Judge Appoints Lawsuit Guardian Due to Client's 'Irrational Hostility' to Lawyer
A federal district judge in Washington, D.C., has appointed a guardian to oversee a plaintiff’s interests in a more than decade-old copyright case, due to what he has described as her “paranoid outbursts” and “irrational hostility” to her own lawyer.
Attorney Nathan Lewin’s request for a guardian ad litem was granted yesterday by U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy Jr., reports the Blog of Legal Times.
The copyright case involves a claim by Maryland architect Elena Sturdza against a rival architectural firm that she claims stole her winning design for the United Arab Emirates embassy. Lewin, who took the case on a contingency-fee basis, told another legal publication earlier that he would be happy to hand the case over to another lawyer, but fears Sturdza will lose if she pursues it pro se, the law blog reports.
Sturdza opposes the guardianship and says she will not comply with a court order to submit to a psychiatric evaluation.
