Insurance Corp. of Ireland, Ltd. v. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee

In Insurance Corp. of Ireland, Ltd. v. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee, 456 U.S. 694 (1982) the Supreme Court analyzed the appropriateness of the sanction based on the two standards set forth in Rule 37(b)(2), Fed. R. Civ. P.: "First, any sanction must be 'just'; second, the sanction must be specifically related to the particular 'claim' which was at issue in the order to provide discovery." 456 U.S. at 707. In Insurance Corp. of Ireland, the initial discovery request was made in July 1977. Despite repeated orders from the court to provide the requested material, none had been produced by December 21, 1978. At that point, the district court warned the defendants of a possible sanction and gave the defendants 60 days to comply with the discovery order. By April 19, 1979, the requested material still had not been produced; on that date the district court imposed the threatened sanction, finding that the defendants were subject to the Court's jurisdiction. The Supreme Court held in Insurance Corp. of Ireland that the sanction was "just." That holding was based in large part upon the fact that the district court had specifically warned the defendants that if they did not provide the requested information within 60 days, the court would assume that personal jurisdiction existed. The district court had also informed the defendants that, even if they did not comply with the discovery order, the sanction would not be applied if they provided "statistics and other information" that would indicate a lack of personal jurisdiction. 456 U.S. at 708. The Supreme Court held that "this course of behavior, coupled with the ample warnings, demonstrates the 'justice' of the trial court's order." 456 U.S. at 708.