Discovery Abuse Leads To Paying Sanctions

Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn has recently been granted a monetary award as high as $49 million dollars against J. Pierce Marshall’s estate. A California federal judge ruled against the estate of J. Pierce Marshall and ordered the estate to pay sanctions because of “massive discovery abuse” in the Koch Industries heir’s legal dispute with Anna Nicole Smith. The court explained that Marshall’s son Pierce, caused undue delay by not providing important documents to Smith’s lawyers. This legal battle has dragged on for over ten years, and has now halted any counterclaim. The dispute stemmed from Smith’s action to collect from her deceased husband, J. Howard Marshall II’s estate. Marshall was a 16% partner in Koch Industries, an industry worth billions when Marshall passed. 

See Daniel Fisher, Anna Nicole Smith's Daughter Wins Sanctions From Marshall Estate, Forbes, May 30, 2013.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.