Law Firms
Cleary Gottlieb Sanction Upheld by Appeals Court
Posted Jul 1, 2008, 10:40 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A federal appeals court has upheld a sanction against Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton for trying to dissuade a witness from testifying in a deposition.
U.S. District Judge Judge Loretta Preska of New York had reprimanded the law firm and ordered it to pay $165,000 for attorney fees incurred by its opponent on the sanctions motion.
The law firm did not want the witness to testify without a Cleary lawyer present about his dealings with the Republic of Congo, the law firm’s client, Preska had written in her opinion.
Cleary Gottlieb had contended it was merely trying to help the witness understand the nature of U.S. depositions. The testimony concerned a suit against the Republic of Congo seeking to enforce a $57 million judgment.
On appeal, Cleary had contended Preska improperly credited the testimony of the nonparty witness over the testimony of the firm’s lawyers. But the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a summary order (PDF) that nothing in the record suggests Preska interpreted the evidence incorrectly.
The testimony of the nonparty witness had struck Preska as “more consistent and more believable,” the 2nd Circuit said in a footnote. One of the lawyers, on the other hand, gave testimony that contradicted statements made in an affidavit and answered questions in an evasive manner.
A hat tip to How Appealing.