Menz Bonner & Komar LLP Successfully Petitions for Sanctions Based on Violations of Prior Court Discovery Orders

On January 13, 2011, the New Jersey Superior Court adopted the recommendation of the Special Discovery Master to impose sanctions upon the plaintiff in an environmental coverage suit pursuant to New Jersey Court Rule 4:32-2. Menz Bonner & Komar LLP, acting on behalf of its clients First State Insurance Company, New England Insurance Company and Twin City Fire Insurance Company, moved for a dismissal of the plaintiff's complaint and for sanctions resulting from alleged discovery violations stemming from two prior court orders endorsing previous recommendations set forth by the Special Discovery Master regarding the production of discovery. Sanctions were recommended by the Special Discovery Master based on the attorney's fees incurred by the Defendants to (1) conduct a document review in Virginia at the Plaintiff's facilities; (2) prepare the motion for dismissal and sanctions; and (3) attend the hearing on the motion. Plaintiff argued that it was in compliance with the court's order when it permitted counsel for the defendants to visit its Virginia facilities for a review of its documents. However, the Special Discovery Master found that the plaintiff failed to comply with the court order in good faith because "[a]bsolutely no effort was taken by plaintiff to organize and present the relevant documents for review in a safe and sanitary environment." Plaintiff's counsel blamed plaintiff's failures to comply with the prior court orders on internal problems with the firm that previously handled the case for the plaintiff, as well as conflicts between inside and outside counsel for plaintiff over how the case should be handled. The Special Discovery Master stated that it made no difference who was to blame for conduct that amounted to stonewalling the defendants' legitimate discovery needs and court orders that required compliance, and as such, sanctions against the plaintiff were warranted.