Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Amanda A. King and Associate Brittney A. Nochimson successfully obtained the dismissal of claims in a civil rights lawsuit against the firm’s client, a state corrections officer, in New Jersey state court, in addition to securing an award of attorneys’ fees.
The plaintiffs, former inmates of a New Jersey state prison, alleged violations of the New Jersey Civil Rights Act in connection with claims that they were mistreated by several corrections officers during their incarceration. GRSM defended its client against three of the plaintiffs. Upon entering the case, GRSM pursued aggressive discovery to investigate the scope of the plaintiffs’ alleged claims and damages against its client, to which the plaintiffs repeatedly failed to respond.
In response, GRSM moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims for their failure to prosecute the claims and cooperate with discovery. Each motion underscored that GRSM’s client could not defend the lawsuit or prepare for trial without the plaintiffs’ cooperation with discovery. The court agreed with GRSM’s position and awarded attorneys’ fees to GRSM for one plaintiff’s repeated discovery violations extending over several months.
Ultimately, the defense team’s persistence in discovery enabled GRSM to secure the dismissal of two plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice, in addition to the award of attorneys’ fees before the conclusion of the litigation. GRSM continues to aggressively defend its client’s rights, as a renewed discovery motion to dismiss the third plaintiff’s claims with prejudice is presently pending before the court.