Filed: Oct. 04, 2000
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 99-60080 UNITED CAPITOL INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, VERSUS PONTOTOC ELECTRIC POWER ASSOCIATION, Defendant/Third Party Plaintiff, VERSUS A B CHANCE COMPANY, Third Party Defendant - Appellee/Cross-Appellant, VERSUS DAN W WEBB, Appellant/Cross-Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court For the Northern District of Mississippi (3:91-CV-19-B) October 2, 2000 Before KING, Chief Judge, REYNALDO G. GARZA and PARKER, Circuit Judges. P
Summary: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 99-60080 UNITED CAPITOL INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, VERSUS PONTOTOC ELECTRIC POWER ASSOCIATION, Defendant/Third Party Plaintiff, VERSUS A B CHANCE COMPANY, Third Party Defendant - Appellee/Cross-Appellant, VERSUS DAN W WEBB, Appellant/Cross-Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court For the Northern District of Mississippi (3:91-CV-19-B) October 2, 2000 Before KING, Chief Judge, REYNALDO G. GARZA and PARKER, Circuit Judges. PE..
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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 99-60080
UNITED CAPITOL INSURANCE COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
VERSUS
PONTOTOC ELECTRIC POWER ASSOCIATION,
Defendant/Third Party Plaintiff,
VERSUS
A B CHANCE COMPANY,
Third Party Defendant - Appellee/Cross-Appellant,
VERSUS
DAN W WEBB,
Appellant/Cross-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
For the Northern District of Mississippi
(3:91-CV-19-B)
October 2, 2000
Before KING, Chief Judge, REYNALDO G. GARZA and PARKER, Circuit
Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Dan W. Webb (“Webb”) appeals a sanctions order imposed by the
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under
the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
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district court. A. B. Chance Company (“Chance”) cross appeals,
asserting that the sanctions ordered were insufficient. We affirm.
This case arises from an action by United Capitol Insurance
Company (“United”) against Pontotoc Electric Power Association
(“PEPA”) to recover payments made to Washington Furniture
Manufacturing Company (“Washington”) when a fire damaged one of
Washington’s warehouses. In its second amended complaint, United
alleged that “the failure of the transformer fuses to blow when
confronted with an electrical malfunction was caused by defective
transformer fuses provided and installed by [PEPA] in the delivery
of electrical service to the Plaintiff . . . .” PEPA then filed a
third-party complaint seeking indemnification against Chance, the
manufacturer of all fuselinks used by PEPA in the warehouse. Prior
to trial, United withdrew its allegation of defects in the
fuselinks and the district court dismissed Chance as a third-party
defendant with prejudice, but carried Chance’s motion for sanctions
against United until the conclusion of the case. The case went to
trial and the jury returned a general verdict for defendants.
On October 21, 1997, the district court issued an order
granting Chance’s motion, finding that United’s counsel had
violated Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 by filing the second
amended complaint with no evidentiary support for its faulty fuse
claim. Further, the district court found that United’s counsel
violated 28 U.S.C. § 1927 by filing the second amended complaint
and “in refusing to dismiss the claims of defective fuses despite
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Chance’s request to do so.” The court stated that United’s
counsel’s response to the sanctions motion demonstrated “the
propensity of United’s counsel to unreasonably and vexatiously
multiply the litigation.” The court further determined that
United’s attorneys “should pay Chance’s reasonable attorneys’ fees
and expenses incurred because of United’s frivolous claim for
defective fuses,” but did not determine the amount of the
sanctions.
On January 22, 1999, the district court ordered Webb and his
associate J. Max Edwards to take six hours of Continuing Legal
Education in ethics within twelve months. In addition, the court
fined Webb $7,500.00, to be submitted to counsel for Chance within
thirty days. Webb appealed, asserting that he should not have been
sanctioned at all. Chance cross appealed, arguing that the
$7,500.00 sanction was inadequate because it had incurred actual
fees and expenses exceeding $100,000.
We review the imposition of sanctions under either 28 U.S.C.
§ 1927 or Rule 11 for an abuse of discretion. Conner v. Travis
County,
209 F.3d 794, 799 (5th Cir. 2000)(28 U.S.C. § 1927);
Thornton v. General Motors Corp.,
136 F.3d 450, 454 (5th Cir.
1998)(Rule 11). The record, the briefs and the argument of counsel
reveal no abuse of discretion in the imposition of sanctions or in
their amount. We therefore affirm the orders of the district
court.
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Chance’s motion for additional sanctions against Webb, based
on allegations that he abused the appeal process, is denied.
Chance’s motion for damages and costs in accordance with Federal
Rule of Appellate Procedure 38 is denied. Chance’s motion for
attorney’s fees on appeal is denied.
AFFIRMED. Motions for sanctions, damages, costs and
attorney’s fees DENIED.
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