Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 02-6271
April 16, 2003
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
By Order dated December 16, 2002, I ruled that defendants' then-pending motions would be treated as motions for summary judgment, and afforded the parties an opportunity to supplement the record, particularly with respect to the issue of a release previously executed by plaintiff. The summary judgment record now discloses, without any genuine dispute: (1) that there never was a binding contract between plaintiff and any of the defendants; (2) that plaintiff voluntarily withdrew from the negotiations toward a possible contract, in exchange for certain valuable consideration, and effectively released the defendants from all claims; (3) that plaintiff's assertion that the release should be disregarded because it was involuntary, and resulted from "economic duress" has no evidentiary support whatever; (4) that, notwithstanding his present claim of "economic duress", plaintiff in fact exercised the option for breeding rights which constituted the consideration he received for the release, and that this occurred some six months after the release was executed and (5) that this action is entirely frivolous and without justification. Defendants' motions for summary judgment will be granted, and plaintiffs and their counsel will be required to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11. An Order follows.
ORDER
AND NOW, this 16th day of April, 2003, IT IS ORDERED:
1. Defendants' motions for summary judgment are GRANTED. Judgment is entered in favor of the defendants and against the plaintiffs.
2. Plaintiffs, their counsel (Joseph Vaughan, Esquire) and the law firm of Vaughan, Duffy Connors, LLP shall show cause, within 30 days, why sanctions should not be imposed against them or some of them, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11. Defendants may, within the same period, specify what counsel fees or other expenses they seek to recover as sanctions.