Category Archives: Uncategorized

Third Circuit Sanctions Lawyer for Bad Cut-and-Paste Job

In Conboy v. United States Small Business Admin., No. 20-1726 (3d Cir. Mar. 19, 2021), the Third Circuit issues a Fed. R. App. P. 38 sanction against a lawyer whose appellate brief “was essentially a copy of the one he filed in the District Court.” To underscore the point, the panel attaches a red-lined copyContinue reading “Third Circuit Sanctions Lawyer for Bad Cut-and-Paste Job”

Plaintiff That Let Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) Procedural Error Slip Forfeits Subject-Matter Jurisdiction Under Doctrine of Party Presentation, Holds Eleventh Circuit

In PDVSA US Litig. Trust v. Lukoil Pan Americas, LLC,.No. 19-10950 (11th Cir. Oct. 18, 2021), the plaintiff-appellant failed to raise its best argument on appeal – that the district court decided the central legal issue on the merits on a Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss – and thus loses under theContinue reading “Plaintiff That Let Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) Procedural Error Slip Forfeits Subject-Matter Jurisdiction Under Doctrine of Party Presentation, Holds Eleventh Circuit”

Third Circuit Holds That It Need Not Consider Plaintiff’s Standing to Hear Defendant’s Interlocutory Appeal of Arbitration Ruling

In O’Hanlon v. Uber Technologies Inc., No. 19-3891 (3d Cir. Mar. 17, 2021), the panel rejects defendant-appellee Uber’s argument that the Court of Appeals must take up a standing issue along with its interlocutory review of an arbitration decision. “We established in Griswold v. Coventry First LLC that, on interlocutory appeal from the denial ofContinue reading “Third Circuit Holds That It Need Not Consider Plaintiff’s Standing to Hear Defendant’s Interlocutory Appeal of Arbitration Ruling”

Second Circuit Reminds Courts That They Have Inherent Authority to Sanction Litigant for a Single Misrepresentation, Even If the Court Was Not Misled

In Int’l Techs. Mktg., Inc. v. Verint Sys., Ltd., No. 19-1031 (2d Cir. Mar. 16, 2021), the Second Circuit vacates and remands an order denying sanctions, reiterating that “a court need not wait until it is defrauded before it may impose monetary sanctions on a party who knowingly prosecutes a frivolous claim in bad faith.”Continue reading “Second Circuit Reminds Courts That They Have Inherent Authority to Sanction Litigant for a Single Misrepresentation, Even If the Court Was Not Misled”

Class Representative Who Won at Trial Can Still Appeal Class Decertification, Holds Second Circuit

In Jin v. Shanghai Original, Inc., No. 19-3782 (2d Cir. Mar. 9, 2021), the Second Circuit holds that although a prevailing party ordinarily does not have standing to appeal, a plaintiff who was also a class representative may nevertheless appeal the decertification of the class. Plaintiff Jin successfully moved to certify a Fed. R. Civ.Continue reading “Class Representative Who Won at Trial Can Still Appeal Class Decertification, Holds Second Circuit”

Fifth Circuit Cautions Courts and Litigants About Overbroad Sealing of District Court Files

In Le v. Exeter Finan. Corp., No. 20-10377 (5th Cir. Mar. 5, 2021), in the course of reviewing summary judgment in a contract case, the Fifth Circuit notes that the “three-quarters of [the record] is troublingly sealed from the public” and condemns the “entrenched litigation practice[]” of “stipulated sealings.” “In this case, the district courtContinue reading “Fifth Circuit Cautions Courts and Litigants About Overbroad Sealing of District Court Files”

Foreclosure Case Crumbles Because Bank Expressly Declined Consent to Proceed Before Magistrate Judge, Holds Fifth Circuit

In PNC Bank, NA v. Ruiz, No. 20-50255 (5th Cir. Mar. 2, 2021), the Fifth Circuit vacates a summary judgment because there was no record that the bank ever consented to the case proceeding before a U.S. magistrate judge. Plaintiff “Ruiz and her husband … obtained a home equity loan (‘the loan’) from National CityContinue reading “Foreclosure Case Crumbles Because Bank Expressly Declined Consent to Proceed Before Magistrate Judge, Holds Fifth Circuit”

First Circuit Holds That District Court Erred in Striking Summary Judgment Exhibits on Authentication Grounds

In Joseph v. Lincare, Inc., No. 20-1396 (1st Cir. Mar. 2, 2021), the panel vacates summary judgment in a race discrimination employment case. It holds that the district court erroneously excluded important exhibits filed by the plaintiff, produced by the defendants in discovery, on spurious authentication grounds. During Joseph’s brief tenure as a sales representativeContinue reading “First Circuit Holds That District Court Erred in Striking Summary Judgment Exhibits on Authentication Grounds”

Fifth Circuit Wrestles with Diversity and a Quirk in Appellate Jurisdiction in Review of a Burford Abstention Decision

In Grace Ranch, LLC v. BP American Prod. Co., No. 20-30224 (5th Cir. Feb. 26, 2021), the Fifth Circuit – in a case of first impression for that court – decides that, notwithstanding 28 U.S.C. § 1447(d), it has appellate jurisdiction to review a Burford abstention remand to state court. It also dismisses the stateContinue reading “Fifth Circuit Wrestles with Diversity and a Quirk in Appellate Jurisdiction in Review of a Burford Abstention Decision”

Fifth Circuit Affirms Seating of Juror Opposed to Gambling in Criminal Trial Involving Gambling

In United States v. Dejean, No. 19-30865 (5th Cir. Feb. 23, 2021), the Fifth Circuit upholds a mail fraud and false-statement conviction over a challenge to Juror 31, who admitted that the defendant’s gambling might possibly “affect the way [he] judge[s] somebody who … is an avid gambler?” “A jury convicted Patrick Hale Dejean ofContinue reading “Fifth Circuit Affirms Seating of Juror Opposed to Gambling in Criminal Trial Involving Gambling”