North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Because defense counsel had appeared on defendant’s behalf, defendant violated N.C. R. Civ. P. 11 when he subsequently filed eight pro se motions and initiated a civil suit against plaintiff for actions that took place prior to a consent order, in which the parties had “waive[d] further claims against one another” based on conduct occurring prior to the consent order.
We affirm the trial court’s entry of a sanctions award against defendant in the amount of $400 plus $1,500 in attorney’s fees.
The trial court did not err in denying defendant’s own Rule 11 motion. Plaintiff’s attorney had previously filed an inadequate contempt motion. The trial court addressed those issues by denying the contempt motion. Moreover, defendant’s tardiness in filing his Rule 11 motion was seen as a tactic to offset plaintiff’s raised concerns.
Denton v. Baumohl (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-022-23, 10 pp.) (Jefferson Griffin, J.) Appealed from Buncombe County District Court (Susan Dotson-Smith, J.) Lakota Denton for plaintiff; Mary Elizabeth Arrowood for defendant. N.C. App. Unpub.
