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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND FREDERICK SHAFFER HIGGINBOTHAM, III, DDS, et al., Plaintiffs vs. KCS INTERNATIONAL, INC., t/a CRUISERS YACHTS, et al. , Defendants : : : : : MEMORANDUM On January 2, 2001, this case was referred to the undersigned for resolution of all discovery disputes (Paper No. 16). Plaintiffs allege that Defendants are liable for injuries Dr. Higginbotham sustained when the swim ladder on his yacht unexpectedly broke under his weight. During pretrial discovery in this case, Plaintiffs' counsel, Mark T. Mixter, and counsel for Defendant Windline, Inc., J. Christopher Boucher, have conducted themselves improperly. Their interaction has been marred repeatedly by incidents of incivility. One example is a letter from Mr. Mixter to Mr. Boucher, in which he wrote: I am writing in response to your letter of May 31st. Your letter fell on deaf ears.... Your statement about the June 4th deposition date and the allegation that you were not conferred with was an outright lie. We have notes in the file of numerous telephone calls that were made to all the lawyers' offices coordinating that date. Try again. (Letter from Mixter to Boucher of June 13, 2001, appended to Letter from Mixter to Bredar, J., of August 1, 2001.) Another example occurred during the deposition of an expert witness. Mr. Mixter suggested that the lawyers schedule a continuation of the deposition (Buchholz Dep. 71). When Mr. Boucher indicated that he might not agree to a continuation, Mr. Mixter stated in pertinent part, Civil Action No. MJG-00-2764

"Now we can do it the hard way or we can do it the easy way. I don't really

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