Complex Lit Blog

Circumstantial Authentication of Email Evidence Based on Content and Context — Authenticating Testimony Need Not “Be Free from Weakness or Doubt” — Deficiencies in Chain of Custody for Factfinder

State v. Ruiz, 2014 Mich. App. LEXIS 855 (Mich. Ct. App. May 15, 2014): Defendant next argues that the trial court erred by admitting e-mail records into evidence. Defendant objected at trial to the admissibility of the e-mail evidence in Exhibit 13, but made no objection to the admissibility of other e-mails. We revi ...

State v. Ruiz, 2014 Mich. App. LEXIS 855 (Mich. Ct. App. May 15, 2014): Defendant next argues that the trial court erred by admitting e-mail records into evidence. Defendant objected at trial to the admissibility of the e-mail evidence in…

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions — Neither Fault Nor Willfulness Required — Opportunity to Submit Briefs = Opportunity to Be Heard, Satisfies Due Process

Remington v. Mathson, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 9849 (9th Cir. May 28, 2014): The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing discovery sanctions on Remington because Remington's failure to comply with expert witness disclosures was neither substantially justified nor harmless. See Yeti by Molly Ltd., 259 F.3d at 1 ...

Inherent Power Sanctions Imposed Where Rule 11 Substantively Violated But Inapt Due to Timeliness — Applying “Rule 11-Type Analysis” OK — Pro Se Can’t Recover Attorney’s Fees — Can’t Award Sanctions to Pay Unpaid Judgment

Peer v. Lewis, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 13259 (11th Cir. July 9, 2014): Daniel Warfield Lewis, proceeding pro se, appeals the order imposing sanctions against three lawyers who represented Christopher Peer in an underlying action brought against Lewis under the Fair Credit Reporting [*2] Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681. He challen ...

Peer v. Lewis, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 13259 (11th Cir. July 9, 2014): Daniel Warfield Lewis, proceeding pro se, appeals the order imposing sanctions against three lawyers who represented Christopher Peer in an underlying action brought against Lewis under the …

FSIA Does Not Protect Counsel of Sovereign from § 1782 Discovery — Second Circuit Affirms Denial of 1782 Discovery but Sua Sponte Orders Documents Not Be Destroyed Due to Fluidity of Foreign Proceedings

Mare Shipping LLC v. Squire Sanders (US) LLP, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14525 (2d Cir. July 30, 2014): Appellants Mare Shipping Inc. ("Mare") and Apostolos Mangouras ("Mangouras") appeal from a decision of the District Court denying their motion to compel discovery for use in a foreign litigation, brought pursuant to 28 ...

Failure to Pay Sanctions = Civil Contempt — No Vicarious §1927 Liability — Every Lawyer Needn’t Vet Every Filing — Adverse Inference for 5th Amend. on Sanctions Motion — What Is Timely Is up to District Court — The Rule of Holes (Good Quotes)

Lightspeed Media Corp. v. Smith, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14725 (7th Cir. July 31, 2014): The first rule of holes, according to an old saying, is to stop digging. The two appeals before us bring that to mind, for reasons that will become apparent. The first, No. 13-3801, comes to us from the district court's order granting a m ...

Lightspeed Media Corp. v. Smith, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14725 (7th Cir. July 31, 2014): The first rule of holes, according to an old saying, is to stop digging. The two appeals before us bring that to mind, for reasons …

Does a Magistrate Judge Have Authority to Deny a Motion to Amend a Complaint If Denial Effectively Dismisses Certain Claims (E.g., Because Statute of Limitations Has Expired)? Case Law Split

Duncan v. City of N.Y., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96214 (E.D.N.Y. July 15, 2014): Plaintiff Shamaine Duncan ("Duncan") seeks leave to file a Fourth Amended Complaint in order to substitute the name of police officer Richard Dinkle ("Dinkle") for that of one of the "John Doe" defendants. See D ...

Duncan v. City of N.Y., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96214 (E.D.N.Y. July 15, 2014): Plaintiff Shamaine Duncan ("Duncan") seeks leave to file a Fourth Amended Complaint in order to substitute the name of police officer Richard Dinkle ("Dinkle") for that …

Judicial Estoppel — Majority Rule — Prior Success, Clear Inconsistency and Impact on Judicial Integrity Requirements

Crawford v. Franklin Credit Mgmt. Corp., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 13179 (2d Cir. July 11, 2014): "Judicial estoppel generally prevents a party from prevailing in one phase of a case on an argument and then relying on a contradictory argument to prevail in another phase." Pegram v. Herdrich, 530 U.S. 211, 227 n.8 ...

