A Federal Court in Michigan has struck out an e-filing that was dominated by a watermark cartoon of a multi-coloured cartoon dragon dressed in a suit, which is the logo of the plaintiff’s lawyers, Dragon Lawyers PC.
The Federal civil procedure rules allow a Court to “strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.” In a note of some hilarity for everyone but the plaintiff and her lawyer, US magistrate judge Ray Kent said: “Use of this dragon cartoon logo is not only distracting, it is juvenile and impertinent. The Court is not a cartoon.”
The plaintiff, whose name has been concealed by the standard court pseudonym ‘Jane Doe’, has been ordered to file an amended complaint without the dragon and desist from filing any other documents with the dragon on it. While we joke, as Courts move to become all digital, it is worth noting, if anyone needed reminding, that watermarks of this nature are an epic fail.
Commenting on the decision on LinkedIn, Jennifer Wondracek, director of the law library and professor of legal research and writing at Capital University Law School said: “Usually I play “Things I never thought I would yell at my cat” (generally involving things she should not eat). Today, I am playing “Things I never expected to hear a court say,” including a judge telling attorneys to stop filing pleadings containing cartoon dragon watermarks. 🤦♀️ #LawyerFail #LawStudentsDoNotDoThis
We have reached out to Dragon Lawyers for comment.