412 results for 'cat:"Sanctions"'.
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. 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
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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
J. Holmes grants in part this motion for attorney fees filed in connection with a motion to compel discovery. The court will award $8,000 in attorney fees as a discovery sanction, as the defendant company's nondisclosure was not "substantially justified."
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Holmes, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv1103, NOS: Personal Injury - Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: sanctions, Discovery, Attorney Fees
J. Grant finds that the district court properly awarded the store $62,000 in attorney fees as sanctions in an action against the shopping center owner arising after the store's request to exercise its option to extend the terms of its lease was denied. The owner acted in bad faith since it had knowledge of the lack of diversity jurisdiction in the case but delayed disclosing the information for more than a year. The sanction award was limited to two-thirds of the attorney fees incurred by the store after the owner discovered its diversity-destroying citizenship. The district court correctly struck the store's affidavit claiming its attorney did not act in bad faith as untimely and irrelevant. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Grant, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 22-12461, Categories: sanctions, Attorney Fees
J. Holmes partially grants the individual plaintiff's motion for attorney fees in connection with his motion to compel discovery. The court previously ordered the defendant company to produce certain documents and "to make a corporate representative available" to provide testimony on certain topics. The defendant company now argues that there was a conflict regarding its duties under Italian data privacy laws, but the court concludes that its failure to provide certain documents was not "substantially justified." Not all of the requested fees are reasonable, however, as a discovery sanction.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Holmes, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv1103, NOS: Personal Injury - Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: sanctions, Discovery, Attorney Fees
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds attorney Daniel Edward Perrico will be suspended from the practice of law for two years following criminal convictions that stemmed from providing alcohol to his stepdaughter and two of her friends - all of whom were under 21 - and inappropriately touching one of the friends. Although Perrico has no previous disciplinary issues and cooperated with these proceedings, he abused a position of trust with the victims - all of whom regarded him as their father - and so an actual suspension is necessary to protect the public. However, the second year will be stayed so long as he commits no further misconduct.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1540, Categories: sanctions, Attorney Discipline
J. Gruber finds the circuit court properly found for a brother, whose survivorship agreement with his mother transferred her interest in the property at issue to him upon her death. The other brothers challenged the mother's will, with the circuit court ruling it was the product of undue influence, setting it aside and imposing a constructive trust on the property in favor of the estate. The court then granted summary judgment, concluding relitigation was barred by the doctrines of law of the case and res judicata. The brother's cross-appeal for sanctions on the basis this appeal is frivolous is denied. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gruber , Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: CV-22-188, Categories: sanctions, Trusts, Wills / Probate
J. Winmill grants an insurance company's motion for expenses regarding an improperly terminated disposition. The disposition regarding a car collision was terminated by counsel when the passenger in the car, who suffered severe memory loss, was being asked about insurance claims documents and was about to be shown those documents. The attorney alleges that the insurer failed to lay the proper foundation for refreshing a witness' recollection with a document. The attorney has not shown that the insurer's counsel's questioning rose to the level of bad faith or oppressiveness. The "unilateral termination of the...disposition was therefore unjustified and warrants sanctions."
Court: USDC Idaho, Judge: Winmill, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv498, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Insurance, sanctions, Contract
J. Lamberth grants the contractor's motion for sanctions in the subcontractor's suit against it stemming from a dispute over a renovation of the Latvian Embassy. The contractor is awarded attorney's fees and costs and the subcontractor is prohibited from introducing evidence relating to costs incurred on the project and opposing the contractor's expert's cost opinions, as sanction for repeated and flagrant failures to follow court orders and produce required discovery.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Lamberth, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1643, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: sanctions, Discovery, Contract