Opinion ID: 696580
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sanctioning of Appellant

Text: 55 Last, Strag contends that the district court abused its discretion in sanctioning her for the filing of a supplemental brief by assessing attorneys' fees and by striking her supplemental filings from the record. Because such a decision to impose sanctions is wholly within the discretion of the district court, we affirm. 56 In the proceedings below, Strag filed a motion for an extension of time in which to respond to the College's motion for summary judgment, which the district court denied. Strag accordingly filed a responsive brief in opposition to the summary judgment motion on July 5, 1994, and the College filed a timely reply brief on July 15, 1994. Twelve days later, on July 27, 1994, just as the district court was to begin considering the motion for summary judgment, Strag filed a Supplemental Brief in Support of Plaintiff's Response and an Argument Incorporating Material Subject to Consent Protective Order. These supplemental filings were not accompanied by any motion requesting leave to file such documents, and were filed despite the district court's earlier decision to disallow an extension of time to Strag to respond to the summary judgment motion. The supplemental filings, by Strag's own admission, were limited to information that came into her possession after the time her first responsive brief was due. The district court accordingly struck the supplemental filings from the record. 57 On August 11, 1994, when the district court entered summary judgment in favor of the College, the court directed Strag to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed in the form of an award of defendant's costs, expenses, and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the College in responding to the supplemental brief. Strag argued that no sanctions should be imposed because: (1) the court's order denying her an extension made no explicit reference to a prohibition against filing supplemental briefs, (2) the supplemental brief contained facts not in her possession when she first responded to the College's motion, (3) the supplemental brief was necessary to preserve the record, and (4) the district court's inherent power to sanction must be exercised with restraint and discretion. The district court nevertheless imposed sanctions. Strag now appeals this decision. 58 The case law is well established that district courts have the inherent power to sanction parties for certain bad faith conduct, even where there is no particular procedural rule that affirmatively invests the court with the power to sanction. In Chambers v. NASCO, Inc., 501 U.S. 32, 111 S.Ct. 2123, 115 L.Ed.2d 27 (1991), the Supreme Court addressed a case in which a district court had sanctioned a party and assessed attorneys' fees and expenses because the party had used harassment and delay tactics, and had filed false and frivolous pleadings. In affirming the imposition of the sanctions, the Supreme Court held that district courts are vested, by their very creation, with power to impose silence, respect, and decorum, in their presence, and submission to their lawful mandates. 501 U.S. at 43, 111 S.Ct. at 2132 (citations omitted). In finding that the sanctions in that case amounted to a proper exercise of that inherent sanctioning power, the Court noted that [b]ecause of their very potency, inherent powers must be exercised with restraint and discretion. A primary aspect of that discretion is the ability to fashion an appropriate sanction for conduct which abuses the judicial process. Id. at 44-45, 111 S.Ct. at 2132-33. In so holding, the Court held that the special sanction of attorneys' fees is appropriate in three circumstances: (1) where a party's litigation efforts directly benefit others, (2) where a party has willfully disobeyed a court order, and (3) where a party has acted in bad faith, vexatiously, wantonly, or for oppressive reasons. Id. at 45-46, 111 S.Ct. at 2133-34. Cf. United States v. Shaffer Equipment Co., 11 F.3d 450, 461-62 (4th Cir.1993) (recognizing a district court's inherent power to impose sanctions, but finding that the dismissal of the case altogether was too severe a sanction in that particular instance). 59 In the instant case, the sanctions imposed upon Strag--the assessment of attorneys' fees and the striking of the supplemental brief--were wholly appropriate for several reasons. First, in the exercise of its inherent power to sanction, the district court did exercise great discretion and restraint, as cautioned by the Supreme Court in Chambers. Indeed, the sanctions served only to punish Strag for the actual actions taken concerning the submission of the supplemental briefs: the supplemental briefs were struck and attorneys' fees were assessed only to the extent such fees were incurred in responding to the actual supplemental briefs. The district court did not take any excessive measures against Strag such as assessing general attorneys' fees or litigation costs, or dismissing the case entirely. 60 Second, although Strag contends that she did not violate any rules or court orders by submitting the supplemental briefs, she fails to account for the fact that the supplemental briefs were filed despite an earlier order by the district court expressly disallowing any extension of time in which to respond to the College's motion for summary judgment. Strag makes the argument, on appeal, that because the court did not specifically prohibit supplemental briefs in its denial of extension, that the filing of such supplemental briefs must have thus been permitted. The argument is unconvincing, however, in light of the fact that the logical inference of the denial of the motion to extend was that Strag's reply to the summary judgment motion necessarily was to be received by July 5, 1994, and could not be submitted after that date; by filing a supplemental brief after July 5, Strag attempted to circumvent the district court's denial of her request for extension. 61 Third, and related, Strag argues that neither the Federal Rules nor the local rules of procedure explicitly prohibit the filing of supplemental briefs. The argument is again unconvincing since there are many filings that are not specifically prohibited by these rules but are nonetheless not usually permitted in civil litigation. As noted by the district court, that which is not expressly prohibited is not, thereby, implicitly allowed. 62 Fourth, Strag argues that her intent in filing the supplemental briefs was to provide the Court with information that she did not have at the time of her initial response. However, the Court, in denying her motion to extend, had already decided that such information was not to be included in her response since the delay in discovery was not due to any fault on the part of the College. Strag is not allowed, by introducing such evidence in her supplemental filings, thereby to circumvent the district court's earlier decisions ordering when discovery was to cease and when responses were to be filed. 63 Fifth, under Chambers v. NASCO, supra, it is clear that the district court had the inherent power to impose such sanctions. Because the conduct of a trial falls within the sound discretion of the district court, an appeals court should generally not disturb such a sanction, particularly if there is no prejudice to the party. Here, it is undeniable that striking the supplemental briefs meant that evidence obtained by Strag from the last few depositions was not before the district court when it made its decision to grant summary judgment to the College. However, as noted by the district court, the additional evidence could have been put before the district court if it had been done properly; that is, Strag's counsel should have moved for leave to file the supplemental brief, with the supplemental brief attached thereto. Instead, Strag filed the supplemental brief without requesting leave to file the same, and it was immediately made a part of the record by the Clerk of the Court; the College was therefore forced to argue against the merits of the brief, and thus forced to bear the burden of Strag's improper actions. In such a context, the imposition of sanctions was wholly appropriate. Accordingly, the judgment is 64 AFFIRMED.