BigLaw firm and client sanctioned nearly $275K after judge sees 'nasty litigation tactics'
A federal judge in Colorado has ordered Seyfarth Shaw and its client, a subsidiary of the Stryker Corp., to pay nearly $275,000 as an additional sanction for improper discovery tactics. (Image from Shutterstock)
A federal judge in Colorado has ordered Seyfarth Shaw and its client, a subsidiary of the Stryker Corp., to pay nearly $275,000 as an additional sanction for improper discovery tactics.
Senior U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson of the District of Colorado ordered the sanction to reimburse the Stryker Corp.’s legal opponent for attorney fees stemming from the “volume and antagonistic nature” of discovery.
Seyfarth Shaw and its client are jointly and severally liable for the sanction.
Law360 has the story.
“In this court’s judgment,” Jackson wrote, “this is a sanction with teeth that addresses the misconduct without being excessively punitive.”
Quoting from a prior opinion in the case, Jackson said the Stryker Corp.’s lawyers “turned this case sour with nasty litigation tactics.”
The case involved a contract dispute between the Howmedica Osteonics Corp.—the Stryker Corp. subsidiary—and ORP Surgical, a former distributor of the Howmedica Osteonics Corp.’s medical devices.
ORP Surgical, the plaintiff, had sold Stryker’s products under contracts governing sales of joint replacements and trauma products used in emergency surgeries after traumatic accidents.
Jackson said the “severe animosity” between the parties was likely partly due to the Stryker Corp.’s “abrupt and unwarranted termination” of the joint contract, “shenanigans surrounding the end of both contracts,” and the Stryker Corp.’s solicitation of ORP Surgical’s former sales reps.
A discovery special master found that the Stryker Corp. failed to preserve text messages and fell short of obligations to completely disclose relevant documents in a timely manner. The special master also found that the Stryker Corp.’s lawyers improperly coached and insufficiently prepared their witnesses.
In May 2022, Jackson ruled for ORP Surgical on breach of contract claims and awarded $4.7 million.
He also awarded $2.28 million in attorney fees to ORP Surgical, but that was overturned on appeal in a decision finding that the Stryker Corp. had no duty under the contracts to indemnify the plaintiff for its attorney fees, Law360 explains.
The appeals court returned the case to Jackson to consider whether he would nonetheless award attorney fees as a sanction for the discovery violations. Jackson had already awarded more than $70,000 as a discovery sanction in November 2022, but he declined to include attorney fees because he had awarded them under the contract.
In his new decision, Jackson awarded about $345,000 in attorney fees but deducted the $70,000 already paid.
“I anticipate that neither party will be happy with that result,” he wrote.
A Seyfarth Shaw spokesperson did not immediately respond to the ABA Journal’s emailed request for comment.
