Sacramento Partner Mark Posard and San Francisco Partner Robyn Leonard prevailed on a motion for terminating sanctions on behalf of a healthcare client. Gordon & Rees’ client hired the plaintiff as a front office manager, and after discovering repeated violations of attendance and timekeeping policies, terminated her for time theft. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination, meal and rest period violations, unfair business practices, retaliation, and false imprisonment.
Following the plaintiff’s failure to cooperate with discovery, the court granted Gordon & Rees’ motions to compel the plaintiff’s attendance at deposition and to provide discovery responses, and ordered monetary sanctions. Nonetheless, the plaintiff continued to abuse the discovery process in violation of court orders, failed to pay monetary sanctions, and failed to appear at a mandatory settlement conference. Gordon & Rees filed a motion for terminating sanctions, or in the alternative, evidentiary sanctions and/or monetary sanctions. The court found that a terminating sanction was warranted, and entered judgment in favor of Gordon & Rees’ client. The plaintiff’s complaint was dismissed with prejudice.