Barnett v. Garrigan
- Vince Chhabria
- 3:20-cv-02585
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Barnett v. Garrigan, Judge Chhabria sanctioned Andrew Barnett $600 for bad-faith attacks during a deposition.
Andrew Barnett was ordered to pay $600 and submit a compliance declaration. Defense counsel Jason Balogh and Kyla Nored were designated to receive compensation, and the order also referred to the defendant and defendants’ counsel as those affected by Barnett’s comments.
What happened
Barnett v. Garrigan concerned Andrew Barnett’s conduct during the deposition of Christine Pfeffer. The court considered whether sanctions were appropriate under its power to address abuse of the judicial process.
The court found that some interruptions were disruptive but not clearly made in bad faith. It found that two incidents involving personal attacks—including calling defense counsel a liar and making inappropriate comments about a defendant’s physical appearance—were made in bad faith. Barnett had notice of the alleged misconduct and an opportunity to respond.
Judge Vince Chhabria ordered Barnett to send $600 to defense counsel Jason Balogh by January 26, 2022, with $400 designated to compensate Kyla Nored and $200 designated for Balogh. Barnett also had to submit a declaration confirming compliance.
The detailed version
- Barnett v. Garrigan · No. 3:20-cv-02585
- Vince Chhabria
- Jan. 20, 2022
Background
This supplemental order addressed sanctions against Andrew Barnett for his conduct during the deposition of Christine Pfeffer. The court relied on its inherent power, meaning its authority to impose an appropriate sanction for conduct that abuses the judicial process.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that an inherent-power sanction requires a specific finding of bad faith or conduct equivalent to bad faith. Due process also requires notice of the alleged misconduct and an opportunity for the person facing sanctions to respond.
The court found that some of Barnett’s interruptions were disruptive but were not obviously made in bad faith. It found that two incidents escalated into personal attacks on the defendants and defendants’ counsel. These included calling counsel a liar and making inappropriate comments about a defendant’s physical appearance. The court found that these comments were made in bad faith. It also found that Barnett had notice of the challenged conduct and the bad-faith allegation and had exercised his opportunity to respond.
Ruling
Judge Vince Chhabria ordered Andrew Barnett to transmit $600 to defense counsel Jason Balogh by Wednesday, January 26, 2022. Of that amount, $400 was to compensate Kyla Nored and $200 was to compensate Balogh. The court stated that the sanction was intended to deter future misconduct and provide a remedy to the defendant and defendants’ counsel. Barnett also had to submit a declaration to the court by January 26 confirming compliance.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.