New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Complex Lit Blog

Injured Party Who Releases All Claims Against Tortfeasor Does Not Release Spouse’s Consortium Claim

From Crabtree v. Woodman, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69054 (D. Utah Sept. 11, 2008): [T]he court initially answers a question that is a matter of first impression in Utah. That is, does an injured person who releases all claims against a tortfeasor also release a loss of consortium claim by his or her spouse? While Utah courts have not yet ...
From Crabtree v. Woodman, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69054 (D. Utah Sept. 11, 2008): [T]he court initially answers a question that is a matter of first impression in Utah. That is, does an injured person who releases all claims against…
Continue Reading

Unjust Enrichment Damages Not Recoverable under RICO

From In re Zyprexa Prods. Liab. Litig., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71037 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 5, 2008): Dr. Rosenthal also estimated unjust enrichment damages--with lower-and upper-bound estimates of $ 3.7 billion and $ 7.1 billion--over the class period. See Rosenthal Decl. 44-47. Her calculations are not discussed further here since the ...
From In re Zyprexa Prods. Liab. Litig., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71037 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 5, 2008): Dr. Rosenthal also estimated unjust enrichment damages–with lower-and upper-bound estimates of $ 3.7 billion and $ 7.1 billion–over the class period. See Rosenthal Decl.…
Continue Reading

Chevron Deference and the Arbitrary-and-Capricious Standard

From Wright v. Everson, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 20177 (11th Cir. Sept. 24, 2008): "When a court reviews an agency's construction of the statute which it administers, it is confronted with two questions." Chevron, 467 U.S. at 842, 104 S. Ct. at 2781. First, always, is the question whether Congress has directly ...
From Wright v. Everson, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 20177 (11th Cir. Sept. 24, 2008): “When a court reviews an agency’s construction of the statute which it administers, it is confronted with two questions.” Chevron, 467 U.S. at 842, 104 S.…
Continue Reading

Standing to Assert RICO Claims Passes to Bankruptcy Estate on Filing Bankruptcy

Individual mortgagors sued financial institutions for deceiving them into taking out inflated mortgages which they could not afford, precipitating their bankruptcy, in Roberts v. First Bank of Delaware, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71266 (M.D. Pa. Sept. 19, 2008): [D]efendants argue that plaintiffs lack standing because any RICO claims they pos ...
Individual mortgagors sued financial institutions for deceiving them into taking out inflated mortgages which they could not afford, precipitating their bankruptcy, in Roberts v. First Bank of Delaware, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71266 (M.D. Pa. Sept. 19, 2008): [D]efendants argue…
Continue Reading

No Federal Jurisdiction under Grable If Adequate and Independent Bases for Liability Exist under State Law

The Defendants argued in their notice of removal in Martinez v. City of Faiurfield, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73746 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 12, 2008), that federal question jurisdiction existed because the plaintiff alleged that the defendant police officer exceeded his authority under the U.S. Constitution and because the plaintiff’s Sixth and Seventh Causes of Action ...
The Defendants argued in their notice of removal in Martinez v. City of Faiurfield, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73746 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 12, 2008), that federal question jurisdiction existed because the plaintiff alleged that the defendant police officer exceeded his…
Continue Reading

Prolix Pleading as “Novelette” — Good Quote

From Fezzani v. Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71943 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 23, 2008): Plaintiffs filed their first Amended Complaint on April 7, 2005. It is not so much a pleading as it is a novelette, 113 pages long with 357 separately numbered paragraphs. It layers allegations of various kinds, involving different ...
From Fezzani v. Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71943 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 23, 2008): Plaintiffs filed their first Amended Complaint on April 7, 2005. It is not so much a pleading as it is a novelette, 113…
Continue Reading

Is the Jury’s Attention Spam No Longer than One Commercial Break? Ten-Minute Limit on Opening Statements

From Faulman v. Security Mut. Fin. Life Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71227 (D.N.J. Sept. 12, 2008), on plaintiffs’ motion for a new trial: Plaintiffs argue that the Court's decision, after jury selection, to impose a ten-minute limitation on the parties' opening statements, on the basis that "jurors cannot absorb a long speech" (Tri ...
From Faulman v. Security Mut. Fin. Life Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71227 (D.N.J. Sept. 12, 2008), on plaintiffs’ motion for a new trial: Plaintiffs argue that the Court’s decision, after jury selection, to impose a ten-minute limitation on…
Continue Reading

How a Federal Court Is to Approach an Issue of First Impression of State Law

From Casanova v. Marathon Corp., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72571 (D.D.C. Sept. 24, 2008): Confronted with a case of first impression, the federal courts are to "endeavor to discover the law of the state on the point at issue by considering related decisions, decisions of other jurisdictions, analogies and any reliable data tending to convinc ...
From Casanova v. Marathon Corp., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72571 (D.D.C. Sept. 24, 2008): Confronted with a case of first impression, the federal courts are to “endeavor to discover the law of the state on the point at issue by…
Continue Reading

Ballistics, Like Fingerprint, Evidence — Non-Scientific but Nonetheless Admissible under Daubert

