Complex Lit Blog

Hague Service Convention Article 15 Applies Only to Service of Process on Non-Parties, Not to Service of Documents on Participant in Existing Action

Lynch v. Mascini Holdings Ltd. (In re Kirwan Offices S.à.r.L.), 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 38068 (2d Cir. Dec. 20, 2019) (unpublished): SUMMARY ORDER UPON DUE CONSIDERATIO ...

Lynch v. Mascini Holdings Ltd. (In re Kirwan Offices S.à.r.L.), 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 38068 (2d Cir. Dec. 20, 2019) (unpublished): SUMMARY ORDER UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court …

Supreme Court: Attorney’s Fees [Non-Sanctions] — American Rule Not Limited to Prevailing-Party Statutes — Absence of Specific Reference to Attorney’s Fees Not Dispositive — “Expenses of Litigation” = Expensae Litis = Costs

Peter v. NantKwest, Inc., 205 L. Ed. 2d 304 (2019): Sect ...

Peter v. NantKwest, Inc., 205 L. Ed. 2d 304 (2019): Section 145 of the Patent Act affords applicants “dissatisfied with the decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board” an opportunity to file a civil action in the United States …

Sanctions: Rule 37(b)(2) Dismissal OK Only If Violation of Discovery Order Is Fault of Client, Not Lawyer — Ordering Discovery Is Not A “Lesser Sanction” under Rule 41

Johnson v. Jones, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36969 (5th Cir. Dec. 13, 2019) (unpublished): PER CURIAM:* Ron Johnson appeals the with-prejudice dism ...

Johnson v. Jones, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36969 (5th Cir. Dec. 13, 2019) (unpublished): PER CURIAM:* Ron Johnson appeals the with-prejudice dismissal of his civil rights lawsuit. The district court dismissed the case as a sanction under Federal Rules …

Standing: In Consumer Fraud Case, Plaintiffs’ Claim They Wouldn’t Have Bought Product But for Deceptive Claims and Failure to Disclose Known Risks Constitutes Injury in Fact for Standing Purposes

Painters & Allied Trades Dist. Council 82 v. Takeda Pharm. Co. Ltd., 2019 WL 6498270 (9th Cir. Dec. 3, 2019): MEMORANDUM** *1 Plaintiffs, individual patients and third-party payor Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82 Health Care Fund, appeal the ...

§ 1782: Availability of Requested Information in Foreign Jurisdiction Irrelevant If Person from Whom Discovery Is Sought Is Unavailable There — Indicia of Sufficient Certainty of Contemplated Foreign Proceeding (Affidavit of Foreign Counsel Suffices)

In re Top Matrix Holdings Ltd. for an Order to Take Discovery for Use in a Foreign Proceeding Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 210264 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 2, 2019): Top Matrix Holdings Ltd. (& ...

RICO: Third-Party Payers Adequately Allege Causation Against Pharma Mfrs. for Omission of Known Safety Risk — Doctors Are Intermediaries But Not Intervening Cause — Circuit Split

Painters & Allied Trades Dist. Council 82 Health Care Fund v. Takeda Pharms. Co., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 35844 (9th Cir. Dec. 3, 2019): Today we confront an issue of first impression in our circuit, and ...

Painters & Allied Trades Dist. Council 82 Health Care Fund v. Takeda Pharms. Co., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 35844 (9th Cir. Dec. 3, 2019): Today we confront an issue of first impression in our circuit, and one that has caused …

Court Lacks Inherent Power to Vacate §1782 Order Based on Fraud in Foreign Proceedings[— Rule 60(b)(3) Fraud on Court Must Be Extrinsic to Proceedings — 1782 Court Should Consider Effect on Procedural Parity of Parties (Good Quote)

In re Accent Delight Int'l, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 212773 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 10, 2019): This case is a small part of a larger international saga involving Accent Delight International Ltd. and Xitrans Financ ...

Securities: Judicial Notice (JN) of Wayback Machine OK — Defs. Can’t Use JN to Insert Own Version of Events to Defeat Well-Pled Claims — JN of Transcripts for Acts, Not Substance, & of 10b5-1 Plan Only for Fact Sales Made Pursuant Thereto

In re Facebook, Inc. Secs. Litig., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166027 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 25, 2019): This lawsuit stems from the revelation that Cambridge Analytica acquired the private Facebook data of millions of us ...

Discovery Sanctions — Dismissal — Factors (6th Circuit)

Blue v. City of River Rouge, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 33242 (6th Cir. Nov. 6, 2019): Sexual Sin De Un Abdul Blue, a pro se Michigan litigant, appeals a district court order that (1) dismissed his complaint, as ...

