Complex Lit Blog

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

Al-Nahhas v. 777 Partners, LLC, 2025 WL 546908 (7th Cir. Feb. 19, 2025): *1 Illinois resident Eido Hussam Al-Nahhas took out four loans from an online lending company called Rosebud Lending LZO, doing business as ZocaLoans. Those loans charged exorbitant interest rates of up to nearly 700%—far beyond the rates allowed under Illinois law. Al-Nahhas contends tha ...

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

Claims v. Lundbeck LLC, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 4489 (4th Cir. Feb. 26, 2025): Plaintiffs [*2] are business entities that allegedly own recovery rights assigned to them by health insurers and other third-party Medicare payors ("Ass ...

(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

Hartman v. Does, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 2477, 2025 WL 398846 (11th Cir. Feb. 4, 2025) (unpublished): PER CURIAM: *1 Defendants-Appellants appeal from the district court’s denial of their motions for judgment ...

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

Sec'y United States DOL v. Nursing Home Care Mgmt., 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 2219 (3d Cir. Jan. 31, 2025): Nursing Home Care Management Inc. ("Prestige") operates a home healthcare service. It did not compensate its employees for time spent trave ...

Sec’y United States DOL v. Nursing Home Care Mgmt., 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 2219 (3d Cir. Jan. 31, 2025): Nursing Home Care Management Inc. (“Prestige”) operates a home healthcare service. It did not compensate its employees for time spent…

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]]

Transamerica Life Ins. Co. v. Arutyunyan, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 1394 (9th Cir. Jan. 22, 2025): ORDER* Having reviewed the parties' responses to the February 22, 2024 order to show cause (Dkt. No ...

Transamerica Life Ins. Co. v. Arutyunyan, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 1394 (9th Cir. Jan. 22, 2025): ORDER* Having reviewed the parties’ responses to the February 22, 2024 order to show cause (Dkt. No. 37),1 the court hereby imposes…

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

Malley v. San Jose Midtown Dev. LLC, 2023 WL 2240805 (9th Cir. Feb. 27, 2023) (unpublished): MEMORANDUM* *1 In this civil RICO action, Plaintiff-Appellant Gregory Malley contends that the Defendants-Appellees, San Jose Midtown Development, LL ...

Malley v. San Jose Midtown Dev. LLC, 2023 WL 2240805 (9th Cir. Feb. 27, 2023) (unpublished): MEMORANDUM* *1 In this civil RICO action, Plaintiff-Appellant Gregory Malley contends that the Defendants-Appellees, San Jose Midtown Development, LLC (“SJMD”) and its majority …

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

Cooper v. US Dominion, Inc., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 32883, 2023 WL 8613526 (10th Cir. Dec. 13, 2023) (unpublished): ORDER AND JUDGMENT* Plaintiffs Jennifer Cooper, Eugene Dixon, ...

Cooper v. US Dominion, Inc., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 32883, 2023 WL 8613526 (10th Cir. Dec. 13, 2023) (unpublished): ORDER AND JUDGMENT* Plaintiffs Jennifer Cooper, Eugene Dixon, Francis Cizmar, Anna Pennala, Kathleen Daavettila, Cynthia Brunell, Karyn Chopjian, and…

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

Smith v. Devine, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 1118 (4th Cir. Jan. 17, 2025): Appellants Ronald C. Devine; Brenda S. Devine; the Randall Devine 2010 Irrevocable Trust; the Christopher Devine 2010 Irrevocable Trust; the Benjamin Devin ...

Smith v. Devine, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 1118 (4th Cir. Jan. 17, 2025): Appellants Ronald C. Devine; Brenda S. Devine; the Randall Devine 2010 Irrevocable Trust; the Christopher Devine 2010 Irrevocable Trust; the Benjamin Devine 2010 Irrevocable Trust; BRC Loans, …

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

Government App Solutions, Inc. v. City of New Haven, 2024 WL 1299993 (9th Cir. Mar. 27, 2024) (unpublished): MEMORANDUM* Government App Solutions appeals from the district court’s judgment dismissing its lawsuit bringing claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act and various st ...

FRAP 38 Sanctions for Frivolous Opposition to Arbitration

Rezios v. Epic Sys. Corp., 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 1593 (7th Cir. Jan. 24, 2025): Epic Systems fired Caroline Retzios after she refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19. She filed this suit under Title VII o ...

Rezios v. Epic Sys. Corp., 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 1593 (7th Cir. Jan. 24, 2025): Epic Systems fired Caroline Retzios after she refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19. She filed this suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

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

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

FRAP 38 Sanctions for Frivolous Opposition to Arbitration

Recent Posts

nherent Power Sanction of Dismissal — Preponderance of the Evidence Burden of Proof, Not Clear and Convincing Evidence (7th Circuit)

§ 1927 Sanctions — Must A Lawyer Who Unreasonably and Vexatiously Multiplies Federal Court Proceedings Be Acting “As An Attorney” When Committing the Misconduct To Be Subject to Sanction under § 1927?

Rule 37 Sanctions — Unfamiliarity With Litigation Process Does Not Excuse Intentional Disregard of Court Order — Also Affirming Rule 26(g) Sanctions on Clients and Counsel for False Representations That All Responsive Documents Had Been Produced

Supreme Court: Notice of Appeal Filed After The Original Deadline But Before Reopening by The District Court Is Timely — It Relates Forward to The Date of The Order Making The Appeal Possible — Second Notice of Appeal After Reopening Unnecessary

Rule 37 Default Judgment: Second Circuit’s Four-Factor Test for Imposing Defaults and Three-Factor Test for Lifting Them

RICO: Cover-Up Within Limitations Period of Untimely RICO Violation “Was Merely A Continuation” Of The Original Injury And Could Not Be Used “As A ‘Bootstrap’ To Salvage [The] Time-Barred Claims–Declining to Apply Pinkerton Doctrine to Civil RICO Claims

Inherent Power — Circumstantial Evidence — Fact That Bad Faith May Be Shown by Establishing That Conduct Was So Egregious It Was Necessarily Committed in Bad Faith Does Not Mean That Bad Faith Must Be The Sole Explanation for The Bad Conduct

RICO Causation: Testing Labs’ Misstatements As to Alcohol Tests’ Efficacy Not Communicated to Plaintiffs’ Employers Did Not Cause Plaintiffs’ Professional Harm

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