Award Could Not Lie Against Litigant’s Attorney, And Simply Challenging Judge For Bias Does Not Justify 271 Sanctions.
In Featherstone v. Martinez, Case No. B316280 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Dec. 21, 2022) (published), mother and her attorney were ordered to pay $10,000 each in Family Code section 271 sua sponte sanctions ordered by a family law judge for principally challenging that he was or appeared to be biased. Those awards were reversed on appeal.
As to mother’s attorney, case law established that 271 sanctions can only be imposed against the litigant, not the litigant’s attorney. That brought the court to the sanctions award against mother. Aside from expressing skepticism of whether a 271 sanctions award could be awarded sua sponte, the appellate court determined that the sanctions statute was not broad enough to reach bias challenges to a family law judge.
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