Six Lawyers Sanctioned for "Monumental" Discovery Violations, Face Ethics Probe (MORE, CLICK HERE)

Six Lawyers Sanctioned for "Monumental" Discovery Violations, Face Ethics Probe
New York Lawyer - January 8, 2008
By Zusha Elinson and Dan Levine - The Recorder

Six attorneys in the Qualcomm Inc. discovery fiasco were sanctioned Monday for "monumental" discovery violations and referred to the State Bar of California for possible discipline.

Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder attorneys James Batchelder, Adam Bier, Kevin Leung, Christian Mammen and Lee Patch, and Heller Ehrman's Stanley Young were sanctioned and harshly criticized by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major in a 42-page order. The ruling follows a patent infringement trial Qualcomm had brought against Broadcom Corp.

The attorneys "assisted Qualcomm in committing this incredible discovery violation by intentionally hiding or recklessly ignoring relevant documents, ignoring or rejecting numerous warning signs that Qualcomm's document search was inadequate, and blindly accepting Qualcomm's unsupported assurances that its document search was adequate," Major wrote.

The judge also sanctioned Qualcomm for intentionally withholding "tens of thousands of e-mails." Qualcomm will have to pay Broadcom's $8.5 million attorney fees -- though that award mirrors a sanction already imposed by another judge.

The long-awaited ruling closes a chapter on the Qualcomm discovery saga and passes the baton to the State Bar of California for further investigation. Attorneys across the country have watched the case evolve as a cautionary tale of discovery violations even when highly respected litigators are on the case.

Lawrence Keeshan, a partner at Heller Ehrman, said the firm is pleased that the court did not sanction other Heller attorneys involved in the case. "However, we believe the sanctions imposed on Stanley Young are unwarranted," Keeshan said. "This is especially true as Mr. Young did not have the opportunity to tell his full story to the court, because he was prevented from doing so by the attorney-client privilege."

William Boggs, the DLA Piper partner who serves as Qualcomm's corporate counsel, said the company is considering its options, including further appeal.

Said Broadcom vice president of IP litigation David Rosmann, "I don't think anybody can look at this and feel happy."