## Facts

- Gee Gee Nick sued Morgan’s Foods, Inc. under Title VII for sexual harassment and retaliation.
- At a Rule 16 scheduling conference, the court referred the case to court-annexed ADR under local rules and ordered completion by a specified date.
- The ADR Referral Order required each party to (1) submit a mediation memorandum addressing key facts, liability, damages, and the identity of the attendee, and (2) send a representative with full authority to settle.
- Morgan’s Foods did not submit the required mediation memorandum.
- Morgan’s Foods sent a corporate representative to mediation with settlement authority capped at $500.
- Defense counsel acknowledged the client, on his advice, made a calculated decision to disregard portions of the ADR Referral Order.
- The court previously imposed sanctions for failure to participate in ADR in good faith, including payment of plaintiff’s ADR-related fees and costs, the mediator’s fee, and a monetary fine payable to the Clerk.
- Morgan’s Foods moved for reconsideration, asserting Rule 16(f) did not authorize the sanctions (particularly a fine payable to the court) and arguing outside counsel alone was responsible.
- In the order summarized here, the court denied reconsideration and imposed additional sanctions for filing a frivolous motion that multiplied proceedings.

## Issues

1. Whether Morgan’s Foods and its counsel failed to participate in court-ordered ADR in good faith by violating the ADR Referral Order.
2. Whether Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f) and the court’s inherent authority permitted monetary sanctions, including payment of mediation-related costs and a fine payable to the court.
3. Whether the motion for reconsideration was frivolous and vexatious such that additional sanctions were warranted.

## Decision

- The court found Morgan’s Foods failed to participate in ADR in good faith by not submitting the required mediation memorandum and by sending a representative without full settlement authority.
- The court held it had authority under Rule 16(f) and its inherent powers to impose monetary sanctions for violating pretrial/ADR orders, including reimbursement of mediation-related fees and a fine payable to the Clerk.
- The court denied the motion for reconsideration and imposed additional sanctions after characterizing the motion as frivolous and as vexatiously multiplying the proceedings.

## Legal Principles

- Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f), a court may sanction a party or attorney for failure to obey a scheduling or other pretrial order, including orders governing court-annexed ADR.
- Sanctions may include monetary measures designed to compensate for noncompliance-related expenses and to secure compliance with court orders; courts also retain inherent authority to manage proceedings and enforce orders.
- A corporate party may be sanctioned directly for deliberate noncompliance with court orders, even when the conduct occurred on counsel’s advice; responsibility is not avoided by shifting blame solely to outside counsel.
- A frivolous reconsideration motion that needlessly increases litigation activity may justify additional sanctions.

## Conclusion

The court enforced its ADR Referral Order by sanctioning Morgan’s Foods for deliberate, bad-faith noncompliance with mediation requirements and further sanctioned the defendant for filing a frivolous reconsideration motion, concluding Rule 16(f) and inherent authority supported meaningful monetary sanctions, including a fine payable to the court.


Nick v. Morgan's Foods, Inc., 99 F. Supp. 2d 1056 (E.D. Mo. 2000)