — Inherently Biased Arbitration Clause Unenforceable — Unreasonable under M/S Bremen and Unconscionable — Does State or Federal Law Govern Forum Selection Clause in Diversity? Circuit Split

Taxation of Costs under § 1920 — Video Deposition Costs Unrecoverable Where Summary Judgment Granted and Videos Unnecessary for That

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)

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

Rule 11 & § 1927 Sanctions — Quantum — Deterrence vs. Compensation — While Detailed Opinion Usually Not Needed, Conclusory Explanation for De Minimus Award Inadequate Where Misconduct Egregious

Is Willfulness Judged by an Objective or Subjective Standard? Circuit Split (Bankruptcy/Restatement-Focused; Important for Pending Spoliation Rule 37(e))

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

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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