Panel Also Issues Cautionary Warning For Badly Written, Nonpersuasive Appellate Briefs In The Future.
The 1/2 DCA, in Shiheiber v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Case No A160188 (1st Dist., Div. 2 July 25, 2022) (published), affirmed a $950 sanctions award against an attorney for violating local pre-trial preparatory filing rules under Code of Civil Procedure section 575.2, even noting the trial judge was generous in awarding only this amount which was below State Bar reporting requirements. Attorney, on appeal, advanced arguments rejected by the appellate panel: that section 575.2 was limited only to pre-trial proceedings (no), and there was a necessity to have a bad faith demonstration (no). It also published to indicate that appellant’s appellate briefing was dismissed and totally unpersuasive, warning practitioners that the Division will award appeal sanctions in the future for this type of briefing. (The Division also indicated that respondent did not properly ask for sanctions in a separate noticed motion, only in respondent’s brief, which is in violation of CRC directives, so it would have been disingenuous to award sanctions given this error by the other side.)