A U.S. appeals court last week upheld sanctions lodged against the chief executive officer of the Samanta Roy Institute for Science and Technology for factually unsupported and harassing statements made in court filings.
The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the sanctions levied against Naomi Isaacson by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minnesota.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher had fined Isaacson — who is also president of SIST subsidiary Yehud-Monosson USA Inc. — and her attorney Rebekah Nett for bigoted and anti-Catholic slurs in a November 2011 court filing in the subsidiary’s bankruptcy case in Minnesota.
In a memorandum filed with the court, Isaacson leveled accusations of bigotry, prejudice and conspiracy, according to the appeals court ruling. Isaacson referred to the bankruptcy judge as a “black-robed bigot” and “Catholic Knight Witch Hunter.”
She wrote that the U.S. Bankruptcy trustee in the case had a “track record of lies, deceit, treachery and connivery.” She also referred to the Bankruptcy Court in Minnesota as “a bunch of ignoramus, bigoted Catholic beasts that carry the sword of the church.”
The bankruptcy court ruled Isaacson should be sanctioned $500 for each “outrageous” statement for a total of $5,000. The court also found Isaacson in continuing civil contempt based upon her failure to produce documents and information.
The U.S. District court upheld the fines in May 2012.
The appeals court rejected Isaacson’s argument that Dreher should have recused herself from the sanctions proceedings.
The court wrote in its July 19 opinion that there was no reason to expect a different outcome from a different judge.
“The evidence of Isaacson’s contempt was undisputed and aggravated,” the court wrote.
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