In Stroud Prods. & Ents. Inc. v. Castle Rock Ent. Inc, --- Fed.Appx. --- 2016 WL 6211984 (9th Cir. 2016) the Ninth Circuit invokes the "subsequent events doctrine" - that is that subsequent events can validate a prematurely-filed appeal.
The wife of Nina Simone's late husband Andrew Stroud (1926 to 2012) argued that there was no jurisdiction over her because she had not been served and that even if she had been served, she had not yet appointed as a representative of the estate of her late husband or properly substituted in as a party. In reviewing the efforts to serve her in New York, the court approved of the diligent efforts to serve her four times (including on a Saturday) and rejected her arguments that the papers needed to be left with the doorman because the doorman did not block access to her unit.
In upholding sanctions, the Ninth Circuit noted that the trial court had found that the defendant and her counsel had engaged in gamesmanship, bad faith, misconduct and delay.
Some information on Nina Simone and Andrew Stroud here.
Full decision here.
