First Circuit· 10/29/2008

Jensen v. Phillips Screw Co.

Citations

546 F.3d 59
2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 23076
2008 WL 4725459

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

noting that, although plaintiffs counsel could not be sanctioned for instituting the action, counsel’s knowledge of weaknesses “may inform the question of whether SE & D was guilty down the line of unreasonably and vexatiously multiplying the proceedings”
explaining that “multiply” involves conduct that “has an effect on an already initiated proceeding” and, therefore, joining “an unbroken band of cases across the courts of appeals holding that a lawyer cannot violate section 1927 in the course of commencing an action”
reversing sanctions granted under 28 U.S.C. Section 1927 because the lawyer multiplied \the proceedings ... unreasonably and vexatiously\ in part because the court credited hearsay allegations despite \its avowed unwillingness to rely upon hearsay accounts\
affirming the imposition of sanctions, noting that \[d]distinguishing between what is a vigorous but reasonable attempt to salvage a case that is going badly and a stubbornly capricious attempt to gain advantage by prolonging matters is not easy\
“We do not suggest that the rules of evidence necessarily apply to factfinding in the context of sanctions. That is not the case.”
“[A]n unbroken band of cases across the courts of appeals hold[s] that a lawyer cannot violate section 1927 in the course of commencing an action,” and there- fore holding that the failure to vet or investigate a claim cannot give rise to a § 1927 sanction

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Boudin, Selya, Dyk

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Cited by

26 cases in this archive cite this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

Cites

34 cases in this archive are cited by this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

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