Complex Lit Blog

If Plaintiff Voluntarily Dismisses Per FRCivP 41(a)(1)(A)(i) & Refiles in State Court, Fed. Ct. Can’t Award Costs of First Action Per 41(d), Even Tho It Could If 2nd Action Were Filed in Fed. Ct.—First Impression at Circuit Level—Dist. Cts. Split

Sargeant v. Hall, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 6438 (11th Cir. Mar. 2, 2020): Under

Sargeant v. Hall, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 6438 (11th Cir. Mar. 2, 2020): Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(d), if a plaintiff who voluntarily dismissed an action files a second action against the same defendant based on or …

RICO Claim Must Be Colorable to Confer Federal Question Jurisdiction — No Association in Fact Enterprise Stated by Allegations That Are Conclusory, Fail to Connect Conduct to Enter. Or to Allege Plausibly Continuing Unit

Lynn v. Brown, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 3802, 2020 WL 598999 (10th Cir. Feb. 7, 2020) (unpublished): Rosemary Ann Ly ...

Lynn v. Brown, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 3802, 2020 WL 598999 (10th Cir. Feb. 7, 2020) (unpublished): Rosemary Ann Lynn, appearing pro se, appeals from the district court’s orders dismissing her complaint against Defendant Andrew George Brown, III (No. …

Sanctions: §1927 for Filing Premature Notice of Appeal to Delay District Court Proceedings — No 37(c)(1) Preclusion Despite Failure to ID Witnesses in Initial Disclosures: Harmless Error Where All ID’ed in Trial Brief

Hannah v. Walmart Stores, Inc., 2020 WL 521848 (2d Cir. Feb. 3, 2020) (unpublished): *1 ON CONSIDERATION WHEREOF, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the orders and judgment of said District Court be and they hereby are AFFIRMED. Appellants-C ...

Hannah v. Walmart Stores, Inc., 2020 WL 521848 (2d Cir. Feb. 3, 2020) (unpublished): *1 ON CONSIDERATION WHEREOF, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the orders and judgment of said District Court be and they hereby are AFFIRMED…

RICO Causation: Lawyer Not Directly Harmed by Competitors’ Illegal Use of Recruiters to Solicit Work Comp Clients — Direct Injury Suffered by Clients and Insurance Companies

Ozeran v. Jacobs, 2020 WL 777646 (9th Cir. Feb. 18, 2020) (unpublished): MEMORANDUM** *1 Robert Ozeran appeals the district court’s decision dismissing with prejudice his claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) an ...

Magistrate Judges: Motion to Appoint Receiver Is Dispositive within R. 72, Even Tho Unisted in §636(a)(1)(A), As It Requires Merits Determination — Unlike Sanctions Motion Where Non-Dispositive Penalty Imposed Or Stay of Litigation Pending Arbitration

Ml-Cfc 2007-6 P.R. Props. v. Bpp Retail Props., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 6217 (1st Cir. Feb. 28, 2020): This appeal arises from a federal district court's designation of a magistrate judge to "hear and ...

Appropriate Remedy for Scant R. 26(a)(1)(A)(iii) Damages Disclosure Is Motion to Compel, Not R. 37 Motion for Sanctions — Absent Showing of Harm, No Abuse of Discretion to Deny Sanctions [Despite Non-Discloser’s Burden to Show Harmless Error]

Finato v. Fink, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 5140 (9th Cir. Feb. 18, 2020) (unpublished): MEMORANDUM* Joaquim Finato appeals the district cour ...

Finato v. Fink, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 5140 (9th Cir. Feb. 18, 2020) (unpublished): MEMORANDUM* Joaquim Finato appeals the district court's decisions on a series of claims he brought against Keith A. Fink & Associates ("KFA") based on KFA's …

Trial Time Limits May Be Imposed But Court’s Power “Not Unbounded” — Trial Efficiency Can Undermine Fairness (Good Quotes) — Importance of Objecting —Sanctions (R. 37): Attorney’s Fees Needn’t Be Calculated with “Exacting Specificity”

Raynor v. G4S Solutins (USA), Inc., 2020 WL 917060 (4th Cir. Feb. 26, 2020) (unpublished): *1 After 15 years of employment, G4S Secure Solutions, Inc. (“G4S”), fired E. Ray Raynor. He brings a host of federal and state law claims related to his employment and termination. The district court granted summary judgmen ...

