Sample Multistate Bar Exam Question
A 50-year-old nurse who had been fired from his job at a hospital told his attorney, “I was fired because of my age, and I want to sue the hospital.”
Based on this information, the attorney filed an age discrimination complaint against the hospital in federal court. As it turned out, the hospital had hired a 52-year-old man as the nurse’s replacement, a fact that rendered an age discrimination claim unavailable. The hospital responded to the complaint by filing a motion for sanctions against the nurse’s attorney.
Is the court likely to grant the hospital’s motion?
(A) No, because sanctions are not proper against the attorÂney of a represented party.
(B) No, because the hospital failed to give the attorney the chance to withdraw the complaint in advance of filing the motion with the court.
(C) Yes, because the nurse’s attorney failed to conduct a reasonable pre-filing inquiry.
(D) Yes, because the nurse’s complaint contained legal contentions that were not warranted by existing law based on the facts in this case.