As for taking action to protect yourself against frivolous legal tactics, deadlines may vary from one jurisdiction to another. In some situations you have to bring your claim that a charge is frivolous as a counterclaim to the original lawsuit -- judges want to handle everything related to the same issue at once. Often, too, judges look favorably on litigants who let their adversaries know early on that they think a claim is frivolous and ought to be settled. You're safest to take appropriate action as soon as you have grounds for believing that an adversary is using unwarranted tactics.
Just as the specific statute or other legal authority you'll use to protect yourself against unwarranted legal maneuvers varies from case to case, so may the kind of costs you're permitted to recover. Many statutes permit you to recover court costs -- fees for the clerk, marshal, and court reporter, fees for printing documents and witnesses' per diems, fees for photocopies, expert witnesses, and interpreters. More recently, attorney's fees have been added to the costs you may recover under a variety of statutes. You'd probably like to be able to recover other costs, too: your salary for the time you spent handling the case, travel and other out-of-pocket costs, and pain and suffering. It would be rare to recover these, but under some statutes, judges have broad discretion to award "appropriate damages." Federal appellate courts can in some instances award damages for the delay you suffer because of a frivolous appeal, and they can, if they wish, award you double the amount of your actual costs.
As a rule, it will be up to the judge who decides your case to determine just how much you're entitled to. And, as the Wall Street brokerage firm Smith Barney Harris & Upham learned, just because you spend money doesn't mean you'll recover it. The firm took action against a former employee, Anthony Tedeschi, for alleged negligence that resulted in substantial losses to the firm. Tedeschi struck back with a barrage of legal claims, every one of which eventually was thrown out of court. The court lambasted Tedeschi for bringing claims "patently without substance," "egregious," and "vicious." But the company was awarded only $10,000 of the almost $50,000 it claimed to have spent defending itself.
When determining how much to award someone who wins a claim for court costs and attorney's fees, courts consider the time, labor, and skill needed to provide proper legal service; how difficult the issues are; the fee usually charged in the area for similar services; the amount of money at stake in the litigation; and whether time limits imposed by the circumstances demand unusual effort. Such time limits might take the form of court-imposed deadlines, a statute of limitations, or a situation in which safety or market conditions require you to move quickly. The best advice here is to act judiciously. The opportunity to recover costs you incur because of an opponent's frivolous legal tactics isn't a blank check to spend your adversary's money.
And a word to the wise. If you want to recover costs, be sure to ask for them. Some litigants, for instance, have recovered their attorney's fees, but not court costs, which can also be substantial. Courts may have the discretion to award a cost you don't ask for, but there's no guarantee they will give it of their own accord.
DELAYING TACTICS
Claims against you may be legitimate; the tactics may not
If your adversaries engage in any of the following practices, don't assume they're part of the process:
* Ask for information they can easily get elsewhere
* Name as an expert witness someone who isn't qualified
* Refuse to prepare papers requested by the court
* Miss scheduled court appearances
* Show up late for court
* Ask for court hearing dates to be rescheduled time and again
* Make redundant requests that cause you additional work without legitimate reason
* Stonewall when asked to answer questions or provide documentation
* File papers that cause you unnecessary work or delay court procedures
* Appeal a trial court's decision when there's no good reason to do so.
A FRIVOLOUS LAWSUIT
A case in which the employer recovered full costs
The Anheuser-Busch Inc. plant in Missouri had employed Morris Obin for 10 years. During this period, it had warned him at least 20 times about misconduct, which included leaving work early, absenteeism, and assault.
On April 28, 1975, someone observed Obin drinking on the job -- for the third time in 30 days. Obin's supervisor called him in to tell him he might be formally disciplined. On the way out, Obin cursed the informer and sprayed him with beer. At last, Obin was fired. He sued Anheuser-Busch, claiming that the company violated his civil rights by discriminating against him on the basis of his religion. The litigation dragged on for two and a half years. Anheuser-Busch repeatedly tried to settle with Obin, telling him there was little chance he'd win, but he insisted on pursuing the litigation.
The judge who heard this case in 1980 decided that Obin's claim was frivolous because there weren't any facts to support it. Anheuser-Busch was entitled to recoup all the money it spent defending itself, $25,000.
