Judge Sanctions Firms For Misconduct Accusations and Interfering With Court-Ordered Deposition

Washington — Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David T. Stitt has imposed sanctions payable to PETA and totaling $51,305 against prominent Washington-based law firm Williams & Connolly and the Fairfax, Va. firm of Blankingship & Keith. The firms represent Kenneth Feld, Chairman and CEO of Ringling Brothers Circus, in a lawsuit filed by PETA which seeks to uncover the depth and details of Feld’s alleged long-running conspiracy to infiltrate PETA in an attempt to halt opposition to Ringling’s exploitation and abuse of animals in Ringling Brothers circus, owned and operated by Feld Entertainment in Vienna, Va.

Judge Stitt ordered Feld’s legal team to pay PETA $40,000 in sanctions for accusing Stitt of improper judicial conduct. Those sanctioned include Williams & Connolly attorneys Joseph G. Petrosinelli, Barry Simon, George A. Borden, and Matthew B. Andelman. Also sanctioned were Feld’s local counsel—the firm of Blankingship & Keith—including former Virginia Bar President John A.C. Keith and William B. Porter. The court found that the allegations against it of improper conduct "were not well-grounded in fact or warranted in law" and that they contained "contemptuous language" in violation of the Virginia Code. The court further expressed its disgust at the attorneys’ conduct, saying, "I’ve never seen anything like that," and observing that the allegations against the court contained "just so much distortion and twisting." Referring to Blankingship & Keith, the court found what it regarded as "the abject failure of [the firm] to perform their gatekeeper function as local counsel in this matter."