Med Mal News

Lawyer Sanctioned for Sexist Comment

Attorney Peter Bertling of Santa Barbara, CA's Bertling & Clausen has been sanctioned by the court for making what U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal deemed a “sexist remark” during depositions in a wrongful death case. The underlying case was brought by the mother of a prison inmate who committed suicide. She claims that several defendants, including the medical personnel who interacted with their son, breached a duty to recognize her son's mental state and prevent his suicide.

During the deposition testimony of an expert witness, Bertling asked plaintiff attorney Lori Rifkin, an Oakland solo practitioner, to lower her voice. She then asked Bertling to stop interrupting her, to which he responded, “Don't raise your voice at me. It's not becoming of a woman or an attorney.”

Rifkin sought sanctions against Bertling, in part based on conversations she'd had with other attorneys nationwide, which led her to conclude that “this is something that almost every woman attorney has experienced again and again over their careers.”

Judge Grewal agreed that sanctions were warranted. In his order telling Bertling to donate $250 to the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Foundation ' and to have his clients pay certain of plaintiff's discovery costs ' Grewal stated: “A sexist remark is not just a professional discourtesy, although that in itself is regrettable and all too common. The bigger issue is that comments like Bertling's reflect and reinforce the male-dominated attitude of our profession.”

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