Defendant Sanctioned $10,000 for "First Option" Rule 11 Motion

The court sua sponte sanctioned defendant $10,000 for its unsuccessful early motion for Rule 11 sanctions. "The Court looks with particular skepticism on sanctions motions brought immediately after joining issue and well before any type of discovery has taken place. . . . [U]nder the guise of being an abused party, the Defendant ultimately abused the Court through the excessive filing of 10 briefs and 1,700 pages through which the Court had to wade, only to conclude that neither motion was well-founded. For this reason, and as a means of cautioning future litigants against ill-conceived decisions to immediately move for sanctions as a 'first option,' the Court uses its inherent authority to tax a portion of the costs of responding to and defending [defendant's] motion against the Defendants."

Syneron Medical Ltd. v. Viora Ltd. et al, 2-14-cv-00639 (TXED December 12, 2014, Order) (Gilstrap, J.)