Civil Procedure – Frivolous appeals

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Civil Procedure – Frivolous appeals

Where a party appealed without basis merely to stall enforcement of the judgment, sanctions are appropriate.

“[P]ost-judgment interest rates are so low that there is a clear incentive for Hershey to try to stall enforcement of the judgment. (Post-judgment interest on this Feb. 4, 2011 judgment is just 0.28 percent per year. See http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/data.htm, with weekly data for Treasury bills with constant maturity of one year.) Hershey surely must understand as much. The objective circumstances here — the combination of Hershey’s sophistication, the clarity of the district court’s correct decision, Hershey’s complete failure to come to grips with applicable law and facts, and the financial incentive for delay — are such that we find it appropriate to impose Rule 38 sanctions. We see no apparent mitigating factors that weigh against imposition of Rule 38 sanctions.”

So Ordered.

11-1550 Harris N.A. v. Hershey

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Schenkier, Mag. J., Hamilton, J.

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