From United States v. Glynn, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72505 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 22, 2008) (Rakoff, J.): Building on a ruling it had made two weeks earlier in another trial involving ballistics testimony, United States v. Damian Brown et al., 05 Cr. 538, th[is] Court, following a "Daubert" hearing, ruled from the bench that Valenti ...
From United States v. Glynn, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72505 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 22, 2008) (Rakoff, J.): Building on a ruling it had made two weeks earlier in another trial involving ballistics testimony, United States v. Damian Brown et al., 05…
Continue Reading

Standard of Review Under the Administrative Procedure Act

From Greater Yellowstone Coalition v. Kempthorne, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69802 (D.D.C. Sept. 15, 2008): Under the APA, federal agency actions are to be held unlawful and set aside where they are "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law." See 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). While this standard ...
From Greater Yellowstone Coalition v. Kempthorne, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69802 (D.D.C. Sept. 15, 2008): Under the APA, federal agency actions are to be held unlawful and set aside where they are “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise…
Continue Reading
Previous446447448449450451452Next

Recent Posts

RICO: (1) Continuity: 4th Circuit Factors — (2) 4th Circuit Reserves RICO Liability for Unlawful Activities That Pose A Special Threat to Social Well-Being — (3) For Purposes of Determining Closed-Ended Continuity, Even Time-Barred Conduct Considered — (4) No Open-Ended Continuity If Racketeering Activity Has Built-In Ending Point — (5) Unlike General Federal Conspiracy, RICO Conspiracy Doesn’t Require Each Defendant to Perform an Overt Act in Furtherance of the Conspiracy

Whether Party Waived Arbitration by Litigating Is a Question for the Court, Not the Arbitrator

RICO: (1) Assignability of RICO Claims Uncertain — (2) Declining to Decide Whether Indirect-Purchaser Rule Applies to RICO (Given the Directness Requirement, How Much Does It Matter?) — (3) Two Types of Directness of Injury in Proximate Cause Analysis — (4) Proximate Cause As a Court Not Jury Issue in the First Instance

(1) RICO Pattern: Open-Ended Continuity — The Vendetta Exception — Jury Could Reasonably Infer That Scheme Directed at One Person, With Goal of Destroying His Current and Future Business Prospects, Presented A Threat of Continued Racketeering Activity Extending Indefinitely into the Future — Lawsuit’s “Fortuitous Interruption” of Scheme ≠ Lack of Threat of Continuing Racketeering Activity — Acts of Concealment Used to Perpetuate Violations — Multiple Schemes Not Required — Jury Could Judge Defendant’s Credibility in Assessing Threat of Continuing Criminal Activity — (2) RICO Conspiracy — Two Methods of Proof: Agreement to Overall Objective Or to Commit Predicate Acts — Agreement Can Be Inferred from Conduct — Conspirator Needn’t Know All Details, Have Contact with Other Conspirators Or Participate in Every Stage

Experts: “Normally, Courts Are Loath to Outright Dismiss An Expert” (Good Quote) — Experts Are Unhelpful If They Misstate the Law [Note Premise That Testimony on Law Not Precluded Outright] — Rule 37 Sanctions Unwarranted for Unjustifiable Failure to Produce Relevant Document Already in Requester’s Possession

FRAP 38 Sanctions: (1) Pressing Objectively Frivolous Arguments, Multiple Misstatements at Oral Argument and Failure to Address What District Judge Said Warrant Award against Appellants’ Counsel (Only) — (2) “General Award” of $5,000 Warranted Where Appellee Failed to Sufficiently Document Its Fees and Expenses [Goodyear v. Haegar Issue]]

RICO: Capital Call Investment Process Increasing Equity of Those Responding to Call at Expense of Those Not Responding ≠ Collection of An Unlawful Debt

RICO [And Constitutional] Standing: Concrete Injury Requirement Not Satisfied by Alleged Intangible Injuries of Intrusion Upon Seclusion, Confusion And Emotional Distress, Public Disclosure of Private Facts, Deterred Speech On Nondefamatory Matters, Violation Of First Amendment Rights, And Compulsion

Rule 37(b) Sanctions: Striking of Answer, Default Judgment, Civil Contempt and Piercing Corporate Veil for Deliberate Disregard of Multiple Orders to Produce — Finding of Deliberate Disregard of Court Order Is Factual, Triggering Clear Error Review — Discretion Narrows When Default Sanction Involved — Fourth Circuit Factors for Rule 37 Default Sanction Are Different Than Those for Inherent Power Dismissal Sanction — Continued Defiance of Court Orders And Millions in Unpaid Judgments And Tax Liens Render Lesser Sanctions Futile

RICO: No Causation for Company Harmed by Governmental Customers Shunning It After Employee Publishes Book Admitting He Bribed Governmental Officials — Harm Too Indirect, Not from Bribery (Predicate Act) But from Customers’ Decisions to Shun and Publication of Book (Both Lawful) — Customers Injured by Bribery of Their Officials Are More Direct Plaintiffs

Archives
New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.
New York Attorneys JHA handles range the gamut of complex financial and commercial litigation and arbitration, including securities, RICO, corporate and contract disputes, credit default swaps, derivatives, and class, mass, and derivative actions. The firm also represents law firms in major disputes.

New York Office

© 2025 Joseph Hage Aaronson LLC  
Disclaimer | Attorney Advertising Notice | Legal Notice