Government

Citing Lin Wood's 'Toxic Stew Of Mendacity,' Delaware Judge Tosses Him Off Carter Page Suit

No pro hac vice for you!

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“I acknowledge that I preside over a small part of the legal world in a small state,” wrote Judge Craig A. Karsnitz of the Superior Court of Delaware. “However, we take pride in our bar.”

In an opinion revoking the pro hac vice admission of defamation lawyer Lin Wood, Judge Karnitz described the attorney’s participation in litigation to overturn Joe Biden’s electoral victory as “a toxic stew of mendacity, prevarication, and surprising incompetence.”

It’s another achievement unlocked for the vaunted defamation lawyer who managed to get booted off Twitter and then censored by the avowedly anti-censorship platform Parler (RIP) for a “parley” calling for Vice President Pence to be executed for treason by firing squad.

In August, the court accepted Wood’s motion for PHV appearance on behalf of fellow vexatious litigant Carter Page in a defamation suit against the parent company of Yahoo! News. Since then, Wood’s behavior has become increasingly erratic. Recently he tweeted accusations involving child rape about Chief Justice Roberts, and, according to his former partners, suffers from delusions that he may be Jesus reincarnated.

“I might actually be Christ coming back for a second time in the form of an imperfect man, elevating Christ consciousness,” he speculated, according to a lawsuit filed by his former partners.

But Wood isn’t being tossed off the Page case because “I represent Moses. I represent Ananias the believer. I’m like the power of King David.” Or if he is, then those biblical figures really need to bone up on their civil procedure.

In fact, he’s being booted out of the Blue Hen coop because the lawyering in the so-called “Kraken” cases is scandalously shoddy. Citing the “error-ridden affidavit of an expert witness” in the Georgia suit, Judge Karsnitz notes that “An Attorney as experienced as Mr. Wood knows that expert affidavits must be reviewed in detail to ensure accuracy before filing. Failure to do so is either mendacious or incompetent.”

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As for Wood’s defense that these were mere “proofreading errors,” the judge scoffed, “Failure to certify a complaint for injunction or even serve the Defendants are not ‘proofreading errors.’ The complaint would not survive a law school civil procedure class.”

“Prior to the pandemic, I watched daily counsel practice before me in a civil, ethical way to tirelessly advance the interests of their clients,” Judge Karsnitz concluded. “It would dishonor them were I to allow this pro hac vice order to stand.”

And in yet another bizarre news cycle for Wood, the Wall Street Journal is reporting today that the attorney fell out with his former client Steve Wynn, a casino magnate over another former client, Richard Jewell.

Jewell, who was falsely accused of being the Olympic Park Bomber in 1996, has been dead since 2007. Nevertheless, Wood, who credits Jewell with changing his life, is fixated on procuring a posthumous Medal of Freedom for Jewell from President Trump. Wood claims that this effort was torpedoed when Wynn described him as crazy in a conversation with the president, and is now threatening to sue for defamation.

But wait, there’s more!

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Mr. Wood has accused his former client of disparaging him to Mr. Trump and spoiling the medal for Mr. Jewell. He said he has demanded millions of dollars from Mr. Wynn for reputational damage with the president and suggested that the secret settlements he negotiated for Mr. Wynn could become public knowledge if the parties can’t come to terms.

In an interview, Mr. Wood said he warned Mr. Wynn’s lawyers that the legal work he did for Mr. Wynn would be fair game in a defamation lawsuit.

“I would tell everything I could to defend myself,” Mr. Wood said about his message to Mr. Wynn, adding that it wouldn’t “be pretty.”

Threatening to reveal confidential client information in a defamation suit is … a move.

Are we 100 percent sure it’s not still 2020? Maybe we can get Judge Karsnitz to revoke Lin Wood’s admission to the news cycle in 2021. Quick, someone admitted in Delaware go draft a motion!

Steve Wynn and Lawyer Lin Wood, United Over Trump, Break Ties in Messy Spat [WSJ]

Elizabeth Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

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