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The California Court of Appeal issued terminating sanctions against a party who repeatedly ignored court orders, failed to comply with discovery, and refused to appear at a court-ordered mediation session.
In JNG, LLC v. United States Fire Ins. Co., No. B188517, 2007 WL 106167 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan. 17, 2007), insurance broker JNG obtained insurance for Merchants Building Maintenance (Merchants) from United States Fire Insurance Co. (U.S. Fire.). Claiming that JNG withheld premium payments, U.S. Fire sued JNG for unjust enrichment.
JNG consistently ignored the advice of counsel, balked at discovery requests, and failed to comply with pre-trial requirements. In August 2005, JNG's attorneys asked to withdraw as counsel. The trial court granted this request, and JNG subsequently failed to appear at a court-ordered mediation session. These transgressions prompted U.S. Fire to move for terminating sanctions, which the trial court granted.
The Court affirmed the terminating sanctions and the resulting disposition in favor of U.S. Fire. While terminating sanctions are appropriate only in "egregious cases," California courts have applied them under similar circumstances where a party repeatedly ignores discovery requests. Mileikowsky v. Tenet Healthsystem, 128 Cal.App.4th 262, 279 (Cal. Ct. App. 2005). JNG's failure to attend a court-ordered mediation was a factor underlying the Court's determination that terminating sanctions were appropriate.
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