Edwards, et al v. Richey, et al

* Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
_______________________
No.99-50627
_______________________
BYARD EDWARDS, JR.,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
R. GAINES GRIFFIN,
Appellant,
versus
H. L. RICHEY; I. KEITH GORDAN; MARK W. TURNBOUGH,
Defendants-Appellees.
_________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas, Pecos
Lower Court No. P-98-CV-65
_________________________________________________________________
March 3, 2000
Before JONES, DUHÉ, and WIENER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
The court has carefully considered this appeal in light
of the briefs, oral argument and pertinent portions of the record.
The factual basis for the trial court’s imposition of sanctions
does not appear to be clearly erroneous. We conclude, however,
that the amount of sanctions imposed represents an abuse of
discretion, given such factors as the short time between
plaintiffs’ discovery that they were mistaken about the factual
basis for the lawsuit and their offer to dismiss the case. Under

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all the circumstances, the sanction should not have exceeded
$11,500.00.
The judgment is AFFIRMED as MODIFIED to reflect a
sanction award of $11,500.00.

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