Divorce lawyer sanctioned for violating stay
A lawyer who sought to keep a divorce case from going dormant after the opposing party filed for bankruptcy has been hit with $6,050 in sanctions by a Richmond bankruptcy judge who concluded the...
View ArticleSpoliation of evidence prompts dismissal
Where an insurer was told that evidence from a fire needed to be preserved so the electrical company could conduct an inspection, but the insurer allowed the premises to be destroyed two months before...
View ArticleSpoliation nets fee award of nearly $97K
Where a software provider in a contract dispute over an agreement to provide services found CarMax allowed potentially relevant information to be wiped from laptops, thus depriving the software...
View ArticleLawyer sanctioned for not pulling libel claim
Where an attorney refused to withdraw his client’s libel complaint despite being told the challenged communication was absolutely privileged, he and his client are liable for the $33,875 in attorneys’...
View ArticleEx-school employee barred from filing more suits
Where the record showed the former Richmond city school employee brought several lawsuits intended to harass their targets, she cannot file any more suits against them unless a judge first finds they...
View ArticleNo sanctions despite no preservation of documents
Where a defendant had a duty to preserve relevant documents and failed to do so, because there was no evidence he willfully destroyed evidence, no sanctions were imposed. Background In 2018, Ronald...
View ArticleAdverse inference warranted for failure to preserve evidence
Where a defendant sued for his alleged role in the “Unite the Right” rally failed to preserve a laptop, two cell phones and three social media accounts, an adverse inference instruction at trial was...
View ArticleLibel defendant sanctioned for failing to preserve documents
Where a defendant sued for making allegedly defamatory statements about the plaintiff — a counter-protestor who posted video of the “Unite the Right” rallies in Charlottesville — failed to preserve...
View ArticleDiscovery failures result in default judgment on liability
Where a defense contractor that was sued for employment discrimination failed to make its initial disclosures and failed to respond to discovery despite a court order, and these actions prejudiced the...
View ArticleRecord supports sanctions ordered by magistrate judge
Where a party demonstrated a lack of good faith by repeatedly violating the court’s discovery orders, its conduct caused its own counsel to make misleading statements and obstruct meaningful discovery,...
View ArticleSpoliation motion denied where ESI not lost
Where the plaintiff alleged defendants failed to preserve electronically stored information, or ESI, but there was no showing that they failed to produce relevant ESI or that it had been lost, the...
View ArticleFormer employee sanctioned for destroying documents
Where a former employee accused of improperly competing with his employer destroyed electronic documents that he had an obligation to preserve, and the documents could not be restored or replaced, an...
View ArticleSanctions vacated against plaintiff and attorney
Where the district court sanctioned a woman and her attorney for filing a complaint based upon allegedly privileged communications, but the privilege applied only to a defamation claim and not a claim...
View ArticleSanctions vacated: Defamation, tortious interference claims not frivolous
Where a claimant’s defamation suit was dismissed with a warning that further frivolous pleadings might justify sanctions, her subsequently filed claims based on new conduct were not frivolous and did...
View ArticleFabricated evidence results in dismissal
Where a company suing for trademark infringement willfully fabricated evidence to support its claims, resulting in prejudice to the defendant and the judicial process, the lawsuit was dismissed and the...
View ArticleEvidence supports civil contempt finding
Where a jury found two companies’ statements about probiotics constituted false advertising, the district court enjoined them from making certain statements about the products. But when they violated...
View ArticleRule 11 doesn’t extend to notice of dismissal
Where defendants’ attorneys argued a statement in a notice of voluntary dismissal filed by plaintiffs’ attorneys violated Rule 11, their motion for sanctions was denied because Rule 11’s “later...
View ArticlePost-judgment discovery failures net sanctions
Where defendants failed to comply with post-judgment discovery orders, and failed to produce the documents even after promising to do so at a February 2022 hearing, they were adjudged in contempt and...
View ArticleFormer university vice president destroyed evidence
Where a former vice president of communications and public engagement for Liberty University failed to preserve his iPhone and note taking account after he sued Liberty University for violating Title...
View ArticleNo sanctions for disclosure of psychiatric information
Although an attorney offered no legitimate reason for why he included details about the psychiatric condition of his client’s ex-girlfriend on the public docket, and the level of detail was seemingly...
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