An Ohio lawyer sanctioned $1,500 for filing a substandard appellate brief told a federal appeals court on Friday that his failures stemmed from the COVID-19 death of his 96-year-old mother.
Columbus, Ohio, lawyer Percy Squire apologized after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati tossed his lawsuit against the Good Samaritan Hospital of Cincinnati for alleged negligent destruction of medical records, Law360 reports.
In its April 15 opinion, the 6th Circuit cited the “striking legal emptiness” of Squire’s brief and then sanctioned Squire $1,500 May 20 to partly compensate the Good Samaritan Hospital of Cincinnati for time lost to the appeal.