Scary Discovery Sanctions Case Packs 3rd Circuit Courtroom

Daunting discovery sanctions imposed by a federal judge on defense lawyers who were, many colleagues say, simply doing their job in a medical insurance coverage case filed by a group of doctors packed an appellate courtroom during a recent oral argument.

Although the underlying case settled after U.S. District Judge James Knoll Gardner found defense counsel had acted in bad faith by unduly delaying discovery and engaging in a war of attrition with the plaintiffs, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing an appeal of the attorney conduct issue because Gardner refused to vacate the sanctions ruling even after the settlement, reports the Legal Intelligencer.

An unusual amicus brief filed in the appeal by the Philadelphia Bar Association says the group is "concerned by the district court's decision to impose sanctions ... for asserting proper objections to discovery requests, in a form commonly used, as well as punishing other appropriate litigation practices such as appealing from rulings made by discovery masters and magistrates."

A 2007 post in the Class Action Defense Blog on Gardner's sanctions ruling in Grider v. Keystone Health Plan Central, Inc. provides a link to the then-slip opinion.

No actual dollar figure has ever been set concerning the sanctions, because defense counsel appealed Gardner's refusal to vacate, following the settlement, before the judge had an opportunity to determine a specific amount, the Intelligencer article notes.