Cotterill v. City and County of San Francisco et al

Filing 326

ORDER RE: SANCTIONS AMOUNT. Signed by Judge Jeffrey S. White on 6/18/13. (jjoS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/18/2013)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CHERYL COTTERILL,

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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No. C 08-02295 JSW

Plaintiff,
v.
SF CITY AND COUNTY, ET AL.,

ORDER RE SANCTIONS
AMOUNT

Defendants.

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This case is on remand from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for the purpose of

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allowing this Court the fullest opportunity to exercise its discretion to order the proper amount

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in sanctions against attorney Gregory M. Haynes for his conduct in the underlying litigation.

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The Court found, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed, that Mr. Haynes had unreasonably and

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vexatiously multiplied the underlying proceedings. The Court of Appeals remanded only for

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the limited purpose of allowing this Court to exercise its discretion with regard the specific

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amount of sanctions with reference to Mr. Haynes’ ability to pay: “... we remand for the district

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court to reconsider its sanctions award in light of our holding that it has the discretion to reduce

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the award because of Haynes’s inability to pay. We affirm the district court’s order in all other

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respects.” 2012 WL 2993125, at *1 (9th Cir. July 23, 2012).

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The Court held a conference with Mr. Haynes and counsel for Defendants in this matter

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on Friday, May 17, 2013. At the conference, the Court ordered Mr. Haynes to provide a

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declaration on or before June 7, 2013, regarding the amount he is able to pay of the sanctions

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levied against him pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1927 in the amount of $362,545.61. The Court

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specifically instructed Mr. Hayes to include evidence regarding his expectations for

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forthcoming amounts possibly procured in his currently-pending matters.

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In his response, devoid of evidentiary support or specific reference to sources of current

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or future income or specific amount of expenses, Mr. Haynes simply states that he is presently

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only able to provide a nominal sanctions payment in the amount of $500. Mr. Haynes has failed

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to provide necessary information to the Court upon which it could reasonably determine that

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counsel would be unable to satisfy the monetary sanction awarded in this case in the future.

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Accordingly, having failed to meet his burden once again, the Court finds that its original order
of sanctions was reasonable. The Court exercises its discretion to retain the award of

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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$362,545.61 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1927 for the amount of excess costs incurred by

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Defendants as a result of Mr. Haynes’ unreasonable and vexatious litigation conduct. It will be

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the task of Defendants to collect on this amount.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

June 18, 2013
JEFFREY S. WHITE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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