Bennie Whitehead v. Food Max of Mississippi, Inc., Kmart Corporation v. Paul S. Minor

KING, Chief Judge,

with whom JERRY E. SMITH and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges, join, dissenting:

The majority, appellate judges all, are plainly exercised about lawyer Paul Minor’s efforts to collect his clients’ judgment against Kmart. In their effort to declare the kind of behavior that will not be accepted by this court, they have short-circuited the inquiry mandated by Rule 11 and our own case law, with potentially far-reaching consequences. I respectfully dissent.

In evaluating a district court’s imposition of sanctions under Rule 11(b)(1), this and other circuits generally look first to the…