The lawyer has also been sanctioned by at least six other judges since March 2022
A US district judge fined New York lawyer Spencer Sheehan and ordered him to pay legal fees after finding that he pursued a lawsuit against Dutch airline KLM despite knowing his client's claims were false.
Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed the case, which accused KLM of misleading environmental pledges, and sanctioned the Great Neck-based lawyer for acting in "subjective bad faith," Reuters reported.
Sheehan, known for filing numerous food mislabeling lawsuits, represented Kandus Dakus in the lawsuit. Dakus alleged she chose to fly with KLM in 2022 due to the airline’s environmental commitments. However, KLM countered that Dakus booked her flight through a third-party service and had no choice in selecting the airline. Dakus later admitted this was true.
Despite being aware that Dakus’ claims were invalid, Sheehan pressed forward with the case, leading Judge Abrams to issue the sanction. "Despite this knowledge, Sheehan declined to withdraw or amend the complaint," Judge Abrams wrote in the ruling. As a result, Sheehan will be responsible for covering the legal fees, costs, and expenses that KLM incurred after filing its motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In addition, Sheehan must pay a $1,000 fine to the court within 14 days.
This is not the first time Sheehan has faced sanctions. According to Judge Abrams, Sheehan has been sanctioned by at least six other judges since March 2022. In a separate case in July, a federal judge in Florida penalized Sheehan for filing a lawsuit against retailer Big Lots, alleging that the company misled consumers about its coffee labels. The Florida court found that Sheehan had engaged in a "concerted effort to defraud" the court. In that case, Big Lots is seeking more than US$180,000 in legal fees.
Judge Abrams concluded her ruling by emphasizing that as an officer of the court, Sheehan must “properly temper his enthusiasm for a client’s cause with careful regard for the obligations of truth, candour, accuracy, and professional judgment.”
