国会修改了第11号惩罚条款，从重从快严厉打击无赖律师和流氓原告。

Windhorst v. Mark Stone, Nick Trombetta and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Civil Action 09CV1216, Adams District Court. Marc Levy and Heather Judd obtained a sanctions order against plaintiff’s counsel. The Court previously entered summary judgment, dismissing plaintiff’s case against State Farm. Thereafter, the Court held a hearing and entered a detailed order about plaintiff’s counsel’s conduct.
The Court found that “plaintiff did not have valid claims against State Farm to begin with. Plaintiff’s counsel did nothing more than try to bully State Farm into paying policy limits….” The Court went on to find that “At the outset of the litigation against State Farm, counsel knew that State Farm had neither breached the insurance contract nor did so in bad faith by engaging in reprehensible claims processing practices. The only person guilty of reprehensible claims processing practices was plaintiff’s counsel.”

The Court found that “all of plaintiff’s claims against State Farm lacked substantial justification, in that they all were substantially groundless, substantially frivolous, and substantially vexatious. Therefore, an award of attorney fees against plaintiff’s counsel and in favor of State Farm is appropriate under § 13-17-102(4).” The Court also found that “plaintiff’s counsel filed claims against State Farm in violation of Rule 11.”

The Court concluded its order by stating, “This award hopefully will discourage Mr. Bendinelli and his law firm from engaging in similar conduct and practices in the future and is intended to compensate State Farm who has been victimized by the misconduct of Mr.
Bendinelli and his law firm.”

As a result of these determinations, the Court entered an attorney fee sanction in the amount of $48,954.00 against attorney Marc Bendinelli, individually, as well as his law firm, the Bendinelli Law Office, P.C.=

. The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act amends Rule 11 to mandate sanctions against lawyers who file meritless lawsuits in federal court.

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The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act amends Rule 11 in three ways:

·               Amends Rule 11(c)(1) to make sanctions mandatory where Rule 11 is found to have been violated by stating that a court “shall impose appropriate sanctions” rather than it “may impose appropriate sanctions;

·               Amends Rule 11(c)(2) to eliminate the 21-day “safe harbour” provision that allows attorneys to withdraw frivolous filings without risking sanctions within 21 days; and

·               Amends Rule 11(c)(4) to require that the sanctions imposed for a violation of Rule 11 to pay the opposing party or parties’ “reasonable expenses incurred as a direct result of the violation, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.” The amended provision also allows the court to impose additional sanctions in order to act as an “effective deterrent.”

In remarking on the bill, Representative Smith stated:

Lawsuit abuse has become too common in American society partly because the lawyers who bring these cases have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Plaintiffs’ lawyers can file frivolous suits, no matter how absurd the claims, without any penalty. Meanwhile defendants are faced with the choice of years of litigation, high court costs, and attorneys’ fees or a settlement. Our legal system encourages frivolous lawsuits while defendants are left paying the price even when they are innocent.