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

Spoliation: Bad Faith Required for Adverse Inference Instruction Means Destruction for the Purpose of Hiding Adverse Evidence — Failure of Counsel to Communicate Court Preservation Order to Responsible Person, without More, Insufficient

United States v. Rodriguez-Sanchez, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 20428 (5th Cir. July 23, 2018): PER CURIAM:* Guillermo Rodrigue ...
United States v. Rodriguez-Sanchez, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 20428 (5th Cir. July 23, 2018): PER CURIAM:* Guillermo Rodriguez-Sanchez ("Rodriguez") appeals his jury conviction for knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully importing cocaine and heroin into the United States from Mexico…
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Spoliation: The Bad Faith Required for Adverse Inference Instruction = Destruction for the Purpose of Hiding Adverse Evidence — Failure of Counsel to Communicate Court Preservation Order to Responsible Person, without More, Insufficient

United States v. Rodriguez-Sanchez, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 20428 (5th Cir. July 23, 2018): PER CURIAM:* Guillermo Rodrigue ...
United States v. Rodriguez-Sanchez, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 20428 (5th Cir. July 23, 2018): PER CURIAM:* Guillermo Rodriguez-Sanchez ("Rodriguez") appeals his jury conviction for knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully importing cocaine and heroin into the United States from Mexico…
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RICO — Collection of Unlawful Debt — Factors: (1) Usurious Rate, (2) in Connection with Loan, (3) at Least Twice the Enforceable Rate — Do Added Fees Count in Computing Rate?

Kwon v. Santander Consumer United States, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 20473, 2018 WL 3546498 (2d Cir. July 24, 2018) (summary order): *1 UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ...
Kwon v. Santander Consumer United States, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 20473, 2018 WL 3546498 (2d Cir. July 24, 2018) (summary order): *1 UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court…
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Trials: Cross “Is Greatest Engine Invented for Discovery of Truth” — Ct. App. “Must Pay Deference to Trial Judge’s Feel of Case … [S/he] Sees Jurors Wince, Weep, Snicker…” (Good Quotes) — Must Impeachment Evid. Be Admissible?

Angeles v. Nieves, 2018 WL 3149551 (N.J. Super. App. Div. June 28, 2018) (unpublished): *1 After an auto accident, a jury found defendant Carmen I. Nieves liable and awarded plaintiff Christian Angeles a $3,000,000 judgment. Both parties appeal from a December 31, 2015 order. Defendant appeals the order’s denial of ...
Angeles v. Nieves, 2018 WL 3149551 (N.J. Super. App. Div. June 28, 2018) (unpublished): *1 After an auto accident, a jury found defendant Carmen I. Nieves liable and awarded plaintiff Christian Angeles a $3,000,000 judgment. Both parties appeal from a…
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Personal Jurisdiction: Out-of-State Litigation against State Domiciliary Insufficient to Establish Personal Jurisdiction against Lawyer Involved in the Out-of-State Litigation

John Crane, Inc. v. Shein Law Center, Ltd., 891 F.3d 692 (7th Cir. 2018): John Crane, Inc., as a manufacturer of products containing asbestos, has been sued many times for injuries caused by exposure to asbestos. Now it claims some of those suits were part of a conspiracy to defraud the company. It filed lawsuits in the Northe ...
John Crane, Inc. v. Shein Law Center, Ltd., 891 F.3d 692 (7th Cir. 2018): John Crane, Inc., as a manufacturer of products containing asbestos, has been sued many times for injuries caused by exposure to asbestos. Now it claims some …
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Rooker-Feldman Applies to Removed Cases, Circuit Split on Whether State Court Appeals Must Be Concluded (Here, No) — Law of the Case Dictates Same Result — Good Quote on Policy Underlying Law of the Case Doctrine

Gruppo Formstar LLC v. FM Forrest, Inc. (In re FM Forrest, Inc.), 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 2132 (S.D. Tex. July 18, 2018): I. Introduction The dispute at bar is governed by
Gruppo Formstar LLC v. FM Forrest, Inc. (In re FM Forrest, Inc.), 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 2132 (S.D. Tex. July 18, 2018): I. Introduction The dispute at bar is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) for which there…
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R. 11 Sanctions: No Right to Warning You Disobey Orders at Your Peril — May Infer Bad Faith from Frivolousness — “Legal Theory May Be Frivolous Even If We Never Said So Before” (Good Quote) — Inherent Power = Lesser Equivalent of Contempt

Huebner v. Midland Credit Mgmt., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 19954 (2d Cir. July 19, 2018):  Plaintiff-Appellant Levi Huebner ("Huebner") is an attorney who has litigated several cases under the Fair Debt ...
Huebner v. Midland Credit Mgmt., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 19954 (2d Cir. July 19, 2018):  Plaintiff-Appellant Levi Huebner ("Huebner") is an attorney who has litigated several cases under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1692, …
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Rule 41(b) Dismissal — Refusal to Respond to Court’s Ultimatum Either to Amend Complaint or Stand by Complaint = Failure to Prosecute, Is Properly Met with Dismissal