Crawford v. Franklin Credit Mgmt. Corp., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 13179 (2d Cir. July 11, 2014): "Judicial estoppel generally prevents a party from prevailing in one phase of a case on an argument and then relying on a contradictory argument …

Rule 11: No Abuse of Discretion Not to Sanction Factual Inaccuracies in Pleadings Due to Clerical Mistake, Promptly Corrected when Discovered — Definition of Abuse of Discretion (Fifth Circuit)

White v. Cox, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14021 (5th Cir. July 23, 2014): White's argument that sanctions should have been awarded pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as there were factual inaccuracies in the defendants' pleadings and the defendants willfully failed to locate a named defendant, does not estab ...

Surveillance Video Authentication via Circumstantial Evidence — Fact That Video Is Programmed to Skip a Few Seconds Intermittently Neither Renders It Inauthentic Nor Subject to 403 Exclusion

United States v. Cejas, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14874 (7th Cir. 2014): A. Video Was Properly Authenticated We begin with Constantino and Nicholas's joint argument that the video showing them outside of Denny's residence on February 14, 2011 should not have been admitted at trial because the government did ...

United States v. Cejas, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14874 (7th Cir. 2014): A. Video Was Properly Authenticated We begin with Constantino and Nicholas's joint argument that the video showing them outside of Denny's residence on February 14, 2011 should not…

While Court Construes Pro Se Filings Broadly, It Does Not Act as Advocate (Good Quote) — Rule 37 Dismissal Sanction: Tenth Circuit Factors

Fischer v. Dunning, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14641 (10th Cir. July 31, 2014): Michael Fischer claims several officials of a state correctional facility, where Fischer is currently serving time, were deliberately [*2] indifferent to his medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. But, because Fischer repeatedly r ...

Fischer v. Dunning, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14641 (10th Cir. July 31, 2014): Michael Fischer claims several officials of a state correctional facility, where Fischer is currently serving time, were deliberately [*2] indifferent to his medical needs in violation of…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Circumstantial Authentication of Email Evidence Based on Content and Context — Authenticating Testimony Need Not “Be Free from Weakness or Doubt” — Deficiencies in Chain of Custody for Factfinder

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions — Neither Fault Nor Willfulness Required — Opportunity to Submit Briefs = Opportunity to Be Heard, Satisfies Due Process

Inherent Power Sanctions Imposed Where Rule 11 Substantively Violated But Inapt Due to Timeliness — Applying “Rule 11-Type Analysis” OK — Pro Se Can’t Recover Attorney’s Fees — Can’t Award Sanctions to Pay Unpaid Judgment

FSIA Does Not Protect Counsel of Sovereign from § 1782 Discovery — Second Circuit Affirms Denial of 1782 Discovery but Sua Sponte Orders Documents Not Be Destroyed Due to Fluidity of Foreign Proceedings

Failure to Pay Sanctions = Civil Contempt — No Vicarious §1927 Liability — Every Lawyer Needn’t Vet Every Filing — Adverse Inference for 5th Amend. on Sanctions Motion — What Is Timely Is up to District Court — The Rule of Holes (Good Quotes)

Does a Magistrate Judge Have Authority to Deny a Motion to Amend a Complaint If Denial Effectively Dismisses Certain Claims (E.g., Because Statute of Limitations Has Expired)? Case Law Split

Judicial Estoppel — Majority Rule — Prior Success, Clear Inconsistency and Impact on Judicial Integrity Requirements

Rule 11: No Abuse of Discretion Not to Sanction Factual Inaccuracies in Pleadings Due to Clerical Mistake, Promptly Corrected when Discovered — Definition of Abuse of Discretion (Fifth Circuit)

Surveillance Video Authentication via Circumstantial Evidence — Fact That Video Is Programmed to Skip a Few Seconds Intermittently Neither Renders It Inauthentic Nor Subject to 403 Exclusion

While Court Construes Pro Se Filings Broadly, It Does Not Act as Advocate (Good Quote) — Rule 37 Dismissal Sanction: Tenth Circuit Factors

Recent Posts

RICO: Indirect Injury Unrecoverable — Indirect Purchaser Rule Imported from Antitrust

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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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