Complex Lit Blog

Sanctions —Failure to File Reply Brief as Evidence of Frivolousness — “Close Call” Ruling by District Court as Notice of Frivolousness of Appeal — § 1927 and FRAP 38

Scherer v. JP Morgan Chase & Co., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 25516 (6th Cir. Dec. 11, 2012): Under 28 U.S.C. § 1927, we have discretion to impose "costs, expenses, and attorney fees" personally on an attorney "who . . . multiplies the proceedings in any case unreasonably and vexatiously." Waeschle v. Dragovic, 687 F.3d 292, 296 (6th Cir. 201 ...

Scherer v. JP Morgan Chase & Co., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 25516 (6th Cir. Dec. 11, 2012): Under 28 U.S.C. § 1927, we have discretion to impose “costs, expenses, and attorney fees” personally on an attorney “who . . .…

Court, Not Arbitrator, Should Decide Whether Signatory Agreed to Arbitrate Arbitrability with Non-Signatory — Irrelevant That Agreement States Arbitrator to Decide Because Non-Signatory Not a Party — Equitable Estoppel as Basis to Compel Arbitration

Kramer v. Toyota Motor Corp., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 2090 (9th Cir. Jan. 30, 2013): Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (collectively "Toyota" or "Defendants") seek review of the district court's denial of their motion to compel arbitration. The district court held that Toyota, a nonsignatory to several agreement ...

Kramer v. Toyota Motor Corp., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 2090 (9th Cir. Jan. 30, 2013): Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (collectively “Toyota” or “Defendants”) seek review of the district court’s denial of their motion to compel…

Spoliation — Eighth Adopts Requirement That District Court Make Explicit Findings of Bad Faith and Prejudice before It May Issue Adverse Inference Instruction

Hallmark Cards, Inc. v. Murley, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 917 (8th Cir. Jan. 15, 2013): Hallmark Cards, Inc. ("Hallmark") sued its former employee, Janet Murley, for a breach of the parties' separation agreement and won a $860,000 jury verdict on its breach of contract claim. The district court denied Murley's motion for a new trial. Murley ...

Hallmark Cards, Inc. v. Murley, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 917 (8th Cir. Jan. 15, 2013): Hallmark Cards, Inc. (“Hallmark”) sued its former employee, Janet Murley, for a breach of the parties’ separation agreement and won a $860,000 jury verdict on…

Joint Defense / Common Interest — When the Common Interest Must Exist — Elements of Advice of Counsel Defense— Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege vs. Waiver of Work Product Protection

SEC v. Reserve Mgmt. Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147723 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 12, 2012): ● “The common interest rule is concerned with the relationship between the transferor and the transferee at the time that the confidential information is disclosed. The fact that the parties’ interests have diverged over the course of t ...

Federal Common Law, Not State Law, Provides the Meaning of “Arbitration” in the Federal Arbitration Act — Circuit Split

Bakoss v Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 1527 (2d Cir. Jan. 23, 2013): The parties entered into a Certificate of Insurance ("Certificate"), which they agree is an enforceable contract. Bakoss, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110834, 2011 WL 4529668, at *7. The Certificate provided for the payment of a benefit to Bakoss in th ...

Bakoss v Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 1527 (2d Cir. Jan. 23, 2013): The parties entered into a Certificate of Insurance (“Certificate”), which they agree is an enforceable contract. Bakoss, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110834, 2011 WL…

Spoliation: Permissive Adverse Inference Instruction Typically Appropriate for Negligent Destruction of Evidence Where Opponent Not Denied Ability to Make or Defend Its Case — Severity of Sanction Should Correspond to Degree of Fault

Arch Ins. Co. v. Broan-Nutone, LLC, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 26464 (6th Cir. Dec. 21, 2012): This case arises out of a fire that occurred at Montgomery County Fire Station 1 in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, on September 17, 2007. Plaintiff Montgomery County Fire Protection District 1 was compensated for the resulting property damage by its insura ...

Sixth Circuit Spoliation Standards for Adverse Inference Instruction

Stocker v. United States, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 1089 (6th Cir. Jan. 17, 2013): [A] "party seeking an adverse inference instruction based on the destruction of evidence must establish (1) that the party having control over the evidence had an obligation to preserve it at the time it was destroyed; (2) that the records were destroyed wi ...

Stocker v. United States, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 1089 (6th Cir. Jan. 17, 2013): [A] “party seeking an adverse inference instruction based on the destruction of evidence must establish (1) that the party having control over the evidence had an…

RICO Does Not Provide for Nationwide Personal Jurisdiction (Circuit Split) — “Transacts His Affairs” in RICO and Clayton Acts Are Synonymous

Pincione v. D’Alfonso, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 25986 (2d Cir. Dec. 20, 2012): RICO's "Venue and Process" section, § 1965(a), "does not provide for nationwide personal jurisdiction over every defendant in every civil RICO case, no matter where the defendant is found." PT United Can Co. Ltd. v. Crown Cork & Seal Co., Inc., 138 F. ...

