Opinion
No. 08-60993.
June 22, 2009.
John Michael Coleman, Wilkins, Stephens Tipton, Jackson, MS, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Willie J. Perkins, Sr., Deshandra Lalayne Ross, Law Office of Willie J. Perkins Sr., Greenwood, MS, for Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, USDC No. 4:07-CV-155.
Before JONES, Chief Judge, and HIGGINBOTHAM and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.
After reviewing the briefs, hearing oral argument, and relying on pertinent portions of the record, we affirm the district court judgment denying defense coverage to Willie J. Perkins, Sr., William J. Perkins, Jr., and Sheriel Perkins, Appellants, by Allstate Insurance Company. However, we vacate the sanction award against Willie Perkins, Sr., because it was not based on wilful misconduct or bad faith and therefore was an abuse of discretion. Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of Am. v. Energy Gathering, Inc., 2 F.3d 1397, 1410-11 (5th Cir. 1993) (upholding a court's inherent power to sanction bad faith conduct); Pressey v. Patterson, 898 F.2d 1018, 1021 (5th Cir. 1990) ("We have confined sanctions under the district court's inherent power to instances of bad faith or willful abuse of the judicial process.") AFFIRMED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART. See 5TH CIRCUIT LOC. RULE 47.6.