Law Commons^™

The Unseen Track Of Erie Railroad: Why History And Jurisprudence Suggest A More Straightforward Form Of Erie Analysis, Donald L. Doernberg

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article proceeds in four parts. Part I discusses federal law as a new category of law after ratification of the Constitution and what that connotes for the time before federal law existed. Part II examines the shift from the natural law perspective, which had dominated jurisprudence into the late nineteenth century, to legal positivism. It was that change more than anything else that doomed the doctrine of Swift v. Tyson, which controlled vertical choice-of-law questions in the federal courts for ninety-six years until the Erie Court declared it unconstitutional. Part III canvasses the development of the Erie doctrine in …

Tax Practice In A Circular Revolution: A Review Of Pli's Circular 230 Deskbook, Bridget J. Crawford

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This short review essay evaluates the Practicing Law Institute's Circular 230 Deskbook by Jonathan G. Blattmachr, Mitchell M. Gans and Damien Rios. For attorneys, accountants and others who "practice" before the IRS, the Circular 230 Deskbook is a masterful analysis and an important guide to the Internal Revenue Service's labyrinthine rules and regulations governing tax penalties, reportable transactions and the conduct of tax practitioners.

Most tax attorneys and accountants have reacted to the recent changes to Circular 230 by appending banner notices to all written communications. Without fully understanding the underlying rules, however, a practitioner cannot be sure that a …

Second Circuit 2005 Res Judicata Developments, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

During the 2005 survey year, federal courts in the Second Circuit decided a number of important res judicata matters. Several district courts applied the doctrines of claim preclusion and issue preclusion to administrative and arbitral determinations. Several courts also expanded the “actually litigated” requirement for collateral estoppel and liberally applied the doctrine of defensive claim preclusion for counterclaims. Finally, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued seven res judicata decisions. In one, Vargas v. City of New York, the Second Circuit refined the standards for applying the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. This survey article will review some of …

Offensive Issue Preclusion In The Criminal Context: Two Steps Foward, One Step Back, Michelle S. Simon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article addresses whether the expansion of the doctrine of issue preclusion in the federal criminal area should mirror the expansion of the doctrine in the federal civil area. The article examines the general requirements of issue preclusion and the evolution of issue preclusion in both the civil and criminal context. Next, this article examines the current status of offensive and defensive issue preclusion when the first suit is civil and the second suit is criminal, the first suit is criminal and the second suit is civil, and where both the first and second action is criminal. The article then …

Is Citizen Suit Notice Jurisdictional And Why Does It Matter?, Karl S. Coplan

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The question of whether notice is jurisdictional or not has important ramifications for citizen suit litigation. The characterization of the notice requirement as “jurisdictional” implicates the proper procedure for raising notice objections, the means of curing notice defects, the question of waiver of notice objections, and the timing of raising notice objections. This article will conduct a brief review of the case law concerning the jurisdictional nature (or not) of the notice requirement, a consideration of the as-yet unnoticed impact of Steel Co. on the issue, and a discussion of the procedural and litigation ramifications of characterizing the notice element …

Second Circuit 2000-2001 Personal Jurisdiction Developments, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Survey Article will review some of the district and circuit courts' significant decisions, and comment on future trends for application of the law of personal jurisdiction in the Second Circuit. The Article concludes with a recommendation that district court judges should not grant or deny personal jurisdiction defenses until at least limited jurisdictional discovery has been granted and is completed.

Second Circuit 1999-2000 Res Judicata Developments, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

During the 1999-2000 survey year the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has issued at least twenty-five res judicata decisions expanding the doctrines of claim preclusion and issue preclusion. The court liberally applied claim preclusion but infrequently applied the more expansive doctrine of issue preclusion. Also, the Second Circuit released over fifty unpublished decisions that affect the rights of pro se litigants appearing before the court. These decisions demonstrate the court's immense respect for the doctrine of res judicata. Similarly, the decisions illustrate the extent to which the court relies on the doctrine to achieve finality, to …

Refracting The Spectrum Of Clean Water Act Standing In Light Of Lujan V. Defenders Of Wildlife, Karl S. Coplan

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

First, this article will review the impetus and purposes for the Clean Water Act of 1972, including its citizen suit provision, particularly as these purposes relate to the elimination of specific harm or causation requirements in enforcement actions under its provisions. Second, this article will briefly review the basic elements of Article III standing requirements as enunciated by the Supreme Court, and the development of Supreme Court standing doctrine in environmental cases leading up to and including the Defenders of Wildlife decision. Then the article will survey the various approaches courts have taken in applying Article III standing doctrine to …

What's Wrong With This Picture?: Rule Interpleader, The Anti-Injunction Act, In Personam Jurisdiction, And M.C. Escher, Donald L. Doernberg

