Identiseal Corp. v. Positive Identification Systems, Inc.

Identiseal (plaintiff) sued Positive Identification Systems (PIS) (defendant) for misrepresentation, but Identiseal's attorney deliberately chose not to conduct discovery, believing his client's chances were better if the case were developed entirely at trial; at a final pretrial conference the district court ordered the case dismissed unless Identiseal conducted discovery, and when Identiseal still did not, the court dismissed the complaint. Identiseal appealed, arguing the court lacked authority to compel discovery on pain of dismissal.