Federal appeals court sanctions Columbus attorney Ronald S. Iddins for 'frivolous' appeal

A federal appellate court has ordered Columbus attorney Ronald S. Iddins pay more sanctions for filing a frivolous appeal for a firefighter who lost his job after looking at pornography at work.

The ruling in the case, handed down this week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, marked a second rebuke of Iddins, the attorney who sued the city of Columbus and several officials last year on behalf of Joshua Alford.

Alford was fired in March 2008 for violating Columbus Fire Department policy and viewing obscene material on a city computer. He filed suit two years later, claiming his rights were violated because other city employees were not disciplined for similar conduct, and alleging the city did not follow adequate procedures during his termination.

U.S. District Court Judge Clay D. Land dismissed the suit last year and later sanctioned Iddins $500, saying he “should have recognized prior to filing the complaint that this very claim had been soundly rejected by the Supreme Court.”

The appellate court affirmed Land’s findings and granted the city’s request for additional sanctions.

“As previously stated, counsel’s contentions on appeal are wholly unsupported by existing law,” the panel held. “Under the circumstances, (Iddins) has multiplied the proceedings by pursuing frivolous claims in an objectively reckless manner.”

In an e-mail, Iddins said, “I will not have a comment until I have read the ruling a few times, discussed it with my client and am able to make a decision about the future course we will take.”

City officials said all along that Alford’s lawsuit warranted sanctions, and welcomed the appellate opinion.

“The case has been remanded to Judge Land and we will be supplying a final amount to be awarded to the city as attorney's fees,” said City Attorney Clifton Fay. “We hope that this substantial sanction will deter the filing of frivolous actions against elected officials and lawyers in the future.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2011 at 11:41 AM.