Muathe v. Fleming, No. 17-3095 (10th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseA group of Kansas citizens (calling themselves the Summary Judgment Group) wanted to oust from office several allegedly biased Kansas state judges, including defendants–appellees Judge Lori B. Fleming and Judge Kurtis Loy. To that end, Kasey King, on behalf of the group, contracted with My Town Media, Inc., which operated a local radio station, to run an advertisement requesting signatures on a petition to “summon a grand jury” and “remove sitting Crawford County District Judges.” Facing a motion to dismiss their case, the appellant-citizens attached a materially altered e-mail (described as an “unofficial version”) to an amended complaint. The appellees notified the appellants that the e-mail was inaccurate, but the appellants refused to withdraw it. Appellees then filed a motion for sanctions under Fed. R. Civ. P. 11. The district court ordered the requested sanctions, dismissing with prejudice all claims and awarding reasonable attorney’s fees. The appellants appealed that decision. Finding no abuse of discretion in the imposition of sanctions, The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court.
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