Complex Lit Blog

Expert Opinion Relying on Propensity Evidence Unreliable: Undisputed That Biomechanical Engineers Do Not Rely on Such Evidence in Forming Professional Conclusions

Sandifer v. Hoyt Archery, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 29973 (5th Cir. Oct. 24, 2018): This appeal arises from a most unfortunate, unintended, and unwitnessed death. Dr. Alan Sand ...

Sandifer v. Hoyt Archery, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 29973 (5th Cir. Oct. 24, 2018): This appeal arises from a most unfortunate, unintended, and unwitnessed death. Dr. Alan Sandifer was pierced in the head by the cable guard of …

An Expert Who Supplies Nothing But A Bottom Line Supplies Nothing of Value to the Judicial Process (Good Quote) — Absent Reasoning, Expert Testimony Properly Excluded

Milligan v. Rock on the River, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 27557, 2018 WL 4664122 (7th Cir. Sept. 27, 2018): Order While attending the "Rock on the River&quo ...

Milligan v. Rock on the River, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 27557, 2018 WL 4664122 (7th Cir. Sept. 27, 2018): Order While attending the "Rock on the River" music festival just outside Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 2013, Joshua…

Sanctions — Due Process Reviewed De Novo — Verbal Warning One Month Before Sanctions Ordered Gave Target Sufficient Opportunity to File a Brief, Be Heard

Pooshs v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 2018 WL 6015923 (9th Cir. Nov. 16, 2018): MEMORANDUM* Plaintiff Nikki Pooshs’s counsel, Appellant Gilbert L. Purcell appeals from the district judge’s March 7, 2016 Order Imposing Sanctions on Plaintiff’s Counsel for Misconduct During Trial (“Sanctions Order”). The sole i ...

RICO Extraterritoriality: Injury to Tangible Property Is Felt Where Property Is — Factors for Setting Locus of Intangible Injury — Injury to Judgment Is Intangible, Felt Where Plaintiff Is — Can’t Incorporate D. Ct. Brief on Appeal: Violates Word

Cevdet Aksut Ve Ogullari Koll.Sti v. Cavusoglu, 2018 WL 6016549 (3d Cir. Nov. 16, 2018) (unpublished): *1 Plaintiff Cevdet Aksut Ve Ogullari Koll.Sti (“Cevdet”) appeals: (1) the District Court’s orders (a) dismissing its Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) claims and (b) granting Defendants’ motions ...

Sanctions — No FRAP 38 Sanctions Where Law/Facts Complex, But § 1927 Awarded against Prevailing Attorney for Misrepresentations Not Accompanied by Overt Signs of Bad Faith But Nonetheless Amounting to A Misleadingly Selective Reading of the Record

Mys v. Mich. Dep't of State Police, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 14311, 2018 WL 2448093 (6th Cir. May 31, 2018): In an opinion filed on March 28, 2018, we affirmed a jury's award of $350,000 in favor of ...

Mys v. Mich. Dep't of State Police, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 14311, 2018 WL 2448093 (6th Cir. May 31, 2018): In an opinion filed on March 28, 2018, we affirmed a jury's award of $350,000 in favor of Linda…

RICO: “Allegations of Frivolous, Fraudulent or Baseless Litigation Activities — Without More — Cannot Constitute a Predicate Act” (Good Quote)

Weaver v. Boriskin, 2018 WL 4829968 (2d Cir. Oct. 4, 2018) (unpublished): Appellant Everette Weaver, pro se, sued CitiMortgage, Inc. and others for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), and state la ...

Weaver v. Boriskin, 2018 WL 4829968 (2d Cir. Oct. 4, 2018) (unpublished): Appellant Everette Weaver, pro se, sued CitiMortgage, Inc. and others for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO…

§ 1927 Sanctions — Maintaining a Clearly Time-Barred Lawsuit Warrants Sanctions from Time Opponent Called Offender’s Attention to The Time Bar — Magistrate Judges: 1927, Like Rule 11, Sanctions Are Dispositive (Cf. 54(d))

Carter v. Hickory Healthcare, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 27589, 2018 WL 4627022 (6th Cir Sept. 27, 2018): [**1] After Hickory Healthcare fired Styla Carter f ...

