8th Cir. Upholds Sanctions Against Attorney for Relitigating Discovery Rulings in Enbrel Case

ST. LOUIS — A federal appeals court has upheld a Nebraska federal judge’s imposition of $25,665 in sanctions against a plaintiff’s attorney in an Enbrel action on the basis that the lawyer ignored or re-litigated the court’s discovery rulings and disregarded the proper procedures for objections and appeals.

In a Sept. 10 opinion, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court that the attorney’s various motions were “barely veiled attempts to relitigate decided issues.”

Steve Vallejo was prescribed Enbrel in 2004 to treat his rheumatoid arthritis. He later developed myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), leading to his …