Chaplin v. Dupont Advance Fiber Systems
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
303 F. Supp. 2d 766 (E.D. Va. 2004), aff'd, 124 Fed. Appx. 771 (4th Cir. 2005)
Several Du Pont employees (plaintiffs), represented by attorney Lyons, sued Du Pont (defendant) for national-origin, religious, and racial discrimination after Du Pont banned displaying Confederate symbols at work, framing themselves as "Southern Confederate Americans." Du Pont warned the employees it would seek Rule 11 sanctions if the suit wasn't dropped within 21 days; when they refused, Du Pont moved for sanctions, and the district court eventually dismissed the suit and found some claims lacked factual support, sanctioning Lyons $10,000.
Whether a court may sanction an attorney for filing a complaint containing allegations that lack factual support.