Good Cause/Extraordinary Circs. Needed to Withdraw Consent to Magistrate Judge (§636(c)(4), Rule 73(b)(3)) Only After Adversary Consents, Else Is Discretionary — Decision of First Impression Doesn’t Change Law within Rule 60(b)(6), Is Retroactive

Parks v. Rohlfing, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 210958 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 6, 2019): ORDER On September 30, 2018, the court denied plaintiff's motion to withdraw his consent to a magistrate judge. ECF ...

Parks v. Rohlfing, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 210958 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 6, 2019): ORDER On September 30, 2018, the court denied plaintiff's motion to withdraw his consent to a magistrate judge. ECF No. 101. Plaintiff now moves for reconsideration of…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Hague Service Convention Article 15 Applies Only to Service of Process on Non-Parties, Not to Service of Documents on Participant in Existing Action

Supreme Court: Attorney’s Fees [Non-Sanctions] — American Rule Not Limited to Prevailing-Party Statutes — Absence of Specific Reference to Attorney’s Fees Not Dispositive — “Expenses of Litigation” = Expensae Litis = Costs

Sanctions: Rule 37(b)(2) Dismissal OK Only If Violation of Discovery Order Is Fault of Client, Not Lawyer — Ordering Discovery Is Not A “Lesser Sanction” under Rule 41

Standing: In Consumer Fraud Case, Plaintiffs’ Claim They Wouldn’t Have Bought Product But for Deceptive Claims and Failure to Disclose Known Risks Constitutes Injury in Fact for Standing Purposes

§ 1782: Availability of Requested Information in Foreign Jurisdiction Irrelevant If Person from Whom Discovery Is Sought Is Unavailable There — Indicia of Sufficient Certainty of Contemplated Foreign Proceeding (Affidavit of Foreign Counsel Suffices)

RICO: Third-Party Payers Adequately Allege Causation Against Pharma Mfrs. for Omission of Known Safety Risk — Doctors Are Intermediaries But Not Intervening Cause — Circuit Split

Court Lacks Inherent Power to Vacate §1782 Order Based on Fraud in Foreign Proceedings[— Rule 60(b)(3) Fraud on Court Must Be Extrinsic to Proceedings — 1782 Court Should Consider Effect on Procedural Parity of Parties (Good Quote)

Securities: Judicial Notice (JN) of Wayback Machine OK — Defs. Can’t Use JN to Insert Own Version of Events to Defeat Well-Pled Claims — JN of Transcripts for Acts, Not Substance, & of 10b5-1 Plan Only for Fact Sales Made Pursuant Thereto

Discovery Sanctions — Dismissal — Factors (6th Circuit)

Good Cause/Extraordinary Circs. Needed to Withdraw Consent to Magistrate Judge (§636(c)(4), Rule 73(b)(3)) Only After Adversary Consents, Else Is Discretionary — Decision of First Impression Doesn’t Change Law within Rule 60(b)(6), Is Retroactive

Recent Posts

FRAP 38 Sanctions — Sixth Circuit Usually Declines to Impose FRAP 38 Sanctions Unless An Improper Purpose Was Behind the Appeal

FRAP 38: Permissible for Appeals Court to Affirm Sanctions But Deny FRAP 38 Sanctions for Appeal — A Defendant’s Voluntary Cessation of Complained of Behavior Does Not Moot a Case Unless It Is Clear That The Behavior Could Not Reasonably Be Expected to Recur

Rule 11: Violation of 21 Day Safe Harbor “Overlook[ed]” As Non-Prejudicial by First Circuit — “Rule 11 Monetary Sanctions Must Be Reasonable” (Good Quote) — Rule 11(c)(4) Requires Consideration of Offender’s Ability to Pay

Temporary Restraining Order = Preliminary Injunction: 3 Supreme Court Cases (TRO=PI x 3)

Rule 37(c)(1) Sanctions — Exclusion of Untimely Expert Report — Eighth Circuit’s 4-Factor Test

RICO: So Insubstantial A Claim As to Fail to Confer Subject Matter Jurisdiction

RICO: Distinctiveness Issues Most Likely to Appear When The Enterprise Is An Entity Capable of Being Sued, Like A Corporation

FRAP 38 Sanctions: Eleventh Circuit Generally Declines to Impose FRAP 38 Sanctions on Pro Se Appellants Absent a History of Frivolous Litigation or an Explicit Warning

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