For Rooker-Feldman (RF) to Bar Claim, Source of Injury Must Be State Court Judgment, Not Ministerial Act of Clerk Or Post-Judgment Conduct of Counsel — Concurrence: “Here’s to Urging [Supreme] Court to Give 1 Last Requiem to RF”

Vanderkodde v. Mary Jane M. Elliott, P.C., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 5838 (6th Cir. Feb. 26, 2020): In Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the Supreme Court made clear that the

Vanderkodde v. Mary Jane M. Elliott, P.C., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 5838 (6th Cir. Feb. 26, 2020): In Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the Supreme Court made clear that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine—which prohibits the lower federal courts …

Social Media Photo: Page Ownership Irrelevant If Photo Independently Authenticated — Presence of Depicted Persons in Court Allows Jury to Determine Identity, Evidence of Hair Color, Clothing, Happy New Year Filter Allows Determination of Date

Holmes v. State, 2020 Md. App. LEXIS 104 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. Feb. 3, 2020): Appellant Jamar Lee Holmes was convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court for Harford County of attempted first-degree murder, attem ...

Even Though There Is No Safe Harbor in § 1927, Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion in Declining to Sanction Party Who Withdrew One Challenged Claim, and Attempted to Withdraw the Other, Before Opponent Filed Sanctions Motion

Alcantra v. Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 5829 (9th Cir. Feb. 25, 2020) (unpublished): Defendants appeal the denial of sanctions against Plaintiff Correy Alcantra's counsel un ...

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

If Plaintiff Voluntarily Dismisses Per FRCivP 41(a)(1)(A)(i) & Refiles in State Court, Fed. Ct. Can’t Award Costs of First Action Per 41(d), Even Tho It Could If 2nd Action Were Filed in Fed. Ct.—First Impression at Circuit Level—Dist. Cts. Split

RICO Claim Must Be Colorable to Confer Federal Question Jurisdiction — No Association in Fact Enterprise Stated by Allegations That Are Conclusory, Fail to Connect Conduct to Enter. Or to Allege Plausibly Continuing Unit

Sanctions: §1927 for Filing Premature Notice of Appeal to Delay District Court Proceedings — No 37(c)(1) Preclusion Despite Failure to ID Witnesses in Initial Disclosures: Harmless Error Where All ID’ed in Trial Brief

RICO Causation: Lawyer Not Directly Harmed by Competitors’ Illegal Use of Recruiters to Solicit Work Comp Clients — Direct Injury Suffered by Clients and Insurance Companies

Magistrate Judges: Motion to Appoint Receiver Is Dispositive within R. 72, Even Tho Unisted in §636(a)(1)(A), As It Requires Merits Determination — Unlike Sanctions Motion Where Non-Dispositive Penalty Imposed Or Stay of Litigation Pending Arbitration

Appropriate Remedy for Scant R. 26(a)(1)(A)(iii) Damages Disclosure Is Motion to Compel, Not R. 37 Motion for Sanctions — Absent Showing of Harm, No Abuse of Discretion to Deny Sanctions [Despite Non-Discloser’s Burden to Show Harmless Error]

Trial Time Limits May Be Imposed But Court’s Power “Not Unbounded” — Trial Efficiency Can Undermine Fairness (Good Quotes) — Importance of Objecting —Sanctions (R. 37): Attorney’s Fees Needn’t Be Calculated with “Exacting Specificity”

For Rooker-Feldman (RF) to Bar Claim, Source of Injury Must Be State Court Judgment, Not Ministerial Act of Clerk Or Post-Judgment Conduct of Counsel — Concurrence: “Here’s to Urging [Supreme] Court to Give 1 Last Requiem to RF”

Social Media Photo: Page Ownership Irrelevant If Photo Independently Authenticated — Presence of Depicted Persons in Court Allows Jury to Determine Identity, Evidence of Hair Color, Clothing, Happy New Year Filter Allows Determination of Date

Even Though There Is No Safe Harbor in § 1927, Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion in Declining to Sanction Party Who Withdrew One Challenged Claim, and Attempted to Withdraw the Other, Before Opponent Filed Sanctions Motion

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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