Defense Firm Ordered to Pay $283,173 in Sanctions in Minn. Surgical Stapler Case

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota judge has levied $283,173 in sanctions against the law firm of Shook Hardy & Bacon, ruling that its disclosure of recall information in a surgical stapler case on the eve of trial was neither “substantially justified” nor “harmless.”

In a Jan. 31 order, Judge Christian Sande of the Hennepin County (Minn.) District Court ordered the firm to pay $152,550 in reasonable attorney’s fees and $130,622.48 in reasonable expenses.

Cynthia Nicholson sued Covidien LP, Covidien Sales LLC, Covidien Holding Inc. and Medtronic Inc. in December 2019, alleging she was injured by a SIG60AXT model Medtronic surgical …