Sussman v. Salem, Saxon & Nielsen, P.A.

150 F.R.D. 209, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10107, 1993 WL 276108
District Court, M.D. Florida·Decided July 20, 1993·No. No. 91-776-Civ-T-17(C)·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTIONS

KOVACHEVICH, District Judge.

This cause is before the Court on the following motions and responses thereto:

1. Defendant’s Notice of Filing Claim for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs Pursuant to Court Order of April 13, 1993, filed on April 23, 1993. (Docket No. 130).
2. Affidavit of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, filed on April 23, 1993. (Docket No. 136) .
4. Affidavit of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, filed on April 23, 1993. (Docket No. 135).
5. Motion for Rehearing of Order on Defendant’s Motion to Award Sanctions, filed on April 23, 1993. (Docket No. 137) .
6. Plaintiffs Response to Defendant’s Notice of Filing Claim for Attorney’s Fees and Costs Pursuant to Court Order of April 13, 1993, filed on April 28, 1993. (Docket No. 140).
7. Defendants’ Reply to Plaintiffs Motion for Rehearing or Order on Defendants’ Motion for Sanctions, filed on May 5, 1993. (Docket No. 142).

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Plaintiff alleges that certain actions of Defendants subjected Plaintiff to a hostile working environment and discrimination on account of her pregnancy, steadily increasing in intensity and culminating in her discharge. [212]*212Plaintiff further alleges that the conduct of Defendants was done with malice or with reckless indifference to her federally protected rights. Plaintiff also alleges that as a result of Défendants’ discriminatory actions and termination, she suffered the loss of salary and fringe benefits. Plaintiff brought civil rights suit alleging constructive discharge resulting from disparate treatment violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

RELEVANT PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiffs original Complaint, filed on June 21, 1991 (“Complaint” Docket No. 1) through her counsel at that time Mark F. Kelly, Florida Bar No. 216755, alleged a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and codified as 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2000e-17 (1982). Specifically, the Plaintiff alleged violations of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, codified as 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e(k), 2000e-2(a) (1982) and the Florida Human Rights Act of 1977, Chapter 760, FLA STAT., recently amended by the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (ch. 92-177, Laws of Florida). The Defendants identified in the original Complaint were SALEM, SAXON AND NIELSEN, P.A; SS & N ASSOCIATES, INC.; SS & N FINANCIAL SERVICES; RICHARD J. SALEM; BERNICE S. SAXON; RICHARD A. NIELSEN; DAVID J. TONG; CONSTANCE J. MCCAUGHEY; JOANNE A. ELLISON; AND CHARLOTTE BARONE. Ultimately, this Court ordered the dismissal of Defendants SS & N FINANCIAL SERVICES, SS & N ASSOCIATES, DAVID J. TONG, CONSTANCE MCCAUGHEY, JOANNE A. ELLISON, AND CHARLOTTE BARONE, following a Stipulation of Dismissal entered between the parties and filed pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1), Fed.R.Civ.P. (Docket No. 18). Defendants reserved the right to move for attorney fees and costs in the Stipulation of Dismissal. Pursuant to Rule 11, Fed.R.Civ. P., current and former Defendants filed a Motion to Award Sanctions (Docket No. 121) against the Plaintiff, and not against Plaintiffs attorney. The Motion to Award Sanctions requested expenses, attorney fees, and other appropriate sanctions on the grounds that Plaintiff had no basis in fact for naming certain persons in the original “Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial—Injunctive Relief Sought” as Defendants. On April 13, 1993 this Court ordered the award of Rule 11 sanctions to the Defendants (Sussman v. Salem, Saxon & Nielsen, P.A., 818 F.Supp. 1510 (M.D.Fla.1998); Docket No. 131).

Subsequent to the Court Order of April 13, 1993, Defendants issued a Notice of Filing Claim for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs (Docket No. 134) and Affidavit of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs (Docket No. 135, 136). Defendants stated that a fair and equitable way of distributing fees and expenses could be derived by deducting 40% of the representing firm’s time and expenses since four (4) of the ten (10) original Defendants remain in the action. Plaintiff filed a Response to Defendant’s Notice of Filing Claim for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs (Docket No. 140). Plaintiff asserted that “Defendants are entitled to no money with regard to the Court’s Order” asserting the grounds that: 1) Defendants never alleged that it took extra time to represent the six (6) additional Defendants and 2) Defendants drafted their Motion to Award Sanctions, which was signed by their attorney.

On April 23, 1993, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Rehearing of Order on Defendant’s Motion to Award Sanctions (Docket No. 137). In the Motion for Rehearing, Plaintiff reminded this Court that: 1) Plaintiff provided the facts for the lawsuit to her attorney, who she relied upon to decided who to include as a Defendant in the lawsuit and 2) Plaintiff has a background in tax law, not labor law or federal practice including Rule 11 sanctions. Subsequently, Defendants’ filed a Reply to Plaintiffs Motion for Rehearing of Order on Defendants’ Motion for Sanctions (Docket No. 142). In light of the procedural history and submitted documents, this Court considers the various motions.

I. MOTION FOR REHEARING:

According to Rule 3.01(a) of the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, “In making any written motion or other application to the Court for the entry of an order of any kind ... the moving party shall file and serve with such motion or application a brief [213]*213or legal memorandum with citation of authorities in support of the relief requested.” Rule 3.01(b) notes that “Each party opposing any written motion or other application shall file and serve ... a brief or legal memorandum with citation of authorities in opposition to the relief requested.” The Court admonishes Counsel for the Plaintiff and the Defendants, respectively, for not abiding by Rule 3.01(a) and (b) and submitting a brief or legal memorandum complete with citations of supporting authorities. This Court reminds Counsel for the Plaintiff of Rule 3.01 for a second time. (See Court Order, April 14, 1993). In the future, motions under consideration of this Court should comply with the local rules.

With regard to Rule 11 sanctions under the Motion for Rehearing, this Court recognizes Rule ll’s objectives, which include: (1) deterring future litigation abuse, (2) punishing present litigation abuse, (3) compensating victims of litigation abuse, and (4) streamlining court dockets and facilitating case management. See American Bar Association, Standards and Guidelinés for Practice Under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1988), reprinted in, 5 C. Wright, A. Miller & M. Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure 212, 235-36 (Supp.1989); Donaldson v. Clark, 819 F.2d 1551 (11th Cir.1987). The primary goal of the sanctions is deterrence. Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp.,

Sussman v. Salem, Saxon & Nielsen, P.A., 150 F.R.D. 209, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10107, 1993 WL 276108 (M.D. Fla. 1993).

150 F.R.D. 209 (Sussman v. Salem, Saxon & Nielsen, P.A.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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