Suit Tossed for Lawyer’s Taser and Pepper Spray Threats

A trial judge was justified in throwing out a lawyer’s pro se lawsuit as a sanction for misconduct that included “threaten[ing] to use pepper spray and a taser on opposing counsel,” the California Court of Appeal, Second District, held Dec. 9 (Crawford v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 2015 BL 403716, Cal. Ct. App. 2d Dist., B257412, 12/9/15).

“If ever a case required a terminating sanction, this is it,” Justice Arthur Gilbert said in upholding the dismissal of attorney Douglas J. Crawford’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank for what the trial judge described as “the most outrageous behavior [he] ...