Update (2/27/2012): Litigation Reminder: don’t make stuff up. It is against the rules for lawyers to make stuff up. If a lawyer succumbs in the heat of the moment (or is misled by a client), then after cool-down (or after independent investigation), yank (withdraw) the baseless allegations.
The linked opinion by U.S. District Court Judge Susan R. Nelson (D. Minn.) is not only worth reading to reinforce this basic rule but is also worthwhile for insight into attorney billing practices, costs of litigation, fee awards, recoverable, and non-recoverable costs. (Original post after the jump).
Original Post (10/14/2011): Twice in one week, we confront a defendant whose counterclaim did not work out as planned. This week, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson (D. Minn.) reaffirmed her August sanctions order against counsel in the Hanson v. Loparex litigation (previously covered here) because defense counsel brought a counterclaim without any evidentiary basis.
As seems to often (and fairly) be the case, the malfeasance appears to have as much or more to do with a refusal to back down rather than with an originally poor legal strategy.