Judge Raps Plaintiffs Lawyer for Bid to Boot Special Master
A federal judge has told plaintiffs lawyer Waukeen McCoy in no uncertain terms what she thinks of his attempt to boot a special master overseeing a fight over legal fees.
San Francisco federal Judge Susan Illston rejected McCoy’s claims that special master Edward Swanson had a conflict of interest and failed to promptly disclose an ex parte conversation, the Recorder reports.
“The court notes with extreme dismay that plaintiffs chose to file such a patently frivolous motion, and in so doing, to impugn the character of the special master, who has always comported himself with the highest professionalism and ethical standards,” Illston wrote.
McCoy is fighting with his former co-counsel Kay McKenzie Parker over fees in a discrimination case against FedEx. For its part, FedEx has filed a motion for sanctions against McCoy claiming he has submitted fraudulent documentation for his fee request, the Recorder story says.
The ex parte conversation McCoy targeted was a voice mail left for the special master by a former lawyer at McCoy’s firm, according to the account. The lawyer said he left the law firm “pretty much specifically because of what’s been going on and the things I’ve been asked to do,” Illston wrote. The special master immediately informed the court of the message and told the lawyer they could speak only when a court reporter was present.
McCoy told the legal publication he is being targeted because he won his discrimination cases against FedEx.
