The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York did not impose sanctions on an attorney who failed to check the metadata on fraudulent photographs that were produced by his client in discovery. Escapes
Finding that the attorney’s conduct was careless, but nonetheless objectively reasonable, Judge William H. Pauley III noted that his decision “showcases the importance of verifying a client’s representation.”
Jason Leventhal represented Angela Lawrence in a civil action alleging that, in 2014, New York City police officers entered Lawrence’s apartment without a warrant, destroyed her property, and stole her money. In 2016, Lawrence gave Leventhal 70 photographs that allegedly depicted the condition of her apartment a few days after the incident.
Leventhal saved the photographs as PDF’s and handed them over to the city. The photographs captured ripped furniture, a couch turned over, a broken air-conditioner, and disassembled stereos. Lawrence later gave conflicting deposition testimony about who took the photographs, causing the City of New York to request the images in their native format. The City then checked the photographs’ metadata, which revealed that 67 of the images were taken two years after the alleged incident. Leventhal withdrew as Lawrence’s attorney shortly after this discovery.
The City filed a motion for sanctions against both Leventhal and his client. The court found that the photographs depicted damages consistent with Lawrence’s initial testimony, and, therefore, a reasonable attorney would not have questioned their accuracy. The court determined that although Leventhal had been careless, his conduct did not warrant sanctions. However, the court sanctioned his client, Lawrence, for committing a fraud upon the court–Her case was dismissed.
Read the full opinion here.
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