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Keywords

lawsuitplaintiffattorneylawyerdiscoverynegligenceliabilityappeal

attorneylawyerappeal

Related Cases

Weibrecht v. Southern Illinois Transfer, Inc., 241 F.3d 875

Facts

Kenneth Weibrecht was a deckhand for Southern Illinois Transfer who drowned while attempting to attach a barge to a tugboat. His son, Shane Weibrecht, brought a lawsuit under the Jones Act, claiming negligence on the part of Southern Illinois Transfer for not having enough crew members and for safety failures. The case faced multiple procedural issues, including the initial filing by Kenneth's wife, Marilyn, which was deemed unauthorized. After Shane was allowed to substitute as the plaintiff, the case proceeded to discovery, where further complications arose, including sanctions for failure to respond to discovery requests.

Kenneth Weibrecht was a deckhand for Southern Illinois Transfer. On the morning of February 16, 1998, Kenneth and another Southern Illinois Transfer employee, Mike Bader, were in the process of attaching a barge to a tug. Bader was the pilot of the tug and was in charge of the operation; Kenneth's job was to disconnect the barge from another vessel so that it could be attached to the tug. During the operation, Kenneth somehow slipped into the water and drowned.

Issue

Did the district court err in dismissing the case with prejudice based on the attorney's violation of ethical rules regarding contact with a represented party?

Rule

The ethical rule prohibits attorneys from communicating with parties represented by another lawyer without consent, and the court must determine whether this rule was superseded by the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA).

During the course of representing a client a lawyer shall not communicate or cause another to communicate on the subject of the representation with a party the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in that matter unless the first lawyer has obtained the prior consent of the lawyer representing such other party or as may otherwise be authorized by law.

Analysis

The court found that the attorney's contact with the tugboat pilot, who was represented by the vessel owner's lawyer, violated the ethical rule. The court also determined that the FELA did not override the ethical prohibition against contacting represented parties. The district court's application of the ABA Model Rules to determine representation was upheld, and the court concluded that the attorney's conduct warranted a sanction, but the dismissal with prejudice was too harsh given the circumstances.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals reversed the district court's dismissal with prejudice and remanded the case for further proceedings, indicating that a less severe sanction might be more appropriate.

Who won?

Shane Weibrecht prevailed in the appeal because the Court of Appeals found that the district court's dismissal with prejudice was an excessive sanction for the ethical violation.

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