Rule 37(c) Sanctions Apply to Party, Not Lawyer

Sanctions imposed for failing to comply with discovery rules governing initial disclosures apply “only to the noncompliant party, not to counsel,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held Sept. 2 (Sun River Energy, Inc. v. Nelson, 2015 BL 284116, 10th Cir., 14-1321, 9/2/15).

Lawyers can’t be sanctioned under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(c)(1) for a failure to make “initial disclosures” under rules that “impos[e] an affirmative duty on all parties to disclose various items of basic information” to an opponent, Judge Bobby R. Baldock said.

Baldock said “the relevant case law from other circuits” ...