Cases: Sanctions

Discovery, Sanctions: 1/3 DCA Affirms Trial Court’s Order, Entered After Plaintiffs Voluntarily Dismissed The Case, Setting Aside Monetary Sanctions Previously Imposed Against Defendant For Discovery Abuses.

Cases: Discovery, Cases: Sanctions

Exceptions To The General Rule That Deprives Trial Courts Of Jurisdiction Following Voluntary Dismissal Of A Case Allow Trial Courts To Retain Jurisdiction To Determine And Enforce Collateral Statutory Rights – Such As Motions For Sanctions.             In Manhan v. Gallagher, Case No. A158152 (1st Dist., Div. 3 March 26, 2021) (published), plaintiffs filed […]

Discovery, Sanctions: Continued Deficiencies In Discovery Responses Resulted In Monetary And Evidentiary Sanctions Against Self-Represented Plaintiff, And Ended In Terminating Sanctions.

Cases: Discovery, Cases: Sanctions

Affirmance Of The Terminating Sanctions Mooted Plaintiff’s Appeal Of The Trial Court’s Order Sustaining Defendants’ Demurrers And Motions To Strike.             Following ten months of meet and confer correspondence, seven sets of amended discovery responses, and impositions of evidentiary and $8,000 in monetary sanctions, the trial court issued terminating sanctions with prejudice against self-represented

In The News, Sanctions: Attorneys In Voting Dispute Sanctioned For Not Being Candid With The Court

Cases: Sanctions, In The News

They Should Have Revealed That An Almost Identical Motion Was Made And Denied Before.             As recently reported in the on-line ABA Journal, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas Alliance for Retired Americans v. Hughs, No. 20-40643 (5th Cir. Mar. 11, 2021) (per curiam, 2-1 vote) issued sanctions against defendant’s attorney in a

Sanctions: $125,690.56 Section 128.5 Sanctions Order Against Plaintiff’s Class Action Attorneys, Hinged On Settlement Agreement Release Language, Reversed As A Matter Of Law

Cases: Sanctions

Also, Order Denying Sanctions Request Is Not Appealable In Itself, With A Writ Or Appeal After Final Judgment Being The Ways To Challenge Such An Order.             Plaintiff’s class action attorneys, who represented a client arising out of spiraling events from a minor alleged debt by Capital One, were sanctioned $125,690.56 under CCP § 128.5

Sanctions: Ninth Circuit Reverses Six Sanctions Imposed By District Court Under Inherent Authority, Rather Than Pursuant To Statute Or Rule, Against Prevailing Plaintiff For Disobeying A Discovery Order

Cases: Sanctions

The District Court Did Not Have The Benefit Of The Goodyear Tire Decision At The Time It Issued The Sanctions Order So A Remand Was In Order.             America Unites For Kids v. Rousseau, Case No. 16-56390 (9th Cir. January 22, 2021) (published), has a nice discussion on the procedural requirements and substantive limitations

Discovery, Sanctions: $6,954.95 Deposition Discovery Sanctions Award Was Appealable Even Though It Was Payable To Two Different Recipients, While $1,750 Sanctions Award Was Not Appealable

Cases: Discovery, Cases: Sanctions

However, The Merits Appeal Of The $6,954.95 Sanctions Award Did Not Succeed Based On Failure To Appreciate The Nature Of The Deposition Process.             Burke v. Newport-Mesa Unified School Dist., Case No. G058732 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 21, 2021) (unpublished), authored by Justice Goethals of our local Santa Ana appellate court, has some interesting

Appealability, Discovery, Sanctions: Appeal Of Terminating Sanctions Does Not Necessarily Also Encompass Challenge To Discovery Monetary Sanctions

Cases: Appealability, Cases: Discovery, Cases: Sanctions

2/7 DCA Implicitly Suggests Disagreement With Other Decisions, But Finds Two Sanctions Orders Were Not Intertwined.             OK, for you folks who love technical appealability issues, Taylor v. Forde, Case No. B298957 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Jan. 20, 2021) (unpublished), may be your forte, especially when it comes to appealability of discovery terminating sanctions orders

Family Law, Sanctions: Trial Court’s Award To Attorney Husband Of $800 In Attorney Fees In The Nature Of Sanctions Under Section 271 Reversed As A Matter Of Law

Cases: Family Law, Cases: Sanctions

Self-Represented Attorney Husband Incurred No Fees To Which The Section 271 Sanctions Must Be Tethered.             Family Code § 271, subdivision (a), provides that “the court may base an award of attorney’s fees and costs on the extent to which the conduct of each party or attorney furthers or frustrates the policy of the law

Sanctions: Trial Judge’s Failure To Expressly Specify The Sanctionable Conduct Required A Remand And Do-Over

Cases: Sanctions

Appellate Court Found Basis Existed For Sanctions, But Required Greater Clarity Especially Given That Bar Discipline Could Be At Issue.             An attorney in American Express Bank FSB v. Singh (Abdeljawad), Case No. E074042 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Dec. 30, 2020) (unpublished) violated a court order to personally appear at a Fall 2019 hearing to

Discovery, Sanctions: Monetary Discovery Sanctions Improperly Denied Against Litigants Under “Unjust” Exception Simply Because Other Terminating Sanctions Granted Previously

Cases: Discovery, Cases: Sanctions

However, Litigant’s Attorneys Were Not Subject To Sanctions Because No Evidence Indicated The Attorneys Advised The Clients To Engage In The Discovery Violations.             Litigators need to read the Sixth District’s recent decision in Kwan Software Engineering, Inc. v. Hennings, Case Nos. H042715 et al. (6th Dist. Dec. 2, 2020) (published) on sanctions available for

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