Suing a judge occurs rarely, but does happen. In 2015, the judge presiding over a NY divorce case sanctioned an attorney who represented himself in the divorce case. Recently, the attorney filed a lawsuit against the judge and sued for damages.
The New York Law Journal reported at the end of July that Anthony Zappin, a former associate of Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo, filed a lawsuit against a Manhattan judge who imposed a $10,000 sanction on him for misconduct during his divorce case.
The day the press coverage was released, Zappin was fired from his position as associate at the law firm and suffered significant damages including loss of future earnings potential and denial of a fair trial on custody of his son.
Judges bear the responsibility to be fair and impartial when presiding over a case. If a party in the case believes the judge is unable to be fair and impartial, several means of recourse the party can take is to request that the judge recuse himself or move to have the judge recused from the case.
In a lawyers.com article, examples given as reasons for recusal include:
It remains to be seen what the court will decide in the lawsuit brought against the judge.
If you have questions about divorce or family law litigation, Attorney Chris Palermo will be glad you answer your questions and advise the best course of legal action.