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The effectiveness of interpleader depends upon the availability of injunctions against other proceedings. There is no congressional authorization of such injunctions for rule interpleader cases. If interpleader were an in rem action, one of the other exceptions to the Anti-Injunction Act might save the day, but the Supreme Court has apparently foreclosed that option. This article examines that three-sided conflict. Part II discusses the problem in greater depth, focusing first on how interpleader functions and why it depends on being “the only game in town.” Part II next addresses the background and interpretation of the Anti-Injunction Act, exploring particularly the …

A Little Known History Of Truth, Steven H. Goldberg

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This was written in response to a call from the W.M. Keck Foundation for essays on the topic: To what extent should the ethical responsibilities of a lawyer in civil litigation include the obligation to assist the judge or jury in arriving at the truth? I am grateful to the W.M. Keck Foundation for pressing the important dialogue about how our legal system and those who work in it ought to serve our society and for forcing me to think again about why we lawyers are who we are. It took me almost thirty years of trying cases, deaning, and …

Civil Practice, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

During the 1992 Survey year, “new” legislation was enacted which fundamentally changes the procedure for commencement of some lawsuits. Effective December 31, 1992, all civil actions in supreme and county courts must be commenced by filing a summons and complaint or summons with notice. Several important amendments to the Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) were enacted and effective January 1, 1993, new IAS and escrow check bouncing rules became effective. Additionally, there have been significant developments in the decisional law of statute of limitations, discovery, sanctions, and the legal profession. These and other areas should be of interest to …

Civil Practice, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

During the Survey year seventeen articles of the CPLR were amended and three new articles were added. Also, effective December 1, 1991, Congress has approved important amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Civil Justice Expenses and Delay Reduction Plans were adopted by the Board of Judges of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Additionally, there have been significant developments in the decisional law of discovery, statute of limitations, sanctions, and res judicata. These and other areas should be of interest to the practitioner.

New York Civil Practice, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

During the Survey year, the New York Court of Appeals issued important opinions with respect to strict compliance for service of process, the foreign object exception under CPLR 214-a, and disclosure against corporate employees. The Court also imposed sanctions for the first time under Part 130 of the Uniform Rules, and ruled that issue preclusion could be given to a criminal conviction to preclude subsequent civil litigation. In addition the Court recognized that substituted service could be used against a criminal contemnor. New York appellate courts issued instructive decisions regarding long-arm jurisdiction, forum non conveniens, and discovery of surveillance videos. …

Civil Practice, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

During the Survey year the New York Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of the state toxic tort revivor statute and adopted the market share theory in DES cases. The court also gave the bar a Christmas present in Tewari v. Tsoutsouros3 and clarified important discovery issues .Two appellate courts held that the AIDS virus falls within New York Civil Practice Law and Rules ("CPLR") 214-c and issued important decisions in notice of claims cases.6Also, several trial courts actively applied new sanctions rules. Perhaps the most important developments during the Survey year were the bench and bar proposals relating to …

Juridical Chameleons In The "New Erie" Canal, Donald L. Doernberg

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The New Erie doctrine, however, has become a doctrine of convenience, inconsistently applied by conservative and liberal Justices alike. It is the antithesis of a “neutral principle” of constitutional adjudication. To use Justice Jackson's term, the federal laws are not the “juridical chameleons”--the Justices are. Part II of this Article discusses the old and the New Erie doctrines as articulated by the United States Supreme Court. Part III demonstrates the difficulty of limiting the New Erie doctrine to the single area of implied rights of action and shows how the broad brush with which the doctrine's proponents paint necessarily touches …

The New Quasi In Rem Jurisdiction: New York's Revival Of A Doctrine Whose Time Has Passed, Michael B. Mushlin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article closely examines the rationale offered for the new quasi in rem jurisdiction, and concludes that it cannot withstand careful analysis. Courts have explained that the new theory of quasi in rem jurisdiction is necessary to fill gaps in the state's long arm statute. However, gaps in a long arm statute can be filled by legislative amendments which can provide in personam jurisdiction up to the full extent permitted by due process. In fact, long arm statutes have steadily expanded over the last decade to take up the slack left by Shaffer. In personam jurisdiction under a long arm …

"You Can Lead A Horse To Water . . .": The Supreme Court's Refusal To Allow The Exercise Of Original Jurisdiction Conferred By Congress, Donald L. Doernberg

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article will address primarily the lack of textual and historical support for the Court's narrow construction of jurisdictional provisions that cause it to deny the existence of jurisdiction. In addition, the Article will briefly describe the lack of historical support for the Court's independent development of the abstention doctrines and their consequent illegitimacy. Both areas share democratic theory and institutional legitimacy concerns that Professor Redish will address, but let me respectfully suggest that these issues are best understood in light of the congressional thought underlying the Title 28 authorizations.