Pincione v. D’Alfonso, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 25986 (2d Cir. Dec. 20, 2012): RICO’s “Venue and Process” section, § 1965(a), “does not provide for nationwide personal jurisdiction over every defendant in every civil RICO case, no matter where the defendant…

Fact that RICO Claim Would Not Exist But for Plaintiff’s Entry into Contract Is Insufficient to Permit Non-Signatories to Assert Equitable Estoppel to Enforce Forum Selection Clause — Court Will Apply Law All Parties Assume Is Applicable

Bahamas Sales Assoc., LLC v. Ginn Fin’l Servs., LLC, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 24887 (11th Cir. Dec. 4, 2012): In late 2006, Donald Cameron Byers purchased a lot in the Bahamas. His purchase contract contains a provision that requires all disputes to be litigated in the Bahamas under Bahamian law. Byers financed the purchase with a mor ...

When Person Acts in Dual Capacity as Expert and Non-Expert, Any Ambiguity as to Role in Generating Documents — and, Potentially, Communications — Is Resolved in Favor of Party Seeking Discovery

Paradigm Biodevices, Inc. -v- Centinel Spine, Inc., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7312 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 17, 2013): By letter dated January 9, 2013, Defendants sought an order requiring Plaintiff to produce a draft report prepared by Zolfo Cooper (the "Report"), an entity appointed by an English court as liquidator of Surgicraft, and other communi ...

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Sanctions —Failure to File Reply Brief as Evidence of Frivolousness — “Close Call” Ruling by District Court as Notice of Frivolousness of Appeal — § 1927 and FRAP 38

Court, Not Arbitrator, Should Decide Whether Signatory Agreed to Arbitrate Arbitrability with Non-Signatory — Irrelevant That Agreement States Arbitrator to Decide Because Non-Signatory Not a Party — Equitable Estoppel as Basis to Compel Arbitration

Spoliation — Eighth Adopts Requirement That District Court Make Explicit Findings of Bad Faith and Prejudice before It May Issue Adverse Inference Instruction

Joint Defense / Common Interest — When the Common Interest Must Exist — Elements of Advice of Counsel Defense— Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege vs. Waiver of Work Product Protection

Federal Common Law, Not State Law, Provides the Meaning of “Arbitration” in the Federal Arbitration Act — Circuit Split

Spoliation: Permissive Adverse Inference Instruction Typically Appropriate for Negligent Destruction of Evidence Where Opponent Not Denied Ability to Make or Defend Its Case — Severity of Sanction Should Correspond to Degree of Fault

Sixth Circuit Spoliation Standards for Adverse Inference Instruction

RICO Does Not Provide for Nationwide Personal Jurisdiction (Circuit Split) — “Transacts His Affairs” in RICO and Clayton Acts Are Synonymous

Fact that RICO Claim Would Not Exist But for Plaintiff’s Entry into Contract Is Insufficient to Permit Non-Signatories to Assert Equitable Estoppel to Enforce Forum Selection Clause — Court Will Apply Law All Parties Assume Is Applicable

When Person Acts in Dual Capacity as Expert and Non-Expert, Any Ambiguity as to Role in Generating Documents — and, Potentially, Communications — Is Resolved in Favor of Party Seeking Discovery

Recent Posts

Practice of Seeking Leave to Amend after The Case Is Dismissed Is Discouraged

RICO: Release Executed After Alleged RICO Violations Extinguishes RICO Claim — Eighth Circuit Declines to Address Enforceability of A Release “That Is An Integral Part of An Alleged RICO Scheme Or That Immunizes Future RICO Conduct

Pleading — “Civil pleadings are supposed to mark the boundaries for discovery; discovery is not supposed to substitute for definite pleading” (Good Quote) — Shotgun Pleadings (11th Circuit): Four Categories/Types

Rule 37(c)(1) Exclusion of Untimely Expert Report: Failure to Argue Harmlessness Essentially Waives Issue

Rule 37(b) Sanctions — Exclusion of Supplemental Expert Report for Advancing New Opinions — Third Circuit Exclusion Factors — “Importance of Excluded Evidence:” If, As Proponent Argues, There Is Nothing New, Then Exclusion Doesn’t Harm Proponent; If There Is, It Harms Opponent

RICO Pleading: Generic Allegations of Fraud (Failing Even to Set Forth Any False Representation) And Extortion (Failing to Describe Actual Threats) Too Conclusory to State a Claim

RICO Pleading: Statutory Directive That RICO Be Liberally Construed Does Not Extend to More Liberal Pleading Requirements

FRAP 38 Sanctions Imposed Due to the “Striking Legal Emptiness” of Brief/Appeal, “A Legal Nothingburger” — Bad Faith Not Required: An Appeal “May Also Be Frivolous If It Is Filed Out Of Sheer Obstinacy” (Good Quotes)

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