Courts

Staring At The Heavens Has Its Costs

Would you have paid $8k to look at the eclipse?

By  
on

businesswoman looking through telescopeDid you see the solar eclipse back in April? Warren James Pearson damn sure did, and his client is pretty pissed about the whole thing. As breathtaking as it is to see the celestial bodies line up, it can knock the air out of opposing counsel’s lungs to know that you went stargazing when they needed you present for a deposition. The ABA Journal has coverage:

Lawyer Warren James Pearson of Tallahassee, Florida, said he and his client missed the April 8 deposition in Tampa, Florida, because email notices went to the wrong email folder, Law360 reports.

But Pearson acknowledged that he was in Arkansas to see the solar eclipse when the opposing attorney called him about 15 minutes after the deposition start time, according to an April 10 motion for sanctions.

Now, Pearson’s legal opponent is seeking $7,864 in fees and costs in response to an April 30 sanctions order by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of the Middle District of Florida.

Ah, the good old “your email went to the wrong folder and I’m about a thousand miles away” gambit. That might hold up in an RPG where you’ve maxed out charisma, but I doubt it’ll fare nearly as well in a courtroom. Emails end up in spam folders, sure, but if you can travel a thousand miles to look up, the least you could do is look for emails from your opposition.

On the brighter side, Pearson’s clients and whoever he faces off against won’t have to worry about him skipping out for a total solar eclipse for the next two years. That said, you should avoid having him for a deposition on August 12th, 2026, unless it’s happening somewhere in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia, or a small area of Portugal.

Lawyer Who Missed Deposition While Viewing Solar Eclipse Should Pay $7,800 Sanction, Litigant Says [ABA Journal]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

Sponsored

Topics

, ,