Appeals Court Blasts Lawyers in Published Opinion Despite Settlement
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A California appellate panel was so outraged by “scorched earth tactics” in a suit over a purportedly stolen hard drive that it issued a decision as “an example to the legal community” despite a settlement in the case.
The opinion (PDF) by California’s Fourth District Court of Appeals blasted the plaintiff, Finton Construction Inc., and its legal team for filing the suit against the law firm Bidna & Keys, the Recorder (sub. req.) reports. Finton Construction was initially represented by lawyers led by Alston & Bird partner James Evans Jr., according to the Recorder.
“We find FCI’s conduct with respect to this entire case demonstrative of a particularly nasty type of scorched earth tactics,” the court opinion said, referring to Finton Construction as FCI. “While we strongly suspect that FCI is the prime mover behind the prosecution of this lawsuit, we remind FCI’s counsel–and indeed, all attorneys–that while they owe their clients a duty to zealously represent them, that zealousness does not trump the duty they owe the courts and the judicial process to prosecute only lawsuits with merit.
“The type of uncivil behavior and specious tactics demonstrated by filing this case represents conduct that brings disrepute to the entire legal profession and amounts to toying with the courts.”
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