Record Sanction Award Imposed by Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge

Attorneys in family law and family law related cases may want to think twice before mounting a scorched earth approach to litigation.  Last month, Judge Jonathan C. Thacher imposed an $880,748.26 sanction against a client and her lawyers for taking such an approach. 

The specifics are contained in Judge Thacher’s 38-page opinion in the case of Christ v. Flinthill Space Communications Trust.  He found that Yvonne Christ used the legal process to harass her ex-husband and that her lawyers not only failed to dissuade her from doing so, but instead facilitated her misplaced motivations.  The case stems from a breach of contract action brought by Ms. Christ and then non-suited on the day of trial, after 16 months of trial preparation. 

Judge Thacher’s imposition of sanctions tops the previous record sanction against a Virginia lawyer by nearly $340,000.  Judge Thacher arrived at this amount after hearing testimony from Christ’s ex-husband and his lawyers regarding their fees incurred in litigating the baseless suit.