Mark A. Goodman and Michael S. Rumac were featured in the Law360 article "Supreme Court Snubs Texas Atty Fighting Contempt Order." Full text can be found in the October 5, 2015 issue, but a synopsis is below.
A Texas attorney has been found in contempt of court and ordered to pay $25,000 for "failing to post bond or pay sanctions." The court rejected the attorney's argument that a contempt order for failure to pay sanctions violated the prohibition on imprisonment for a debt. As a result, the defendant was fined an additional $6,500 to landlord Coventry II DDR/Trademark Montgomery Farm LP for expenses associated with attempting to collect the sanctions.
Mark A. Goodman and Michael S. Rumac of Fox Rothschild LLP represented Coventry II DDR in the case. The two mentioned that they never experienced behavior like the defendants before and referred to a judge's ruling by stating that the attorney "thumbed her nose" at the judicial system with her actions.
In response to the defendant's claim of a breakdown of the legal system, Goodman said, "We are very confident that every single court and every single appeal, at each level, was heard by very smart judges and everyone had fair consideration of all of the issues, and each and every time the courts ruled in favor of our clients."
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
