Nou Xiong, next friend for V.L.; V.L. v. Colonel Alan P. Borja, in his official capacity as Warden of the Guam Department of Corrections, Hagåtña Detention Facility; Sergio Albarran, in his official capacity as Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Does 1-10

Summary

The District Court of Guam denied the Government’s motion for sanctions against counsel for Nou Xiong and V.L. in a habeas proceeding concerning V.L.’s proposed removal to Laos. The court held that counsel’s arguments regarding removal under the Alien Enemies Act, jurisdiction, and the Suspension Clause were unsuccessful but made in good faith and were not frivolous or pursued for an improper purpose. The court therefore found no basis for sanctions under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 or its inherent authority.

Holdings

1. Section 1927 sanctions require subjective bad faith, meaning that an attorney knowingly or recklessly raises a frivolous argument or advances a meritorious claim for the purpose of harassing an opponent. Careless, negligent, or merely unreasonable conduct is insufficient.
2. A court may impose monetary sanctions under its inherent authority only for a willful violation of a court order or bad-faith conduct, and compensatory sanctions require but-for causation between the misconduct and the claimed compensation.
3. An attorney need not be correct on the law to avoid sanctions; an unsuccessful legal position is not sanctionable when counsel makes a good-faith argument for what the law is or should be.

Questions Presented

1. Whether counsel knowingly or recklessly raised frivolous arguments or otherwise unreasonably and vexatiously multiplied the proceedings, warranting sanctions under 28 U.S.C. § 1927.
2. Whether counsel acted in bad faith or willfully violated a court order so as to warrant monetary sanctions under the court’s inherent authority.
3. Whether counsel’s unsuccessful arguments concerning the Alien Enemies Act, the INA removal process, and Suspension Clause jurisdiction were sufficiently baseless or improperly motivated to justify sanctions.

Disposition

other