Gary Devaney, D/B/A Devaney Logging Company v. Continental American Insurance Company Daniel M. Speer, D/B/A Speer Holt Insurance, Tom E. Ellis

HILL, Senior Circuit Judge:

Petitioner Tom Ellis served as defense counsel for Continental American Insurance Company (“Continental”) in a suit brought by Gary Devaney for nonpayment of a claim for damaged logging equipment. A third party defendant, Daniel Speer, d/b/a Speer-Holt Insurance Agency, (“Speer”) participated in discovery but was dismissed on summary judgment prior to trial. The relationship between Continental and Devaney was highly acrimonious during the nineteen month pre-trial period, and each of the three parties in the suit filed motions for sanctions. The magistrate judge…