Opinion ID: 451623
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Bad Faith and Tactical Misuse of Disqualification Motions

Text: 24 The drafters of the ABA Code have cautioned that the ethical rules [were] not designed to permit a lawyer to call opposing counsel as a witness and thereby disqualify him as counsel. ABA Code, Canon 5, n. 31; accord Kroungold v. Triester, 521 F.2d at 766. The cost and inconvenience to clients and the judicial system from misuse of the rules for tactical purposes is significant. See Brown & Brown, Disqualification of the Testifying Advocate--A Firm Rule? 57 N.C.L.Rev. 595, 619-21 (1979). Because of this potential for abuse, disqualification motions should be subjected to particularly strict judicial scrutiny. Rice v. Baron, 456 F.Supp. 1361, 1370 (S.D.N.Y.1978); see also Freeman v. Chicago Musical Instrument Co., 689 F.2d 715, 721-22 (7th Cir.1982). 25 We have concluded that Anten's disqualification motion was utterly without merit. Further, we conclude from a review of the record that Anten had absolutely no basis for filing a disqualification motion at the time he filed it. His only information, based on the answer to one interrogatory, was that Style's counsel had given legal advice concerning the letter. Any testimony concerning the legal advice would be privileged. At no time during the pendency of the motion did Anten undertake discovery to support any supposition or speculation he might have had that counsel's role was other than as legal adviser. 26 Bad faith is apparent from such a record. But the record shows even more evidence of bad faith. Anten sought a number of unreasonable stipulations regarding the disputed letter: that the letter and the responses be excluded because the letter was admittedly libelous; that they be excluded because Optyl could not determine the exact number of letters sent and the persons to whom they were sent; 5 and that Anten would not call Optyl's counsel as witnesses if Optyl would admit that the letter was false, drafted with intent to harm Style, and prepared in a personal pique and out of desperation after the denial of Optyl's motion for a preliminary injunction. This conduct reveals that Anten's motive for bringing the libel counterclaim and the motion to disqualify was to find some way to exclude the evidence obtained by the mailing. 27 In short, the record is replete with evidence of tactical maneuvers undertaken in bad faith. Nonetheless, Anten asserts that we must still remand to the district court, because it failed to make an express finding of recklessness or bad faith, as required by Barnd v. City of Tacoma, 664 F.2d at 1343. 28 In general, our cases have read Barnd to require a finding of bad faith to support sanctions under section 1927. See, e.g., United States v. Austin, 749 F.2d at 1408, Lone Ranger Television, 740 F.2d at 720; Blodgett, 709 F.2d at 610. In Austin, we remanded to the district court for factual findings because the record indicated that counsel had merely shown a lack of diligence in locating his client, an insufficient basis by itself for imposition of sanctions under section 1927. 749 F.2d at 1409. In Blodgett, we remanded the district court's award of sanctions for filing of a frivolous appeal, primarily because the attorney in that case had not been given a hearing to explain his conduct. 709 F.2d at 610. 29 In the present case, Anten was given a full hearing concerning sanctions, and he was given ample opportunity to explain his conduct. We do not have before us an ambiguous record, but one that clearly indicates that Anten used the ethical rules and a disqualification motion as tactical devices. 30 A district court's failure to make express findings does not require a remand if a complete understanding of the issues may be had [from the record] without the aid of separate findings. Swanson v. Levy, 509 F.2d 859, 861 (9th Cir.1975); accord Nicholson v. Board of Education Torrance Unified School District, 682 F.2d 858, 866 n. 11 (9th Cir.1982); South-Western Publishing Co. v. Simons, 651 F.2d 653, 656 n. 2 (9th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 1018, 102 S.Ct. 1714, 72 L.Ed.2d 136 (1982). We have before us a complete record of the relevant proceedings in the district court. The record reflects that the district court was well aware of the bad faith standard under section 1927. Both parties submitted extensive arguments concerning whether or not Anten's conduct amounted to bad faith. In fact, when Anten moved for reconsideration of the district court's decision, he specifically argued that this court's previous decision was based on an erroneous finding of fact that defendant's counsel had no basis for a disqualification motion and that it was brought in bad faith. 31 To remand this case to the district court would elevate form over substance. The district court condemned Anten's conduct. We are convinced from the record that the district court necessarily found that Anten acted in bad faith, a finding amply supported by the record.