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Donegan v. Jackson3/4/2005
ffs and his client but also the Court and the numerous other litigants who appear before it. Mr. Carroll's conduct is especially disturbing in light of the medical community's purported belief that it is the victim of avaricious plaintiff's lawyers, shoddy jurisprudence and stalled justice.
Of no less importance in determining whether or not Mr. Carroll should be sanctioned, is the burden that Mr. Carroll placed upon his junior associate by sending that young lawyer into the courtroom where he was required to jeopardize his own standing and credibility in defending the indefensible. Similarly to be considered is the example that Mr. Carroll, as a senior member of the trial bar, set for the younger practitioners who frequent the motion calendars of the Superior Court. Mr. Carroll's course of conduct in this case reflects a pattern of attempting to avoid, hinder and delay legitimate discovery requests and to overburden and harass opposing counsel purely as a tactical maneuver and, unquestionably, sets the worst of examples.
Finally, Mr. Carroll is no stranger to S.Ct. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1), 26(f), 37(a)(4)(A) and 11. As indicated in a decision, of even date herewith and filed in the matter of Elena Cipriani et als v. Migliori et als PC 02 6206, now pending before this Court, Mr. Carroll has been called to task previously for his litigation tactics.
C) Mr. Carroll's Actions Warrant Sanctions Sufficient to Deter Comparable Conduct
Seemingly, it should be axiomatic that while every legitimate objection may and ought to be made, a party should not be permitted to cast blanket and unsubstantiated objections in the hope that the opposing party will be unable or unwilling to meet the challenge of pursuing the matter further, either because of an ignorance of the law or facts, or because of a lack of resources or from sheer frustration with the process. For this reason, in addition to the ones already stated, Mr. Carroll's conduct warrants sanctions sufficient to deter comparable conduct.
In fashioning a sanction Courts are permitted to use a wide range of alternative possible sanctions for violation of the discovery rules. Doering v. Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders et al., 857 F.2d 191, 194 (3rd Cir. 1988). This Court is reminded, however, to impose the least sanction adequate to effectuate the purpose of the rule. Id; Young v. City of Providence, 301 F.Supp.2d 187, 197 (D.C. R.I. 2004.) While the rule presently directs the court to limit sanctions to "what is sufficient to deter repetition of such conduct or comparable conduct by others similarly situated," each judge is largely free to impose the penalty of his or her choice. Thomason v. Lehrer, 182 F.R.D. 121, 131 (D. N.J. 1998); Lett v. Providence Journal Company, 798 A.2d 355, 368 (R.I. 2002) (A trial justice must have broad discretion to choose appropriate response to any fraudulent conduct committed by litigants); See generally, 5A Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil ยง 1336.3 (2004). Thus, the trial court is vested with considerable discretion because of the authority given to the court by Rule 11's use of the word "appropriate." Schulze v. South Main Bank, 837 S.W. 2d 733 (Tex. App. 1992); Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 advisory committee notes to the 1997 amendments (The court has significant discretion in determining what sanctions, if any, should be imposed for a violation .)
The appropriateness of a particular sanction is primarily a function to two variables: the facts presented and the court's purpose in penalizing the errant party. Anderson v. Beatrice Foods Co., 900 F.2d 388, 394 (1st Cir. 1990). Sanctions, under both Rules 11 and 37, serve dual purposes of deterrence
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