Lee v. Walters
United States District Court for the District of Oregon
172 F.R.D. 421 (D.Or. 1997)
During discovery, Walters and the other defendants (represented by attorney Barnes) never submitted a written response to document requests, produced documents only belatedly after Lee (plaintiff) sought court help, failed to appear at depositions, and ignored or disobeyed four separate court orders despite Barnes's claim he would seek a protective order he never actually sought. Barnes attributed the delays to a busy litigation schedule but never told opposing counsel or the court he had no time — he simply ignored requests, forcing Lee to file three motions to compel. Lee moved for $10,000 in sanctions against the defendants and Barnes under multiple discovery rules and the court's inherent authority.
Whether sanctions may be imposed on a party or attorney for the willful, repeated failure to comply with discovery requests and orders.