Sanctions for Unsupported Conspiracy Theories Unsupported by Any Evidence
Two Colorado attorneys, Gary D. Fielder and Ernest J. Walker were ordered to pay over $180,000 in attorneys fees for their “fantastical, unsupported and disorganized” claims in a class action suit seeking $160 billion in damages for the nation’s voters due to Donald Trump’s election defeat. https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/national/general-election/2142037/federal-judge-tells-lawyers-to-pay-in-us-election-fraud-case.html
Their lawsuit claimed that state leaders in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia had conspired with Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan and Dominion Voting Systems to steal the Presidency from Donald Trump in 2020. The complaint was a cut and paste of false allegations from other cases around the country that had already been dismissed. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/08/04/pro-trump-attorneys-sanctioned-in-colorado-over-election-lawsuit---one-enormous-conspiracy-theory-judge-fumes/?sh=5f987bb37581 The attorneys had not investigated or verified the facts which they were alleging. They had not spoken to the other attorneys whose cases containing these false allegations had been heard and dismissed. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/lawyers-sanctioned-for-fantastical-2020-election-fraud-suit
Judge Neureiter said the lawsuit’s purpose was to “manipulate gullible members of the public” and helped spur the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/federal-judge-tells-lawyers-pay-us-election-fraud-81376506 The two attorneys collected $95,000 in public donations to support their lawsuit.
The judge said the “suit repeated ‘unverified and uninvestigated defamatory rumors that strike at the heart of our democratic system and were used by others to foment a violent insurrection that threatened our system of government.’ ” https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/national/general-election/2142037/federal-judge-tells-lawyers-to-pay-in-us-election-fraud-case.html
Judge Neureiter explained “"I conclude that the repetition of defamatory and potentially dangerous unverified allegations is the kind of “advocacy” that needs to be chilled. Counsel should think long and hard, and do significant pre-filing research and verification, before ever filing a lawsuit like this again." https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/582760-two-lawyers-who-filed-suit-challenging-election-results-ordered-to Attorney Gary D. Fielder said he is appealing the court’s sanctions for his conduct to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, saying it was “unfathomable” that they should have to pay opposing lawyers’ legal fees.
Prepared by: Lucien Wulsin
Dated: 11/29/21