H. Austin v. Hanover Insurance Company

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: April 24, 2018
• Docket: 17-2717
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 17-2717 ___________________________

H. Richard Austin

lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

Hanover Insurance Company, also known as Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company

lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellee

Brown & James

lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis ____________

Submitted: April 20, 2018 Filed: April 24, 2018 [Unpublished] ____________

Before GRUENDER, MURPHY, and BENTON, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM. H. Richard Austin appeals the district court’s1 order dismissing his action seeking to set aside several judgments for fraud on the court, and awarding attorney’s fees. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms.

After reviewing the parties’ arguments on appeal and the circumstances of this case, the court finds no basis to reverse the dismissal. See Superior Seafoods, Inc. v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 620 F.3d 873, 878 (8th Cir. 2010) (appeal from action seeking relief from a prior judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(d) is reviewed for clear abuse of discretion). This court also finds no abuse of discretion in the district court’s award of attorney’s fees. See Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger, 137 S. Ct. 1178, 1184 (2017) (holding a federal court’s inherent authority to award attorney’s fees as a sanction for bad-faith conduct is limited to the fees incurred because of the misconduct); Dillon v. Nissan Motor Co., 986 F.2d 263, 266-67 (8th Cir. 1993) (a court may assess attorney’s fees where a party has “acted in bad faith, vexatiously, wantonly, or for oppressive reasons”).

The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. ______________________________

1 The Honorable John A. Ross, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri.

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