Complex Lit Blog

Class Action Fairness Act If Federal Jurisdiction Is Based Only on CAFA, Which Provides Jurisdiction Only for “Class Action[s],” Does Denial of Class Certification Divest Court of Jurisdiction? — No

Coba v. Ford Motor Co., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 20183 (3d Cir. July 8, 2019): Problematic as a lemon of a vehicle may be, the problem becomes more complex when it is peeling. This appeal involves a put ...

Coba v. Ford Motor Co., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 20183 (3d Cir. July 8, 2019): Problematic as a lemon of a vehicle may be, the problem becomes more complex when it is peeling. This appeal involves a putative consumer class …

Text Authentication OK Via Non-Participant Witness Who Observed Exchange of Texts and Knows Contents, Coupled with Alleged Recipient’s Acting in Accordance with Contents

State v. Bitner, 2019 Wash. App. LEXIS 1661 (Wash. Ct. App. June 25, 2019): James Bitner appeals his conviction for delivery of a controlled substance — methamphetamine. The State charged Bitner a ...

State v. Bitner, 2019 Wash. App. LEXIS 1661 (Wash. Ct. App. June 25, 2019): James Bitner appeals his conviction for delivery of a controlled substance — methamphetamine. The State charged Bitner after law enforcement directed a confidential informant (CI) to …

Failure to File Written Objection to Magistrate Judge R&R Waives Review of Dist. Ct’s Judgment Is Not Jurisdictional & May Be Disregarded — Especially When Dist. Ct. Has Disregarded It, Too — Sanctions: Vexatious Litigant Injunction

Bonds v. Daley, 2019 WL 2647494 (6th Cir. May 17, 2019): ORDER *1 Todd Bonds, a pro se litigant, appeals the district court’s judgment denying his motion for summary judgment, granting the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and granting the defendants’ motion to declare him a vexatiou ...

Bonds v. Daley, 2019 WL 2647494 (6th Cir. May 17, 2019): ORDER *1 Todd Bonds, a pro se litigant, appeals the district court’s judgment denying his motion for summary judgment, granting the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and granting the …

Social Media Photo Properly Authenticated by Person Who Has Seen Subject of Photo in Same Garb in Person and in Footage That Subject Has Admitted Depicts Him

Commonwealth v. Kelley, 2019 Pa. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2531 (Pa. Super. Ct. June 28, 2019): Robert Leon Kelley, Jr. ("Kelley"), appeals from the judgment of sentence imposed following his conviction ...

Rule 11 Sanctions Apt for Frivolous $160 Million Damages Claims (inter alia) — “Sanctions Are Warranted When a Party Exhibits Deliberate Indifference to Obvious Facts” (Good Quote)

EMI Sun Village, Inc. v. Catledge, 2019 WL 2714325 (11th Cir. June 28, 2019) (unpublished): In this appeal, Fred Elliott and several entities under his control challenge the district court’s order setting aside the entry of default and dismissing one defendant, its order dismissing most of the claims in their complaint for failing ...

Strong Presumption of Public Access to SJ Materials Unaffected by Denial of SJ — Lesser (But Substantial) Presumption re Discovery, In Limine, Non-Dispositive Motions — “Unscrupulous Litigants Can Weaponize Discovery” (Good Quote)

Julie Brown v. Maxwell, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 19981 (2d Cir. July 3, 2019): Intervenors-Appellants Alan M. Dershowitz ("Dershowitz"), Michael Cernovich ("Cernovich"), and the Miam ...

Julie Brown v. Maxwell, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 19981 (2d Cir. July 3, 2019): Intervenors-Appellants Alan M. Dershowitz ("Dershowitz"), Michael Cernovich ("Cernovich"), and the Miami Herald Company (with reporter Julie Brown, jointly the "Herald") appeal from certain orders of the …

Photos of Texts Functionally Equivalent to Printouts of Emails and Satisfy Best Evidence Rule

State v. Clark, 2019 Kan. App. Unpub. LEXIS 449 (Kan. Ct. App. July 5, 2019): Per Curiam: At the end of a five-day trial, a jury in Leavenworth County District Court found Nicholas Arthur Clark guilty of t ...

