Section 1927 Sanctions Must Be Tied To Attorney’s Personal Acts of Misconduct

A lawyer hired to give copyright law advice to lead counsel in an infringement action is not accountable for the principal attorney’s slipshod filings and vexatious trial conduct absent any indication that he was directly involved in those misdeeds, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled July 22 (FM Industries Inc. v. Citicorp Credit Services Inc.).

Writing for the court, Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook concluded that 28 U.S.C. §1927, which permits sanctions against any attorney who “multiplies the proceedings in any case unreasonably and vexatiously,” does not impose a duty to supervise, ...