History Comes Calling: Dean Griswold Offers New Evidence About The Jurisdictional Debate Surrounding The Enactment Of The Declaratory Judgment Act, Donald L. Doernberg, Michael B. Mushlin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In a recent article, we proposed that the Declaratory Judgment Act of 1934 was intended, contrary to the Supreme Court's long-standing interpretation, to enlarge the subject matter jurisdiction of the federal courts. When Congress considered the Act, jurisdictional concerns centered around whether declaratory judgments would violate the case-or-controversy clause, not whether introduction of the device would expand the federal question jurisdiction Congress already had authorized. There is, indeed, substantial evidence that Congress intended to expand federal question jurisdiction to include at least two, and possibly three, case models; there is virtually no evidence supporting the contrary position taken by the …

Civil Practice, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

During the 1988 Survey year, new sanction rules, effective January 1, 1989, were approved by the Court of Appeals, several Uniform Rules were amended: and existing rules applied by our courts. New legislation was also passed relating to a comprehensive Interest On Lawyers Account (IOLA). The Court of Appeals abolished the fiduciary shield doctrine: limited the reach of our long-arm statute (CPLR 302(a)(1)) in defamation actions: and ruled that motions to dismiss cannot be converted into summary judgments without notice to all parties. The Court of Appeals also refined the doctrine of issue preclusion, which has recently been expanded, and …

Civil Practice, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

While 1986 was a watershed year for the CPLR practitioner, 1987 passed with what one prominent commentator has referred "a yawn." Nonetheless, there were several important amendments to the CPLR in 1987 and our courts produced more than a few ''drab” opinions worthy of discussion. Furthermore, the bar and bench should rejoice because this year's Survey marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the CPLR and the fiftieth anniversary of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It is also the sixty-fifth year since a commentator first reviewed significant developments in New York civil practice.

Simplified Procedure For Court Determination Of Disputes Under New York's Civil Practice Law And Rules, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Although the SPCDD is not often utilized, its potential for alleviating crowded court dockets merits a critical review. Part I of this Article discusses the history of the SPCDD and describes its provisions. Part II compares the SPCDD with alternative methods of dispute resolution in New York and Part III offers suggestions as to why lawyers are reluctant to take advantage of the simplified procedure. Part IV evaluates the ways in which the SPCDD is particularly compatible with the IAS and suggests methods for the SPCDD's full implementation.

Nonparty Document Discovery From Corporations And Governmental Entities Under The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article will analyze the various approaches courts follow when deciding if a nonparty can be compelled to produce documents located outside the judicial district where a rule 45 subpoena duces tecum is issued. Part I will review the procedure for nonparty document discovery and discuss the decisional law applying the enforcement provisions of rule 45. Part II will analyze the jurisdictional principles used by federal district courts to determine when documents under the control of nonparties, and not located within the territorial limits of the court, should be produced for discovery purposes. Part III will recommend the appropriate approach …

Civil Practice, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

During the Survey year, legislation was enacted relating to twenty-seven of the sixty-five articles of the CPLR. Additionally, there have been significant developments in the decisional law of res judicata. These and other areas should be of interest to the practitioner.

There's No Reason For It; It's Just Our Policy: The Well-Pleaded Complaint Rule Sabotages The Purposes Of Federal Question Jurisdiction, Donald L. Doernberg

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article is presented in three parts. Section I traces the statutory and case development of federal question jurisdiction, both under the constitutional and statutory “arising under”' language. Section II demonstrates the problems that the Mottley rule has caused in building a rational system of federal question jurisdiction, particularly in cases seeking declaratory judgments. Section III contends that the Mottley rule is irrational because it is a mechanical rule that ignores important policy considerations underlying the existence of federal question jurisdiction. Section III goes on to suggest that federal question jurisdiction should depend upon the centrality of the federal issue …

Civil Practice: Comparative Negligence, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Recent decisional law by the Court of Appeals has placed new limits on the applicability of article 14-A to some assumption of risk cases, to matters involving some labor law violations, and to violations of legal prohibitions. These limitations are important to the practitioner representing clients who seek to benefit from New York's comparative negligence statute.

Getting A Full Bite Of The Apple: When Should The Doctrine Of Issue Preclusion Make An Administrative Or Arbitral Determination Binding In A Court Of Law?, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In recent years, alternative means of dispute resolution have become important resources. Therefore, the question of when the determination of issues at administrative hearings and arbitrations should be granted preclusive effect in subsequent judicial litigations requires critical evaluation. Part I of this Article focuses on the general evolution of issue preclusion in New York. Part II discusses recent New York case law giving preclusive effect to administrative and arbitral issue determinations in subsequent state court proceedings. Part III analyzes the policy reasons for applying issue preclusion to administrative and arbitral issue determinations in such proceedings. Part IV concludes that the …

"We The People": John Locke, Collective Constitutional Rights, And Standing To Challenge Government Action, Donald L. Doernberg

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The Article is presented in three Parts. Part I documents the enormous effect that Locke's political philosophy had on the Constitution's Framers and traces the idea of collective rights through Locke's Second Treatise, showing how Locke viewed government as a trustee and society as the settlor-beneficiary that forms and gives legitimacy to the government. Part II reviews the development of the current doctrine of standing and demonstrates how the current standing model creates a class of cases where government may, with impunity, violate the Constitution. Part III demonstrates the anomaly of the Supreme Court's current doctrine in a society founded …