Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Johnmack Cohen v. Derek Smith Law Group, PLLC, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, No. 23-1015 · judgment April 24, 2024
Certiorari denied · November 4, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 0% cert probability
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
- Courts must find subjective bad faith to impose sanctions under inherent powers or 28 U.S.C. §1927 (“1927”). Chambers v. NASCO, Inc., 501 U.S. 32 (1991); Schlaifer Nance & Co. v. Estate of Warhol, 194 F.3d 323 (2d Cir. 1999). The District Court assumed bad faith without factual evidence by improperly utilizing the inapplicable Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Rule 11”). The District Court found no bad faith prior to Petitioner Johnmack Cohen Esq.’s (“Cohen”) January 13, 2020 motion in limine, only finding bad faith from “from this filing forward” because “[a]fter all [Rule] 11(b) was now implicated,” specifically the “‘affirmative duty to conduct a reasonable inquiry into the facts and the law before filing.’” Pet. App. 104a-110a(quoting Bus. Guides, Inc. v. Chromatic Commc’ns Enters., Inc., 498 U.S. 533,551 (1991). The District Court further stated, “.... in signing the moving papers, [pursuant to the implicit Rule 11(b) certification], [Petitioner] attested that he had made the necessary inquiry into the factual allegations substantiating the claims. As such, any misrepresentations... [about Plaintiffs other litigation] from this filing forward could not have been made in good faith...” and since “the procedural prerequisites to impose sanctions under Rule 11 for this filing are not satisfied here,... the Court is forced to rely on its inherent power and [] 1927.” Id. at 108a-110a. The Second Circuit affirmed without analysis on this issue. Id. at la-4a, 131a-132a. Question 1: Whether a court can use the implicit Rule 11(b) certification of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Johnmack Cohen
For respondent
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Case
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Proceedings
- Nov 04 2024Petition DENIED.
- Oct 16 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/1/2024.
- Aug 26 2024Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 30, 2024)