I'm Back! (The Situation, Not So Much).

Hi kids, did June even happen?

It feels like a Dallas/Newhart fever dream, what with Guest Blogger, Godwhacker, someone named Faker SFL, someone named "Patrick Goggins" (I'm kidding!), lots of prurient content (if you're grumpy gus Scalia) -- plus a certified Time Traveler.

I wish I could say I'm fully rested and restored, but I spent a month in sybaritic pursuit of frivolous, purely hedonistic pleasures, pushing myself to and beyond all known mental and physical limits, until I literally collapsed from exhaustion, unable to imbibe through my senses or pores even one more delectable morsel of transitory joy from my decadent surroundings, leaving me drained and emptied of all energy and life force, quaking quietly and gasping for breath as I pulled myself together and somehow crawled with trembling hands and unsteady feet back into my law office.

And summer's just kicking in!

Let's start the week off with a thorough, devastating legal defeat for our good friend The Situation, courtesy of the always dapper Magistrate Judge O'Sullivan:

The undersigned finds that the plaintiffs have failed to present a triable issue of fact as to whether the defendants’ “The Fitchuation” t-shirt was likely to confuse consumers into believing that the shirt came from the plaintiff rather than A&F. Additionally, the plaintiffs did not satisfy their burden of showing that they had valid rights to “The Situation” as a trademark covering apparel at the time that A&F introduced its “The Fitchuation” t-shirt.

See, this is important legal stuff!

My informed legal opinion:  Once the Houlinator™ entered an appearance, put a stick in it, The Situation was done.

But that's why God gave us appellate courts, right?

"The Situation" vs. A&F -- Trial in August!

Incredibly, The Situation's case against Abercrombie and Fitch rolls on, with the parties having consented to trial in August before Magistrate Judge O'Sullivan.

The defendant has brought on Gerry Houlihan as counsel, and there is a sj motion pending, but it's hard to believe the parties have not been able to resolve this one already.

(A whole bunch of documents filed in the case remain under seal, but this may change after the Magistrate Judge asked the parties to address that issue.)

Speaking of Lewis Tein...

Does anyone know what the record is for Magistrate Judge recusals in a single case?

We have to be getting close.

So far Judges Turnoff, Torres, Simonton, and O'Sullivan have all recused.

Will Judge McAliley keep it?

(No civil opinions so no 3d DCA Watch today).

Twombly/Iqbal Applies to Affirmative Defenses!

What's good for the goose and fool the gander once and all that, says Magistrate Judge O'Sullivan:

An affirmative defense may be stricken if it fails to satisfy the pleading requirements of Rule 8 and Twombly. See Twombly at 1362. The defendant has failed to satisfy the pleading requirements of Rule 8 and Twombly in this matter because the defenses merely states conclusions. Accordingly, the plaintiffs’ motion is granted....

BTW, the Notice Pleading Restoration Act appears dead in the water.

Suge Knight Late To Own Deposition, Gets Sanctioned!

I can only imagine what it must be like for Marc Brumer to represent Suge Knight.

Suge's a busy man -- for instance he was just arrested again.

All that drama takes time!

Perhaps that's why he was 3.25 hours late for his own deposition:

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the plaintiff shall reimburse the defendants $1300.00 in attorneys fees and costs associated with the plaintiff arriving 3.25 hours late for his deposition. “Rule 37(b)(2) provides a range of sanctions that a district court may impose upon parties and their attorneys for failure to comply with the court’s discovery orders.” Stuart I. Levin & Associates v. Ronald Rogers, 156 F.3d 1135, 1140 (11th Cir. 1998). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(b)(2) provides in part that: “the Court should require the party failing to obey . . . to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, caused by the failure, unless the Court finds that the failure was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.”

The plaintiff has failed to show substantial justification for failing to attend his deposition at the required time in April 2010. The undersigned awards the defendants 3.25 hours at a rate of $165.00 per hour for the time spent by attorney Adam Josephs, 3.25 hours at a rate of $200.00 per hour for the time spent by attorney Jay Green, and 3.00 hours at a rate of $40.00 per hour for the videographer, for a total award of $1300.001.

If I were Magistrate Judge O'Sullivan, I would have given Marc a few hundred too, just for having to sit there in excruciating agony while he's waiting for his client to show.

Suge Knight To Be Deposed in Kanye Suit

sugeknightkanyeorder

I guess the tale of woe worked -- Magistrate Judge O'Sullivan has ordered Suge Knight to sit for deposition sometime before April 26, and pretty much granted all of the defendants' related discovery requests, including access to all of Suge Knight's financial records.

A forensic accountant's dream, or nightmare?