MVA Litigation Blog

Last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals kicked off the holiday by giving thanks for the power to prevent parties from reaping the benefits of fraud perpetrated against the federal courts. The Fourth Circuit decided in Barlow v. Colgate Palmolive Co., et al., No. 13-1839, No. 13-1840, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 22324 (4th Cir. Nov. 25, 2014) that the reach of federal jurisdiction extends far enough to snatch a case back from state court if a plaintiff secured remand based on fraudulent misrepresentations to the federal court.  The court also clarified that attorneys engaging in such ...

            Attorneys practicing under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are very familiar with Rule 11, which requires that they sign all papers submitted to a federal court and subjects them to possible sanctions for filing frivolous, harassing or baseless lawsuits and motions.  The U.S. Congress is currently considering the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2013 which aims to “amend Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to improve attorney accountability, and for other purposes,” those other purposes being to mandate and increase the sanctions facing attorneys for Rule 11 ...