Simmonds v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 17230 (9th Cir. June 25, 2018) (unpublished): Amany Simmonds appeals from the district court's order dismissing for failure to pros ...
Simmonds v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 17230 (9th Cir. June 25, 2018) (unpublished): Amany Simmonds appeals from the district court's order dismissing for failure to prosecute her diversity action arising from foreclosure proceedings. We have…
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R. 16(f) / 37(b)(2)(C) Sanctions — Default Requires Willful Misconduct But Not Wrongful Intent — Aggravating Factors Must Outweigh Desire for Merits-Based Decns — Factors (10th Cir.) — Failing to Hire Counsel & Refusing to Appear Pro Se Is Enough

Derma Pen, LLC v. 4EverYoung Limited, 2018 WL 2684216 (10th Cir. June 5, 2018): *1 This case began as a dispute over trademark infringement and counterclaims for breach of contract. The district court detailed much of the procedural history below.1
Derma Pen, LLC v. 4EverYoung Limited, 2018 WL 2684216 (10th Cir. June 5, 2018): *1 This case began as a dispute over trademark infringement and counterclaims for breach of contract. The district court detailed much of the procedural history below.…
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Sanctions/Spoliation — Failure to File Transcript of Sanctions Hearing Precludes Appellate Review of District Court Ruling

Critchfield v. Blazin Wings, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 19454 (10th Cir. July 16, 2018) (unpublished): ORDER AND JUDGMENT*
Critchfield v. Blazin Wings, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 19454 (10th Cir. July 16, 2018) (unpublished): ORDER AND JUDGMENT* I. INTRODUCTION Roland Critchfield slipped and fell on the wet, soapy bathroom floor of a Buffalo Wild Wings Bar &…
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Recent Posts

Electronic Spoliation/Rule 37(e): (1) Finding of Recklessness But Neither Gross Negligence Nor Willfulness in Loss of Video Evidence Precludes Rule 37(e)(2)’s Severest Sanctions Because (i) No Intent to Deprive and (ii) Rule 37(e)(2) Displaces District Court’s Power to Invoke Inherent Power to Impose Those Sanctions — (2) Appellate Review = Abuse of Discretion, With The Caveat That Whether The District Court Applied The Correct Legal Standards Is Reviewed De Novo — (3) Inherent Power Is Often Available As An Alternate Source of Sanctioning Power But Can Be Limited by Rule or Statute, Something Which Courts Do Not Lightly Presume — (4) The Text of Rule 37(e)(2), As Confirmed by the Advisory Committee Note, Displaces Inherent Power to Impose the Sanctions Specified in the Rule or Any More Severe Sanctions — (5) “Intent to Deprive” in Rule 37(e)(2) = “The Willful Destruction Of Evidence With The Purpose Of Avoiding Its Discovery By An Adverse Party” — (6) Appellate Standing Conferred by Virtue of Issuance of Sanctions Regardless of Merits Outcome — (7) Value of Advisory Committee Notes in Interpreting Rules Enacted without Change Despite General Reticence to Rely on Legislative History

RICO: (1) Plaintiff Need Not Suffer Injury from Each Predicate Act to Establish Standing, And The Pattern May Include Predicates As to Which No Plaintiff Has Standing — (2) 7 Elements of a Civil RICO Claim (2d Circuit Articulation) Which Must Be Established As to Each Defendant — (3) Requirements of an Association-in-Fact Enterprise — (4) Each Defendant Must Personally Commit 2 or More Predicate Acts — (5) Pattern of Racketeering Activity: Horizontal and Vertical Elements — (6) No Requirement That All Members of a RICO Enterprise Joined at Inception — Can Join Over Time/Others Can Quit — (7) Cannot Charge 2 Predicate Acts Where One Action Violates Two Statutes — (8) A Footnote to Consider for Briefs: “Unless Otherwise Noted, When Quoting Judicial Decisions This Order Accepts All Alterations And Omits All Citations, Footnotes, And Internal Quotation Marks.”

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

Rule 37(b)(2)(A) Sanctions for Altering Expert’s 26(a)(2)(B) Report — Without the Expert’s Knowledge or Approval — by Converting It from PDF to Word, Changing Headings and Other Formatting, and Omitting a Page of Relevant Text and Appendices, Even Though Expert Testified That The Overall Substance of the Report Was Unchanged — Rule 37(b)(2)(A) Sanctions May Be Reversed If Failure to Comply with Discovery Order Was Due to Misunderstanding or Inability to Comply

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

Inherent Power and § 1927 Sanctions: Removal of counsel from case, referral for disciplinary action, and award of fees and costs for assaulting opposing counsel at deposition — Failure to request hearing waive any right to a hearing — Notice and opportunity to be heard required before sua sponte sanctions imposed, whether under Rule 11, the inherent power of the court or § 1927 — Notice may come from court or opposing counsel — Order imposing sanctions cannot provide notice of sanctions — Nature of bad faith requirement for inherent power sanctions: bad faith to obstruct the judicial process or bring about violation of a court order — Sanctions proceeding need not defer (Younger abstention) to disciplinary proceeding involving the same conduct — Sanctions proceeding doesn’t threaten to interfere with disciplinary proceeding — Why District Court is accorded significant deference in matters concerning attorney’s fees

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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.

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