A. Esterbauer

The plaintiffs brought a motion for a status hearing to show cause why their consolidated action, originating from claims commenced between 2000 and 2007 regarding the defendants' management of mortgaged properties, should not be dismissed for delay under Rule 48.14.

The court found that the plaintiffs failed to provide an acceptable explanation for at least seven years of delay, largely stemming from their failure to properly scan and index property management documents.

Furthermore, the court found that the defendants would suffer actual prejudice due to the death and unavailability of key witnesses.

The action was dismissed for delay.

The moving party brought a motion under Rule 57.07 of the Rules of Civil Procedure seeking to hold opposing counsel personally liable for litigation costs allegedly caused by misconduct, including advancing false evidence, suppressing documents, and encouraging clients to give perjured testimony.

The court conducted a detailed review of the history of the litigation and the governing principles for imposing personal cost liability on counsel.

While the court found that counsel had made some serious litigation errors, including failing to properly list privileged documents in an affidavit of documents and mishandling document preservation, it held that the conduct did not cause costs to be incurred without reasonable cause within the meaning of Rule 57.07.

The court emphasized the adversarial nature of civil litigation, the extreme caution required before awarding costs personally against lawyers, and the availability of procedural remedies to address discovery issues.

The motion was dismissed.