King v. Whitmer
CIVIL 20-13134 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 25, 2021)
newspaper article alerted him to the sanctions
motion filed against him and this is why.
17 The existence of a misunderstanding seems
improbable given that several similar
lawsuits
seeking
to
overturn
the
presidential election results were filed in
Georgia, Wisconsin, and Arizona, each
bearing the same “Of Counsel” listing for
Wood as appears here. See Compl.,
Pearson v. Kemp, No. 1:20-cv-04809
(N.D.Ga. filed Nov. 25, 2020), ECF No. 1
at ¶ 103; Compl., Feehand v. Wisconsin
Kimberly Hunt, the office manager for the City's
attorneys, affirms in an affidavit that she mailed
via First Class U.S. Mail a copy of the Safe
Harbor Letter and the Safe Harbor Motion to
Wood, among others, on December 15, 2020, and
that no copies were returned as undeliverable.
(ECF No. 164-3 at Pg ID 6393 ¶¶ 5, 8.) And
despite being told that he had the opportunity to
attach an affidavit to his supplemental brief in
order to put his oath behind his factual assertions
(see ECF No. 157 at Pg ID 5517), Wood
surprisingly chose not to do so.19, 20
Elections Commission, No. 2:20-cv-01771
(E.D. Wis. filed Dec. 1, 2020), ECF No. 1
18 Notably, while Wood stated at the July 12
at ¶ 51; Compl., Bowyer v. Ducey, No.
hearing that he only learned about the
2:20-cv-02321 (D. Ariz. filed Dec. 2,
motions seeking sanctions against him
2020), ECF No. 1 at ¶ 53. Wood moved for
when he read about it in a newspaper
pro hac vice admission in the Arizona
article, Wood suggests in his supplemental
proceedings. See Remark, Bowyer, No.
brief that he in fact learned of his purported
2:20-cv-02321 (D. Ariz. Dec. 4, 2020). He
involvement in the lawsuit when he
did not do so in Wisconsin but, like
received a call from one of the attorneys in
Michigan, the District Court for the Eastern
this matter in mid- to late-June 2021,
District of Wisconsin does not permit pro
alerting him to the Court's order requiring
hac vice motions. E.D. Wis. LR 83(c)(2)
him to appear at the hearing on the
(E).
sanctions motions. (ECF No. 162 at Pg ID
6102.)
First, the City's motion for sanctions was filed on
January 5, 2021. (ECF No. 78.) At no time
between that date and the July 12 hearing did
Wood ever notify the Court that he had been
impermissibly included as counsel for Plaintiffs in
this action. Almost a month before the motion
hearing, the Court entered an order requiring
“[e]ach attorney whose name appears on any of
Plaintiffs' pleadings or briefs” to be present at the
hearing. (ECF No. 123.) Wood still did not submit
anything to the Court claiming that his name was
placed on those filings without his permission. No
reasonable attorney would sit back silently if his
or her name were listed as counsel in a case if
permission to do so had not been given.
Second, Wood is not credible.18 He claims that he
was never served with the City's motion for
sanctions; however, counsel for the City represents
that the motion was sent to Wood via e-mail and
regular mail. (ECF No. 157 at Pg ID 5363-64.)
19 Wood asserts in his supplemental brief that
he “and his legal assistant have performed
a
diligent
search
of
all
email
correspondence as well as U.S. mail at Mr.
Wood's Atlanta office and elsewhere. They
have turned up no evidence to indicate they
were provided with any Rule 11 notice
prior to the filing of the motion.” (ECF No.
162 at Pg ID 6122.) Yet no affidavit is
offered from Wood or his legal assistant to
attest to these assertions. And notably, the
address listed for Wood on the filings in
this matter (and thus where the City's
attorneys mailed items to him) is a post
office box, not his firm's address.
20 Wood contends that he is entitled to a “full
evidentiary hearing”-“should the Court
determine that material factual questions
do exist”-so that he “may present to the
Court with the evidence of record,
sufficient
to
establish
the
factual
13
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