Issue: Under federal law within the Ninth Circuit, does the law of the case doctrine relieve a party from re-litigating a motion for Rule 11 sanctions?
| Area of Law: | Litigation & Procedure |
| Keywords: | Rule 11 sanctions; Law of the case doctrine; Relitigation of motion |
| Jurisdiction: | Federal |
| Cited Cases: | 956 F.2d 1245 |
| Cited Statutes: | None |
| Date: | 02/01/2001 |
Approximately one year ago, the defendant moved for Rule 11 sanctions against plaintiff and his counsel on the same grounds; and the court denied that motion. There is no cognizable basis for revisiting these issues now or for disregarding the law of the case doctrine. The court’s holding on the issue was clear. Although application of the doctrine is discretionary, considerations of judicial economy, fairness and consistency support application of the law of the case doctrine unless the party urging reconsideration makes a showing that reconsideration is justified. “The major grounds justifying reconsideration are an intervening change of the controlling law, the availability of new evidence or the need to correct a clear error or prevent manifest injustice.” Virgin Atl. Airways, Ltd. v. National Mediation Bd., 956 F.2d 1245, 1255 (2d Cir.) (quoting Wright, Miller & Cooper, Federal Practice and Procedure: § 4478, at 790 (1981)), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 820, 113 S. Ct. 67, 121 L. Ed. 2d 34 (1992).
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