Complex Lit Blog

Obtaining Immediate Review of Discovery Order by Dismissing Case with Prejudice — Motions for Reconsideration: Proper Use (Good Quote), Standard of Review, “New Evidence”

Reisinger v. City of Wilkes-Barre, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 6301 (3 Cir. Mar. 29, 2013): The District Court had jurisdiction to hear the case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343. We have jurisdiction to hear this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Footnote 3. Ordinarily, a District Court's discovery-relate ...

Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege by Inadequate Privilege Log — Sale and Transfer of Assets, Including Privileged Material, Waives Privilege and Work Product — Court Enters 502(d) Order Confining Waiver to Instant Case

Solis v. Bruister, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29108 (January 22, 2013): Plaintiff's Motion to Compel seeks an order compelling the production of documents subpoenaed by Plaintiff from DirecTV, the purchaser of Southeastern Ventures, Inc. f/k/a Bruister & Associates, Inc. These documents were stored on Defendant Amy Smith's Bruister & Associa ...

Solis v. Bruister, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29108 (January 22, 2013): Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel seeks an order compelling the production of documents subpoenaed by Plaintiff from DirecTV, the purchaser of Southeastern Ventures, Inc. f/k/a Bruister & Associates, Inc. These…

“Civil RICO Demands More Than a Straightforward Case of Malicious Prosecution” — Good Quote

Nowicki v. Delao, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 3201 (7th Cir. Feb. 8, 2013): David Nowicki and Barbara Tremel appeal from the dismissal of their claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 18 U.S.C. § 1962 against several parties who they say engaged in organized crime and committed civil rights violations by bringing a housing-discrimination action ag ...

State Legislators Enjoy a Qualified Federal Legislative Privilege (Common Law/Rule 501) in Federal Civil Actions — Weaker Than Constitutional Privilege Afforded Federal Legislators — No Privilege in Criminal Cases

State of Fla. v. United States, 886 F. Supp. 2d 1301 (S.D. Fla. 2012): The issue in this proceeding is whether Florida state legislators have a privilege not to testify on matters at the core of their legislative functions. This order holds that they do have such a privilege and that it extends also to their staff members. This ...

Unsworn Expert Report May Be Considered on Summary Judgment If Expert Ratifies Report in Deposition

Zorn v. Mount Sinai Medical Center, Inc., 2012 WL 4320575, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. 2012): “Courts in this Circuit have uniformly held that unsworn expert reports do not satisfy the admissibility requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e), and cannot be used to defeat a summary judgment motion.” Berk v. St. Vincent's Hosp. and Medical Center, 380 F.S ...

Securities — Predictions: “The Future Is Shrouded in Uncertainty” — Limited Utility of Confidential Sources — Recantation, Recidivism and Mandatory Sanctions under the PSLRA (Good Quotes — Judge Posner)

City of Livonia Employees’ Retirement Sys. v. Boeing Co., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 5975 (7th Cir. Mar. 26, 2013): The suit is on behalf of all persons who bought common stock of Boeing between May 4 and June 22, 2009. The key allegations of the first amended complaint (amended early in the pretrial proceedings) were as follows. On April 2 ...

Experts — “The Trial Court Ought Not Transform a Daubert Hearing into a Trial on the Merits” — Daubert in Bench Trials (Good Quote)

In re Texas Grand Prairie Hotel Realty, LLC (Wells Fargo Bank N.A. v. Texas Grand Prairie Hotel Realty, LLC), 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 4514 (5th Cir. March 1, 2013): We review a trial court's decision to admit expert testimony for abuse of discretion. As read by Daubert, Rule 702 requires trial courts to ensure that proffered expert testimo ...

Fraud, Fiduciary Duty, Negligent Misrepresentation, and Contract Claims Duplicative of Legal Malpractice Claim—Arising from Same Facts and Seeking Same Damages—Are Barred under New York Law

Case 1: Amusement Indus., Inc. v. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8569 (S.D.N.Y. Jan 22, 2013) (R&R): [T]here is a "longstanding body of New York case law that bars other claims for relief relying on the same facts and seeking the same relief as [a legal] malpractice claim." Amusement Indus., Inc., 2012 ...

Case 1: Amusement Indus., Inc. v. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8569 (S.D.N.Y. Jan 22, 2013) (R&R): [T]here is a “longstanding body of New York case law that bars other claims for relief relying on the…

Securities — Is There a Continuing Fraud Exception to the Statute of Repose? Caselaw Split

Carlucci v. Han, 886 F. Supp. 2d 497 (E.D. Va. 2012): 1. Section 10(b) Claim Section 10(b) claims are subject to a two-year statute of limitations and a five-year statute of repose. 28 U.S.C. § 1658(b). A statute of limitations is "[a] law that bars claims after a specified period; specif[ically], a statute establishi ...

Rule 11 Sanctions Imposed for Suing a Dog — Hard to Prove “Meeting of the Minds”

Hammary v. Soles, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40033 (M.D.N.C. Mar. 22, 2013): Dyron Hammary has sued several law enforcement officers and a dog for civil rights violations arising out of a traffic stop and his subsequent arrest and imprisonment on later-dismissed cocaine charges. The complaint adequately alleges that the officer who s ...

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Obtaining Immediate Review of Discovery Order by Dismissing Case with Prejudice — Motions for Reconsideration: Proper Use (Good Quote), Standard of Review, “New Evidence”

Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege by Inadequate Privilege Log — Sale and Transfer of Assets, Including Privileged Material, Waives Privilege and Work Product — Court Enters 502(d) Order Confining Waiver to Instant Case

“Civil RICO Demands More Than a Straightforward Case of Malicious Prosecution” — Good Quote

State Legislators Enjoy a Qualified Federal Legislative Privilege (Common Law/Rule 501) in Federal Civil Actions — Weaker Than Constitutional Privilege Afforded Federal Legislators — No Privilege in Criminal Cases

Unsworn Expert Report May Be Considered on Summary Judgment If Expert Ratifies Report in Deposition

Securities — Predictions: “The Future Is Shrouded in Uncertainty” — Limited Utility of Confidential Sources — Recantation, Recidivism and Mandatory Sanctions under the PSLRA (Good Quotes — Judge Posner)

Experts — “The Trial Court Ought Not Transform a Daubert Hearing into a Trial on the Merits” — Daubert in Bench Trials (Good Quote)

Fraud, Fiduciary Duty, Negligent Misrepresentation, and Contract Claims Duplicative of Legal Malpractice Claim—Arising from Same Facts and Seeking Same Damages—Are Barred under New York Law

Securities — Is There a Continuing Fraud Exception to the Statute of Repose? Caselaw Split

Rule 11 Sanctions Imposed for Suing a Dog — Hard to Prove “Meeting of the Minds”

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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