On December 10th, CCL filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) supporting a federal district court judge’s authority to sanction lawyers for improper tactics and behavior. The brief, filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, urged the appellate court to affirm Judge Mark W. Bennett’s opinion and order on sanctions based on Civil Rule 30(d)(2) and a judge’s inherent authority. 

Judge Bennett, who serves as a district court judge in the Northern District of Iowa, entered sanctions sua sponte against a defense attorney earlier this year for coaching witnesses in two depositions she defended, and for making excessive and unnecessary objections and interruptions during those depositions. Judge Bennett’s opinion also served as a warning to attorneys that unspecified “form” objections are improper.

The defense attorney and her law firm appealed the decision to the Eighth Circuit, but have no adversary in that court defending the judge’s actions. Because the sanctions were issued sua sponte, and not on the motion of opposing counsel, the plaintiff and its counsel did not argue for sanctions in the district court and did not file a brief in the court of appeals. The United States has not intervened to represent the real parties in interest—the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa and Judge Bennett—and Judge Bennett is not a party to the appeal.

Senior Litigation Counsel Valerie M. Nannery wrote AAJ’s amicus brief in support of affirmance, specifically urging the court to apply an abuse of discretion standard of review, and to disregard asserted facts that were unrelated to the sanctions in issue. AAJ’s amicus brief also argued that the lower court complied with due process requirements, and that the district court’s order was within its jurisdictional authority.