“Win-At-All-Costs” Litigation Using Illegal e-Discovery Leads to Dismissal of a Billion Dollar Case

Last week I mentioned the mean streets of litigation and my guess that most judges do not know how bad it has become. Two federal judges in South Florida know: District Court Judge Patricia A. Seitz and Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan. Leor Exploration & Production LLC v. Aguiar, 2010 WL 3782195 (Sept. 28, 2010, S.D.Fl.). They have seen and responded to some real Dr. Evil type of conduct by the defendant in this case over One Billion Dollars. The misconduct culminated in illegal e-discovery where defendant hacked into the opposing party’s email and read his lawyers’ advice and strategies for the case. Judge O’Sullivan found, and Judge Seitz agreed, that defendant had a “win-at-all-costs mentality regarding this litigation.” Leor, supra at *4.

Leor Exploration & Production LLC v. Aguiar is the name here given to a group of interrelated commercial litigation cases arising out of a multi-billion dollar oil and gas discovery. There were multiple claims and counter-claims, including fraud, breach of contract, and negligence. It also involved a bitter family rivalry. When Judges O’Sullivan and Seitz were shown clear and convincing evidence of what the individual defendant had done, they responded as they needed to do to protect the American legal system. They threw out his claims. Assuming this sanction order is upheld on appeal to the Eleventh Circuit, it will stand as the largest e-discovery sanction case in history.

Judge Seitz affirmed and adopted the Magistrate’s 54 page Report and Recommendation. The report contains the details of the facts. These facts illustrate what I mean by mean streets, not to mention bizarre; somewhat like an Austin Powers movie. These two often go hand in hand. For instance, to evaluate the defendant’s intent as required to impose sanctions, Judge O’Sullivan heard testimony and ultimately concluded that he was bipolar, psychotic, and his “… psychosis manifested itself in both grandiose and paranoid delusions. In the spring of 2008, Aguiar expressed the grandiose belief that he is or could be the Messiah.” When in his manic mode he “experienced racing thoughts, insomnia, talkativeness, rapid speech and irritability.” Sound like anyone you know? A lovely person to be litigating against, especially when he has millions to burn.

To Continue Reading: Click Here
-----------------------------------------------
Source: e-discoveryteam.com
By: Ralph Losey