Judge Won’t Lift Sanction Against Lawyer for Client’s F-Bombs

Lawyer Joseph Ziccardi of Chicago has failed to persuade a judge to lift a $29,000 fine imposed for his client’s profanity-laced deposition.

U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno of Philadelphia had imposed the sanction earlier this year after finding that Ziccardi’s client, Aaron Wider, had used the F-word or a variant 73 times in a deposition. Robreno said Ziccardi should have stopped his client’s conduct and added in a footnote that Ziccardi had even snickered at the spectacle.

Ruling on Ziccardi’s motion for reconsideration, Robreno rejected Ziccardi’s claim that he was not given proper notice of the sanction, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Robreno said Ziccardi was on notice of the type of behavior at issue, even though he was ultimately sanctioned under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure rather than Pennsylvania state ethics rules.

Ziccardi had also argued it was a different lawyer who snickered during the deposition and that he had attempted to stop his client in off-the-record entreaties. Robreno said Ziccardi’s actions had been insufficient to stop Wider’s misconduct and that he was being sanctioned for his inaction rather than the alleged chuckle.

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog posted Robreno’s Aug. 12 opinion (PDF).