410 results for 'cat:"Sanctions"'.
J. Dillard finds that the trial court improperly awarded $584,000 in attorney fees and litigation expenses to the widow in an action against the city and public works employees arising from her husband's death in a vehicle collision. The trial court incorrectly applied a negligence standard to impose sanctions against the firm for failing to disclose a conflict of interest with respect to deposition testimony given by one of the public works employees and unnecessarily expanding the proceedings by improper conduct. The firm informed the trial court that it became aware of the conflict precluding it from representing the city and employees just before opening statements were to begin. The facts are not sufficient to support the award. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: May 24, 2024, Case #: A24A0159, Categories: sanctions, Attorney Fees
J. Gorenstein partially grants Web MD's motion for reconsideration of this court's prior order in a discovery dispute in this trade secrets case. Web MD is severely prejudiced by the plaintiff's failure to preserve data kept in a Salesforce database, resulting in Web MD being unable to test its claims. Therefore, all evidence related to the alleged misappropriation of data from this database must be excluded.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Gorenstein, Filed On: May 22, 2024, Case #: 1:20cv53, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: sanctions, Trade Secrets, Discovery
J. Lynch finds that the district court properly confirmed disgorgement ordered in arbitration between a pension plan and its outside investment adviser after their relationship soured. The parties' agreement unambiguously granted disgorgement of prejudgment interest and "day one" fees charged by the adviser, but the arbitration award granting the plan "profits" must be clarified on remand, at which time specific findings should be entered as to whether the adviser's conduct justified imposing sanctions on the plan in the form of attorney fees and costs. Affirmed in part
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Lynch, Filed On: May 21, 2024, Case #: 22-1783, Categories: Pensions, sanctions, Fiduciary Duty
J. Fujisaki finds the trial court properly imposed sanctions for a company's resistance to producing business records that a wife sought through a deposition subpoena in a divorce proceeding. And the fees and costs incurred during the meet and confer process may also be compensable as monetary sanctions. However, the wife is not entitled to sanctions for fees and costs incurred during mediation that came after she filed the motions to compel discovery. Reversed in part.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Fujisaki, Filed On: May 21, 2024, Case #: A165038, Categories: Family Law, sanctions, Discovery
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J. Cain orders a bankrupt Texas law firm and its former attorney to pay an insurer $3,000 in sanctions for its attorney’s misconduct in Louisiana. The award represents legal fees and costs the insurer expended defending a suit filed by the firm and its lawyer on behalf of a former client who had already settled her hurricane-related claims against the insurer three months before the suit was filed. The firm's former lawyer provides “no adequate excuse” for failing to contact his former client before filing suit.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: May 21, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv3375, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Van Cleef grants on appeal the cost reduction requests by an indigent defendant sentenced to 20 months in state jail for violating the terms of his community probation for unauthorized use of a vehicle. The trial court erroneously assessed $765 in attorney fees against the indigent defendant without finding a “material change in financial circumstances.” The trial court also failed to orally announce a $1,500 fine at the sentencing, which is deleted. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Van Cleef, Filed On: May 16, 2024, Case #: No. 6-24-3-CR, Categories: Sentencing, sanctions, Attorney Fees
J. Hunt partially grants all parties’ motion for summary judgment in this case between the defendant construction company and the plaintiff, its former IT employee. The former employee claims he was passed over for promotion because he is Latino, and fired because he threatened to go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over the racist treatment he faced. The company in turn accuses the former employee of accessing other coworkers’ emails without authorization. The court rules in favor of the company on the former employee’s failure to promote and retaliatory counterclaim allegations, but in favor of the former employee on the company’s breach of contract claims. The former employee’s retaliatory termination claim will proceed to trial, though the court also denies his motion for sanctions.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Hunt, Filed On: May 16, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv2624, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: sanctions, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Carr grants the county health officials' motions for attorney fees, ruling the frivolous nature of the now-dismissed suit brought by business owners affected by Covid-19 government shutdowns allows the officials to recover reasonable fees. Because the requests are supported by competent documentation and are based on reasonable hourly rates, the officials will be awarded more than $6,000 and $42,000 in fees.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Carr, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv630, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: sanctions, Attorney Fees
J. Rice denies the employee's motion for sanctions, ruling his claim regarding the university's failure to preserve certain discovery documents in their "native format" is entirely speculative and, in any case, is not premised on any sort of prejudice to his case or the lawsuit in general.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Rice, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 3:18cv358, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, sanctions, Discovery
J. Edmondson suspends Kenyatta Ray Bethea for one year. Bethea pleaded guilty to a first-time misdemeanor DUI after colliding with two vehicles, injuring six people, including children, inflicting significant bodily harm. Clear and convincing evidence establishes the attorney is remorseful and has taken additional steps by leaving the ignition interlock device on his car for an extra two months. The attorney also independently sought counseling. There is no evidence he has a history of driving under the influence.
Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court, Judge: Edmondson , Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: SCBD-7443, Categories: Evidence, sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Rodriguez finds that that a veteran who suffered severe and permanent injuries from improvised explosive devices while on duty in Iraq has submitted sufficient evidence to recover damages under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act from the Islamic Republic of Iran for supporting the insurgents who conducted the attacks. The County of Iraq has not responded, and the veteran has moved for a default judgment which the court grants in part. The veteran is awarded $5 million of his $7 million claim for pain and suffering, he is awarded $25 million of his $300 million punitive damages claim, but he cannot recover lost wages for lack of evidence and he cannot recover attorney fees.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv76, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Civil Procedure, International Law, sanctions
J. Oliver grants the federal government's motion for summary judgment, ruling the transaction history of the convenient store, including large, successive purchases made by a single household, is sufficient to support the government's conclusion of SNAP benefit trafficking, while the permanent ban sanction was not unreasonable because the store submitted no contrary evidence.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Oliver, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv823, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: Administrative Law, Government, sanctions
J. Guerra finds that the trial court properly declined to dismiss a former contestant's request for sanctions against the production company for Netflix's "Love is Blind." A motion for sanctions is not a "legal action" pursuant to the Texas Citizens Participation Act, so the trial court did not err in denying the TCPA motion to dismiss. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Guerra, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 01-23-00443-CV, Categories: sanctions
J. Huntsman grants the car owners' motion for discovery sanctions based on the defendant car company's failure to appear at one deposition and failure to provide a prepared witness at another deposition in this lawsuit concerning a Hyundai vehicle and its alleged defects. The plaintiffs are entitled to expenses and attorney fees caused by the company's failure to appear, as well as the "constructive failure to adequately present a corporate representative."
Court: USDC Northern District of Oklahoma , Judge: Huntsman, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv297, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: sanctions, Product Liability, Discovery
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds attorney Jack Herchel VanBibber will be suspended from the practice of law for two years for multiple criminal convictions stemming from traffic violations, his failure to comply with court orders related to those convictions and his refusal to cooperate with the ensuing disciplinary investigation. VanBibber continued to drive on a suspended license even after an OVI conviction, led police on a chase through a residential area after being pulled over and showed little respect to disciplinary proceedings when he refused to cooperate initially. However, because he has an otherwise clean disciplinary record, his suspension will be stayed so long as he commits no further misconduct.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1702, Categories: sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Detjen finds that the trial court should have granted an employee's motion to withdraw from arbitration after his former employer failed to timely pay the arbitration fees and costs. The employer was $250 shy of the full amount due, and its argument that the employee had to pay one-half that amount fails because the arbitration agreement's sharing provision only applies to the initial case management fee, which had already been paid. Also, the employee's silence when the employer sought an extension did not mean he "agreed" to the extension. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Detjen, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: F086342, Categories: Arbitration, Employment, sanctions
J. Morrison orders the former attorney, Andrew Plasse, in an excessive force lawsuit against New York City to transfer his client’s case file to the new counsel, Michael Walker, finding the Plasse is not entitled to either a retaining or charging lien after concluding he was discharged from the case with cause. Plasse was sanctioned by the court for failing to act in his client’s best interest, including withholding pertinent details of a proposed settlement agreement and by lying to the court about his client’s health in order to adjourn a scheduled conference.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Morrison, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 1:14cv680, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Lipman grants in part an apartment company’s motion for sanctions of judgment and permanent injunction against the pro se defendant in this suit alleging defamation, negligence per se and violations of Tennessee’s Consumer Protection Act. Judgment is granted for the apartment company, and a permanent injunction is issued with limitations that ensure that the individual defendant’s “First Amendment rights are protected.”
Court: USDC Western District of Tennessee , Judge: Lipman, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv2186, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, sanctions, Defamation
[Consolidated.] J. Eaton finds the Professional Responsibility Board improperly entered two separate decisions with different sanctions regarding attorney Theodore studdert-Kennedy’s misconduct during a divorce proceeding. The board reduced a reprimand’s presumptive sanction to a private admonition, but this failed to consider if the his sanction was consistent with other cases. The decision is vacated and remanded for further proceedings. Reversed.
Court: Vermont Supreme Court, Judge: Eaton, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 23-AP-263, Categories: sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Lawrence-Berrey finds that the lower court improperly applied the wrong statute against a man and his attorneys who were caught making up statements to support manufactured class claims against Robinhood Financial. The lower court used a minor claims statute to support the sanctions, and while the claims were manufactured, their existence as being class claims do not make them minor. The matter is remanded to determine what amount of sanctions under the correct statute are called for to deter their actions going forward. Reversed.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lawrence-Berrey , Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: 38623-6-III, Categories: sanctions
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds attorney James Terry Robinson will be indefinitely suspended from the practice of law for his failure to self-report a felony conviction on drug charges and his continued use and sale of illegal drugs, including crack cocaine. Robinson admitted to drug use over an eight year period during a previous suspension, and will be ineligible for reinstatement until he completes a Narcotics Anonymous program and complies with all other continuing education requirements.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1657, Categories: sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Bedsworth holds that the trial court properly awarded $10,000 in discovery sanctions against a law firm. Regardless of whether the law firm was counsel of record when sanctions were imposed, it is liable because it misused the discovery process with unmeritorious objections, evasive responses and nasty emails, and its lead attorney was "woefully uncivil." Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Bedsworth, Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: G061829, Categories: sanctions, Discovery, Attorney Discipline