via Bernard v. ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY, Dist. Court, WD Tennessee 2018 – Google Scholar
This is a wrongful termination case where the plaintiff initially filed time-barred EEOC claims. The claims were time-barred because they were not filed within 90 days of the issuance of the right to sue letter.
After the Defendant moved to dismiss those claims, the plaintiff promptly filed an amended complaint removing those claims. Therefore, Rule 11 and Section 1927 sanctions were denied:
The filings reveal that Illinois Central and Bernard conferred numerous times regarding the issues surrounding Bernard’s initial complaint. There is no indication that Bernard’s conduct was objectively unreasonable such that sanctions would be appropriate under either Rule 11 or 28 U.S.C. § 1927. Based on the parties’ discussions and Bernard’s January 3, 2018, supplementation of his Complaint with the Right to Sue letter, Illinois Central should have been aware that Bernard was not intending to pursue any claims except those arising from the 2015 EEOC Charge. It further appears that counsel were conferring during and around the holidays and various days of inclement weather which impacted business. And, it appears during this time that there was some dispute as to which attorney would be appearing on behalf of Bernard. While counsel for Bernard could have been more prompt in amending his pleadings or more clear in responding to Illinois Central’s concerns, the court declines to find that such conduct was objectively unreasonable given the circumstances.
fedcivilprocedure 