Nick v. Morgan's Foods, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
270 F.3d 590 (8th Cir. 2001)
Nick (plaintiff) sued Morgan's Foods (defendant) for sexual harassment, and the district court ordered the parties into mediation under a Referral Order requiring pre-conference memoranda, good-faith participation, and warning that noncompliance could result in sanctions. Morgan's Foods missed the memorandum deadline and sent no representative with authority to approve settlements over $500 to the mediation conference, where it rejected two settlement offers from Nick without any counteroffer; at a subsequent show-cause hearing, Morgan's Foods essentially conceded it viewed the Referral Order as non-binding and chose to disregard it. The district court found Morgan's Foods had not participated in good faith and imposed sanctions, including Nick's mediation-related attorney's fees and a separate fine payable to the court clerk, later adding further sanctions after Morgan's Foods filed what the court deemed a frivolous motion for reconsideration; Morgan's Foods appealed only the fine payable to the court.
Whether Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f) authorizes a court to impose a monetary sanction payable directly to the court, rather than only to the opposing party, for a party's failure to comply with mediation obligations.