Accordingly, defendants’ Motion to Tax Attorneys’ Fees and Costs is GRANTED. Plaintiffs Manton and IFOA and their counsel of record, Daniel G. Abel and Richard J. Feldman, are jointly and severally liable to defendants in the amount of $22,382.00 in reasonable attorneys’ fees. Cf. Blanco River, LLC v. Green, 457 F. App’x 431, 434, 438-39 (5th Cir. 2012 (affirming district court’s imposition of sanctions jointly and severally on defendant and defendant’s counsel because defendant had acted in bad faith and counsel had unreasonably and vexatiously multiplied the proceedings). ~ United States District Court Judge Sarah Vance
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Press release / St Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain’s Blog
Sheriff’s Office Recoups Taxpayer Funds Spent Defending Frivolous Lawsuits
The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office was recently awarded $22,382 in legal fees spent defending a frivolous lawsuit in federal court.
The case, brought before the United States District Court by Sherry Manton and her attorney, Daniel Abel, was essentially a rehashing of an earlier lawsuit against the Sheriff’s office by her husband, Norman Manton. (Note: several media reports related to the particulars of these cases have been published both locally and nationally – see Human Events magazine).
Both cases were dismissed by summary judgment due to the Court’s view that, in the first case, there was insufficient evidence to support any of Manton’s claims and, in the second, not only did Manton fail to establish a case on any of her claims, but also that the doctrine of res judicata applied. (The intent of res judicata is to prevent matters already litigated from being re-litigated).
In the second case, the Court also held that the plaintiffs “vexatiously multiplied the proceedings.” This standard requires “clear and convincing evidence that every facet of the litigation was patently meritless and evidence of bad faith, improper motive, or reckless disregard of the duty owed to the court.”
As a result of these findings, Judge Sarah Vance yesterday issued a ruling in favor of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and against the plaintiffs and their counsel, Daniel Abel and Richard J. Feldman.
“We are very pleased that the Sheriff’s office was able to recoup the tax payers’ money that was required to defend this frivolous lawsuit,” said Chief Deputy Brian Trainor.
Sheriff Jack Strain assured the residents of St. Tammany that he will do everything possible to prevent their tax dollars from being wasted on these types of court actions. “The Sheriff’s office cannot prevent the filing of frivolous lawsuits against our deputies. What we can control is how we respond as an agency to such filings. When our deputies are right, we will stand behind them through the entire process,” Strain said.
Daniel G. Abel:
Are you going to self-report these sanctions to the Louisiana Office of Disciplinary Counsel?
Have you or Perrett or Leary filed a BP Spill claim of any kind?
Someone, like Judge Swartz or his lawyer needs to check the form Abel filled out to practice in the Middle District so as to file that lawsuit which conflicted out Judge Swartz and which is in reality, is Gates v Strain Part 2 (Res Judicata and all dat stuff IMHO). I believe on the top of page two of said form is a check box of some sort regarding prior sanctions etc. If it was me I’d nab that form from the Clerk’s office.
I’m not an attorney, but it seems very reasonable that attorneys representing Sheriff Strain’s office should file some sort of complaint or notification with the ODC. Don’t attorneys have an obligation to report the misconduct of other attorneys when they have a reason to believe such has happened? What say you Mr. Gary L. Hanes?
So how long does the king of all douches have to pay his fines? Can Strain throw him in the slammer for non payment if he doesn’t come up with the cash?
The reign of this epic douche needs to end…..quickly
I would bet Daniel G. Abel still has some time for appealing the court’s decision. I would also bet it will be a federal marshall who enforces the court’s order should Daniel G. Abel not comply.