Byrne v. Nezhat

Stripped to its essentials, this is a simple medical malpractice case. It was brought, however, as a multi-count RICO prosecution. Suspecting that the claims in the complaint lacked factual bases, the district court took an unusual step and granted the defendants leave to conduct discovery for the purpose of determining whether plaintiffs counsel had violated Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The discovery was to determine whether plaintiffs counsel had conducted an "inquiry reasonable under the circumstances" into the factual support for the claims presented in the complaint. After the court took this step, the plaintiff moved the court to recuse pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 455. The court denied the motion.