Lecture, But No Sanction for Company that Sought Dismissal of Foley Suit
A patent holding company that sued Foley & Lardner and then sought to drop the lawsuit 40 days later got a lecture but no Rule 11 sanctions at a hearing on Friday.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed to the dismissal sought by SPH America, but imposed restrictions on its ability to refile the suit, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. “If Rule 11 were a little bit different, I would consider imposing sanctions on the plaintiff for having filed this suit,” Brinkema said.
Brinkema, of the Eastern District of Virginia, had called the hearing after noting that SPH “has an unusual record of filing complaints in this district and then dismissing them.” Its suit had accused Foley of using confidential information gleaned during settlement discussions in a new lawsuit. Foley had contended in a court filing that SPH filed the suit to harm the attorney-client relationship—and the law firm’s reputation.
Brinkema said that SPH could not refile the case unless it brought the action in her district and included a notice about the earlier voluntary dismissal. She also said SPH would have to pay the law firm’s defense costs before refiling and asked Foley lawyers for a ballpark figure.
Foley’s lawyer, Christa Anderson of San Francisco’s Keker & Van Nest, ventured that the defense had cost about $150,000, “give or take.”
“Well, that shocks me, too,” Brinkema said. “I think that’s way out of whack.” She said SPH would have to repay Foley $10,000 if it wanted to refile.
