Academic

Judge pricks finger, sticks it to plaintiff

By Eric Fink

The New York Law Journal reports on a case derailed by an apparently small detail:

In a case of first impression -- no pun intended -- a Queens, N.Y., judge has thrown out a tort action because, in part, the plaintiffs attorneys stapled the complaint in what he said was a dangerously negligent manner.

"[T]he poor stapling of the papers was so negligent as to inflict, and did inflict repeatedly, physical injury to the court personnel handling them," Supreme Court Justice Charles J. Markey wrote in Jones v. Fuentes, 29865/2008. "Such negligence on the part of counsel shows a lack of consideration."

The story goes on to note that slipshop stapling was not the only defect. The attorney also neglected to sign a notice of motion, and failed to attach an affidavit from the plaintiff attesting to her injuries. For anyone who teaches Civil Procedure, trial practice, or related subjects, the case is a nice illustration for students of the importance of following even the most seemingly nitpicky rules. 

The story reminded me of the Dickensian world of the Pennsylvania state courts, where I practiced for several years. Though ostensibly a unified judicial system, the Pennsylvania courts remain highly localized in practice, with many counties imposing arcane and picayune rules for everything down to the binding of papers. I actually heard tales of lawyers having papers rejected by the prothonotary¹ in Allegheny County for failure to comply with the requirement of binding across the top with two evenly spaced staples, covered by 3/4" black cloth tape. It became a standing joke in my office, when filing papers in certain counties, to tell the paralegal, "Don't forget to include a polecat on a stick, as required under the Schmegegge County Local Rules".  

¹A further Dickensian element of the Pennsylvania state courts is their adherence to 19th century terminology, such as "prothonotary" and "praecipe". I sometimes felt, when appearing in some of the more remote counties, that I would not have been out of place wearing Joe Pesci's "ridiculous outfit" from My Cousin Vinnie. 

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on September 28, 2009 (boomark / email).