South Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Where plaintiff was represented by an experienced attorney who carefully and independently vetted plaintiff’s allegations and claims before determining she had a viable cause of action against respondents, and where there is no evidence that plaintiff harassed or otherwise coerced her attorney into filing the complaint against respondents, the trial court abused its discretion when it sanctioned plaintiff personally. Although Rule 11, SCRCP, allows for the possibility of sanctions against a client, it is not intended to be used as a weapon against a client represented by counsel, whose job it is to be knowledgeable of the law and advise a lay client on the best course of action.
Reversed.
Kovach v. Whitley (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-033-22, 5 pp.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Berkeley County Circuit Court (Jean Hoefer Toal, J.) Dawes Cooke and Christopher Mark Kovach for petitioner; Jeffrey Breit, Joshua Steven Whitley and William Howell Morrison for respondents. S.C. S. Ct.
