ORDER

LEWIS A. KAPLAN, United States District Judge.

Plaintiff seeks sanctions pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 11 on the grounds that certain of defendant's counterclaims are frivolous. The motion comes in the midst of acrimonious litigation that includes another case before the undersigned in which defendant (plaintiff there) has moved to disqualify counsel for plaintiff (defendant there).

The Advisory Committee Note to the 1983 amendment to Rule 11 makes clear that "the time when sanctions are to be imposed rests in the discretion of the trial judge." Indeed, it goes on to say that this "normally will be determined at the end of the litigation" in the case of pleadings, the issue present here. The preference for the determination of sanctions for allegedly frivolous pleadings at the end of the case makes a good deal of sense. It takes maximum advantage of the strong statistical likelihood of settlement of litigation by ensuring that courts spend their time deciding only those sanctions motions that ultimately require decision. And it tends to keep the temperature between counsel at an acceptable level by averting the proliferation of casi belli during the course of the case.

The Court is persuaded that no good is likely to come of determining this sanctions motion now and that doing so would be likely to promote retaliation. Accordingly, the motion is denied without prejudice to renewal after determination of the case.