Million Dollar Sanction Overturned as Unprecedented, Punitive

An appellate court has reversed a trial court's levy of nearly a million dollars in sanctions against an attorney whose expert witness inadvertently violated a preclusion order. In Sutch v. Roxborough Memorial Hospital, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania rejected the sanctions imposed after a defense expert witness violated the ban because of an absence of any proof of willful conduct by defense counsel. Attorneys can reduce the risk of potentially similar court violations and sanctions by explaining to your expert before she testifies the meaning of any relevant preclusion orders, say leaders of the ABA Section of Litigation.