WYOMING COURT RULES

36 action involving complex area of law. — Before an attorney files a legal malpractice action where the underlying case of alleged malpractice involves a complex or specialized area of the law with which the attorney is unfamiliar, that attorney should first consult with an expert in the complex or specialized legal arena about the standard of care. Meyer v. Mulligan, 889 P.2d 509, 1995 Wyo. LEXIS 9 (Wyo. 1995). Inconsistent application. — Where defen- dant husband’s actions against plaintiff attor- neys were indistinguishable, it was inconsis- tent for the court to find the action baseless and submitted for an improper purpose as to one attorney and reach the opposite conclusion for the other attorney. Bender v. Phillips, 8 P.3d 1074, 2000 Wyo. LEXIS 171 (Wyo. 2000), reh’g denied, 2000 Wyo. LEXIS 185 (Wyo. Aug. 22, 2000). Safe harbor provision. — When the oppos- ing party moves for Wyo. R. Civ. P. 11 sanctions, a safe harbor provision gives the party and attorneys against whom sanctions are sought the opportunity to withdraw the challenged paper; the opposing party must serve the sanc- tions motion according to the requirements of Wyo. R. Civ. P. 5 but may not file or present the motion to the court unless, within twenty-one days, the allegedly improper document is not corrected or withdrawn, or otherwise, the mo- tion will be rejected. Caldwell v. Cummings, 2001 WY 106, 33 P.3d 1138, 2001 Wyo. LEXIS 132 (Wyo. 2001), overruled in part, LS v. JEQ (In re Order Imposing Sanctions on Mears), 2018 WY 109, 426 P.3d 824, 2018 Wyo. LEXIS 114 (Wyo. 2018). Sanctions sufficient to deter repetition. — Where the movant sought monetary sanc- tions against opposing counsel arising out of objections to opposing counsel’s motion to dis- miss, but the district court imposed as a sanc- tion that opposing counsel convey an apology in connection with having filed a motion to dis- miss, the district court did not abuse its discre- tion; W.R.C.P. 11(c)(2) requires that sanctions should be sufficient to deter repetition of the sanctionable conduct and may include sanc- tions of a nonmonetary nature. Goglio v. Star Valley Ranch Ass’n, 2002 WY 94, 48 P.3d 1072, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 100 (Wyo. 2002), overruled in part, LS v. JEQ (In re Order Imposing Sanc- tions on Mears), 2018 WY 109, 426 P.3d 824, 2018 Wyo. LEXIS 114 (Wyo. 2018). Sanctions not sustainable. — The “Peti- tion for Rules to Show Cause” filed by managers pursuant to a contract dispute made no refer- ence to W.R.C.P. 11, did not comply with W.R.C.P. 11(c)(1)(A), which required a separate W.R.C.P. 11 motion describing the specific con- duct alleged to violate the rule, and did not comply with W.R.C.P. 11(c)(1)(B), in that the trial court did not enter an order describing the specific conduct at issue and directing the at- torney to show cause why he had not violated W.R.C.P. 11, and therefore the sanctions im- posed against the attorney were not sustain- able under W.R.C.P. 11. Horn v. Welch (In re Order of Contempt & Attorneys’ Fees), 2002 WY 138, 54 P.3d 754, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 156 (Wyo. 2002). Portion of award relating to appeal re- versed. — Trial court did not abuse its discre- tion in awarding sanctions after finding that plaintiff’s breach of contract action was frivo- lous, but the portion of the award relating to the appeal was reversed, as this rule is sensibly understood as permitting an award only of those expenses directly caused by filing. Dewey v. Dewey, 2001 WY 107, 33 P.3d 1143, 2001 Wyo. LEXIS 133 (Wyo. 2001), reh’g denied, 2001 Wyo. LEXIS 139 (Wyo. Dec. 4, 2001). Jurisdiction. — Because defendant’s mo- tion for sanctions was filed after the case was dismissed, it could not have complied with the requirements of this rule. Accordingly, the dis- trict court did not have jurisdiction to consider the motion. Edsall v. Moore, 2016 WY 71, 375 P.3d 799, 2016 Wyo. LEXIS 79 (Wyo. 2016). Law reviews. — For comment, “Medical Malpractice Insurance Crisis: The Boys Who Cry ‘Wolf ’,” see XXI Land & Water L. Rev. 203 (1986). For comments, “Wyoming Tort Reform and the Medical Malpractice Insurance Crisis: A Second Opinion,” see XXVIII Land & Water L. Rev. 593 (1993). See article, “The 1994 Amendments to the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure,” XXX Land & Water L. Rev. 151 (1995). For article, “Collecting Debt in Wyoming: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as a Trap for the Unwary,” see XXXI Land & Water L. Rev. 731 (1996).