Spoliation — Unexplained Failure to Produce Relevant Doc Created after Litigation Reasonably Foreseeable Entitled Adversary to At Least Permissive Adverse Inference — One Factor in Reversal of SJ

Iyoha v. Architect of the Capitol, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 19755 (D.C. Cir. July 2, 2019): In 2012, the Congressional Office of Compliance determined that the Architect of the Capitol unlawfully transferred a ...

R. 30(d)(3), §1927, Inherent Power Sanctions for Deposition Obstruction: “Calls for Speculation,” “Don’t Guess,” “You Can Answer If You Understand,” “Not Qualified to Answer” / Improper Instructions Not to Answer

In re Ford Motor Co. DPS6 Powershift Transmission Prods. Liab. Litig., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91557 (C.D. Cal. May 13, 2019): ORDER GRANTING IN PART FORD MOTOR COMPANY'S MOTION FOR SANCTIONS AGAINST PLAI ...

Rule 56(d) Motion for Additional Discovery “Should Be Granted Almost As a Matter of Course” and Be Construed “Generously” Unless Discovery Not Diligently Pursued (Good Quotes) — Factors for Court’s Consideration

Doe v. City of Memphis, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 19225 (6th Cir. June 27, 2019): Jane Doe No. 2 appeals the district court's March 9, 2017 Order granting Defendant City of Memphis summary judgment, and the ...

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Class Action Fairness Act If Federal Jurisdiction Is Based Only on CAFA, Which Provides Jurisdiction Only for “Class Action[s],” Does Denial of Class Certification Divest Court of Jurisdiction? — No

Text Authentication OK Via Non-Participant Witness Who Observed Exchange of Texts and Knows Contents, Coupled with Alleged Recipient’s Acting in Accordance with Contents

Failure to File Written Objection to Magistrate Judge R&R Waives Review of Dist. Ct’s Judgment Is Not Jurisdictional & May Be Disregarded — Especially When Dist. Ct. Has Disregarded It, Too — Sanctions: Vexatious Litigant Injunction

Social Media Photo Properly Authenticated by Person Who Has Seen Subject of Photo in Same Garb in Person and in Footage That Subject Has Admitted Depicts Him

Rule 11 Sanctions Apt for Frivolous $160 Million Damages Claims (inter alia) — “Sanctions Are Warranted When a Party Exhibits Deliberate Indifference to Obvious Facts” (Good Quote)

Strong Presumption of Public Access to SJ Materials Unaffected by Denial of SJ — Lesser (But Substantial) Presumption re Discovery, In Limine, Non-Dispositive Motions — “Unscrupulous Litigants Can Weaponize Discovery” (Good Quote)

Photos of Texts Functionally Equivalent to Printouts of Emails and Satisfy Best Evidence Rule

Spoliation — Unexplained Failure to Produce Relevant Doc Created after Litigation Reasonably Foreseeable Entitled Adversary to At Least Permissive Adverse Inference — One Factor in Reversal of SJ

R. 30(d)(3), §1927, Inherent Power Sanctions for Deposition Obstruction: “Calls for Speculation,” “Don’t Guess,” “You Can Answer If You Understand,” “Not Qualified to Answer” / Improper Instructions Not to Answer

Rule 56(d) Motion for Additional Discovery “Should Be Granted Almost As a Matter of Course” and Be Construed “Generously” Unless Discovery Not Diligently Pursued (Good Quotes) — Factors for Court’s Consideration

Recent Posts

For An Appeal to Be Timely, A Motion for Reconsideration in The District Court (A Rule 59(e) Motion) Must Be Filed, And Not Just Served within 30 Days of The Decision, to Toll The 30-Day Period for Filing An Appeal

There Is No Good-Faith Defense For Issuing An Overly Burdensome Subpoena

Purposes of Rule 37 and Section 1927 Sanctions

While Rule 11 Doesn’t Apply to Appellate Proceedings (Unless It Has Been Incorporated in Local Appellate Rules), Rule 11 Caselaw Is Looked to for Guidance in Interpreting Applicable Sanctions Powers on Appeal

Rule 11 Sanctions & Appellate Review: Abuse of Discretion Standard Applies Unless Sanctions Are Based Solely (Not Just in Part) on Legal Issues, in Which Case Review Is De Novo

Spoliation: Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e) Imposes a Higher Standard — Intent — Than Fourth Circuit Law Previously Applied to Spoliation of Electronically-Stored Information (And Still Does As to Non-ESI) — Willfulness vs. Intent

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