In Fulton v. Livingston Financial LLC, 2016 WL 3976558 (W.D. Wash. July 25, 2016), U.S. District Judge James L. Robart sanctioned a defense lawyer who “inexcusabl[y]” relied on outdated case law and pre-2015 amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b) in motion practice before the court.

On April 13, 2015, Plaintiff (Richard Fulton) filed suit against Defendants for
Continue Reading Judge Finds Defense Counsel’s Reliance upon Pre-Amendment Rule 26 in a Motion to Compel the Equivalent of Bad Faith – Resulting in Significant and Embarrassing Sanctions

It can hardly be denied that no lawyer wants to apply the wrong legal standard in papers or be criticized by the Judge before whom they are appearing.  Regrettably, just that occurred in Henry v. Morgan’s Hotel Group, (15-cv-1789), and Magistrate Judge Cott (SDNY) was quick to point out defense counsel’s errors.  In doing so, the Judge reminded all

Continue Reading Why Every Litigator Must Understand the New Federal Rules