Complex Lit Blog

Summary Charts at Trial — Summaries as Evidence vs. Summaries of Evidence — Do the Latter Go to the Jury?

United States v. Anekwu, 695 F.3d 967 (9th Cir. 2012): A. Anekwu argues that the district court erred in admitting the chart summarizing the foreign bank records, because summary charts cannot be admitted as evidence if the underlying records are admitted. We review a district court's admis ...

United States v. Anekwu, 695 F.3d 967 (9th Cir. 2012): A. Anekwu argues that the district court erred in admitting the chart summarizing the foreign bank records, because summary charts cannot be admitted as evidence if the underlying records …

Judicial Notice of Internet Archive Evidence (Wayback Machine) and of Government Website Data

Puerto Rico v. Shell Oil Co. (In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether “MTBE” Prods. Liab. Litig.), 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181837, at *17-18 n. 65 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 30, 2013): Moreover, a review of the EIA [Energy Information Administration] website reports would have revealed that Vitol S.A. was importing gasoline in Puerto Rico a ...

2010 Expert Amendments — 9th Circuit Joins 10th and 11th: Only Draft Expert Reports and Communications with Counsel Are Protected — Special Salience of Advisory Committee Notes in Construing Rules — Implicit 1782 Ruling

Republic of Ecuador v. MacKay, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 1972 (9th Cir. Jan. 31, 2014) (note that the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits, in the Ecuador cases, have all implictly ruled that 28 USC 1782 is available to gather evidence for international arbitration proceedings): Chevron Corporation and two of its expert witn ...

Republic of Ecuador v. MacKay, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 1972 (9th Cir. Jan. 31, 2014) (note that the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits, in the Ecuador cases, have all implictly ruled that 28 USC 1782 is available to gather …

Inherent Power Sanctions — Factors — Court Not Limited by Motion’s Grounds, May Sanction for Any Misconduct — Significance of Blameless Clients — Prejudice from Receiving Documents on Eve of Trial — Good Quotes

Projects Mgmt. Co. v. Dyncorp Int’l LLC, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 22443 (4th Cir. Nov. 5, 2013): Projects Management Company ("PMC") appeals from the district court's dismissal of its suit against DynCorp International LLC ("DynCorp"). The district court dismissed PMC's suit on two alternate grounds: first, ...

Sovereign Immunity — Subpoena Is a “Suit” Precluded by Tribal Sovereign Immunity

Bonnet v. Harvest (US) Holdings, Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 1686 (10th Cir. Jan. 28, 2014): The issue before us is whether a subpoena duces tecum served on a non-party Tribe and seeking documents relevant to a civil suit in federal court is itself a "suit" against the Tribe triggering tribal sovereign immunity. Exercising ...

Website Evidence — Because Information on Government Websites Is Self-Authenticating, Court May Take Judicial Notice of It

Newton v. Holland, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10625 (E.D. Ky. Jan. 29, 2014): On March 17, 1994, Newton was indicted in the Eastern District of California on two counts of carjacking in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2119(1), (2); two counts of using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 9 ...

Sanctions — Beyond Judge’s Power to Order Depositions Changed to Venue Harsh for Foreign Witnesses — Limits on Power to Order Testimony from Them — Mandamus OK to Correct Judicial Usurpation of Power, Clear Abuse of Discretion, Manifest Injustice

In re Petition of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharms., Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 1479 (7th Cir. Jan. 24, 2014): Pradaxa is a prescription blood-thinning drug manufactured by an American company and its German affiliate (collectively Boehringer). A number of suits against Boehringer complaining about the accuracy of the warning lab ...

Does an Unaccepted Settlement Offer That Satisfies Plaintiff’s Entire Demand (Not Just What Defendant Feels Case Is Worth) Render Case Moot? — Circuit Split — Importance of Justice Kagan’s Dissent in Genesis Healthcare

Scott v. Westlake Servs. LLC, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 1335 (7th Cir. Jan. 23, 2014): Under this circuit's case law, an unaccepted settlement offer can render the plaintiff's case moot if it gives the plaintiff everything she requested. Damasco v. Clearwire Corp., 662 F.3d 891, 895 (7th Cir. 2011); Ga ...

Scott v. Westlake Servs. LLC, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 1335 (7th Cir. Jan. 23, 2014): Under this circuit's case law, an unaccepted settlement offer can render the plaintiff's case moot if it gives the plaintiff everything she requested. Damasco v.…

Sanctions — Different Review Standards Applied by District and Appeals Courts to Magistrate Judge-Issued Sanctions — Inherent Power Sanctions Are Discretionary Even If Bad Faith Found — Importance of Deference When No Transcript Exists

Murray v. City of Columbus, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 17708 (6th Cir. Aug. 23, 2013): Murray was a police lieutenant for the City of Columbus. In September 2007, Mitchell Brown, Columbus's Director of Public Safety, filed a complaint with Murray's supervisor alleging that Murray improperly disclosed information from the Internal A ...

FAA — Where Stay of Arbitration Denied in Lawsuit Involving Not Only Parties to Foreign Arbitration But Also Additional Party, Stay of Discovery Appealable under § 16 — Mandatory Statutory Stay of “Trial” Includes Discovery

GEA Grp. AG v. Flex-N-Gate Corp., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 573 (7th Cir. Jan. 10, 2014): Before us is an appeal by GEA Group AG from an order by the district judge partially lifting a stay of discovery in a diversity suit brought by GEA against Flex-N-Gate Corporation and its CEO, board chairman, and controlling shareholder, the American ...

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Summary Charts at Trial — Summaries as Evidence vs. Summaries of Evidence — Do the Latter Go to the Jury?

Judicial Notice of Internet Archive Evidence (Wayback Machine) and of Government Website Data

2010 Expert Amendments — 9th Circuit Joins 10th and 11th: Only Draft Expert Reports and Communications with Counsel Are Protected — Special Salience of Advisory Committee Notes in Construing Rules — Implicit 1782 Ruling

Inherent Power Sanctions — Factors — Court Not Limited by Motion’s Grounds, May Sanction for Any Misconduct — Significance of Blameless Clients — Prejudice from Receiving Documents on Eve of Trial — Good Quotes

Sovereign Immunity — Subpoena Is a “Suit” Precluded by Tribal Sovereign Immunity

Website Evidence — Because Information on Government Websites Is Self-Authenticating, Court May Take Judicial Notice of It

Sanctions — Beyond Judge’s Power to Order Depositions Changed to Venue Harsh for Foreign Witnesses — Limits on Power to Order Testimony from Them — Mandamus OK to Correct Judicial Usurpation of Power, Clear Abuse of Discretion, Manifest Injustice

Does an Unaccepted Settlement Offer That Satisfies Plaintiff’s Entire Demand (Not Just What Defendant Feels Case Is Worth) Render Case Moot? — Circuit Split — Importance of Justice Kagan’s Dissent in Genesis Healthcare

Sanctions — Different Review Standards Applied by District and Appeals Courts to Magistrate Judge-Issued Sanctions — Inherent Power Sanctions Are Discretionary Even If Bad Faith Found — Importance of Deference When No Transcript Exists

FAA — Where Stay of Arbitration Denied in Lawsuit Involving Not Only Parties to Foreign Arbitration But Also Additional Party, Stay of Discovery Appealable under § 16 — Mandatory Statutory Stay of “Trial” Includes Discovery

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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