Carter v. Hickory Healthcare, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 27589, 2018 WL 4627022 (6th Cir Sept. 27, 2018): [**1] After Hickory Healthcare fired Styla Carter from her job as a nursing assistant, she sued the company for discrimination. The district…

SLUSA: Must Misrepresentation Be an Element of the State Law Claim to Trigger SLUSA? — Multi-Way Circuit Split (See Dissenting Opinion)

Northstar Fin. Advisors v. Schwab Invs., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 26095 (9th Cir. Sept. 14, 2018): In this appeal, we consider whether the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (" ...

Northstar Fin. Advisors v. Schwab Invs., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 26095 (9th Cir. Sept. 14, 2018): In this appeal, we consider whether the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act ("SLUSA") precludes class claims brought under state law by Northstar Financial…

Experts: “Daubert Is Meant to Protect Juries” — In Bench Trial, “Gatekeeper Is Keeping Gate Only for Himself” (Good Quotes) — No Need for Pretrial Hearing, Can Exclude Post-Trial — Fingerprint Analysis Generally Accepted

United States v. Flores, 901 F.3d 1150 (9th Cir. Aug. 28, 2018): Edwin Flores, a native and citizen of Mexico, appeals his conviction for attempting to reenter the United States after b ...

United States v. Flores, 901 F.3d 1150 (9th Cir. Aug. 28, 2018): Edwin Flores, a native and citizen of Mexico, appeals his conviction for attempting to reenter the United States after being deported in violation of 8 U.S.C. §…

Absent Amendment, Allegation in Complaint = Binding Judicial Admission and Cannot Be Controverted on Appeal

Haynes v. Ind. Univ., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 25022 (7th Cir. Sept. 4, 2018): Ray Haynes was employed as an assistant professor in the Department of Education at Indiana University. At the ...

Haynes v. Ind. Univ., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 25022 (7th Cir. Sept. 4, 2018): Ray Haynes was employed as an assistant professor in the Department of Education at Indiana University. At the end of his six-year probationary contract, he…

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Expert Opinion Relying on Propensity Evidence Unreliable: Undisputed That Biomechanical Engineers Do Not Rely on Such Evidence in Forming Professional Conclusions

An Expert Who Supplies Nothing But A Bottom Line Supplies Nothing of Value to the Judicial Process (Good Quote) — Absent Reasoning, Expert Testimony Properly Excluded

Sanctions — Due Process Reviewed De Novo — Verbal Warning One Month Before Sanctions Ordered Gave Target Sufficient Opportunity to File a Brief, Be Heard

RICO Extraterritoriality: Injury to Tangible Property Is Felt Where Property Is — Factors for Setting Locus of Intangible Injury — Injury to Judgment Is Intangible, Felt Where Plaintiff Is — Can’t Incorporate D. Ct. Brief on Appeal: Violates Word

Sanctions — No FRAP 38 Sanctions Where Law/Facts Complex, But § 1927 Awarded against Prevailing Attorney for Misrepresentations Not Accompanied by Overt Signs of Bad Faith But Nonetheless Amounting to A Misleadingly Selective Reading of the Record

RICO: “Allegations of Frivolous, Fraudulent or Baseless Litigation Activities — Without More — Cannot Constitute a Predicate Act” (Good Quote)

§ 1927 Sanctions — Maintaining a Clearly Time-Barred Lawsuit Warrants Sanctions from Time Opponent Called Offender’s Attention to The Time Bar — Magistrate Judges: 1927, Like Rule 11, Sanctions Are Dispositive (Cf. 54(d))

SLUSA: Must Misrepresentation Be an Element of the State Law Claim to Trigger SLUSA? — Multi-Way Circuit Split (See Dissenting Opinion)

Experts: “Daubert Is Meant to Protect Juries” — In Bench Trial, “Gatekeeper Is Keeping Gate Only for Himself” (Good Quotes) — No Need for Pretrial Hearing, Can Exclude Post-Trial — Fingerprint Analysis Generally Accepted

Absent Amendment, Allegation in Complaint = Binding Judicial Admission and Cannot Be Controverted on Appeal

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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