Sanctions Against Counsel Affirmed For Filing Unsupported Defenses

THIS opinion from the Fourth District should cause people to think twice before presenting a defense to a lawsuit solely for the purpose of delay. The Fourth District affirmed an $18,000 sanction against counsel and stated:

Here, we affirm that section 57.105 is applicable in mortgage foreclosure actions to sanction defendants and/or their counsel for asserting defenses which they know or should know are not supported by the material facts of the case, but are nonetheless asserted for the primary purpose of delaying the entry of a final judgment. Furthermore, those who assert such knowingly unsupportable defenses may find themselves liable not just for a portion of the opposing party's attorney's fees, but also for other losses that a trial court finds resulted from the improper delay.