Thornton v. General Motors Corp.

Appellant attorney, Berney L. Strauss, was sanctioned under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 by the district court on its own initiative for filing a lawsuit on behalf of Donna Thornton against General Motors, Inc. for punitive damages without first having made a reasonable inquiry into the facts underlying Thornton’s claim. In imposing the sanctions, the district court suspended Strauss from the practice of law before the Western District of Louisiana for two years and ordered him to reimburse General Motors, Inc. its reasonable attorney’s fees incurred in defending the suit. This appeal…