Depew v. Sullivan

In Depew v. Sullivan, 2003 UT App 152, 71 P.3d 601, a client failed to provide tax returns in satisfaction of a discovery request despite a court order compelling a response. The district court ordered sanctions against the client and the attorney. The court of appeals remanded the sanctions against the attorney for a factual finding as to whether the attorney was actually to blame for the discovery violation. The court of appeals explained, "We believe that a sanction is unjust when it is imposed against a person who had absolutely no fault for the discovery violation at issue . . . ."