I had already closed the tab for the weekend, Hardin with the late dropping banger.
I mean at this point he has no choice but to push back at the judge. I mean look, usually this is a bad idea but Greer has been such a vexatious litigant and the court has been so weak on the matter that you need to remind the judge just how much he is letting Greer get away with. Hopefully it doesn't blow up in Hardin's face but I don't think it will blow up.
I don't think it'll blow up into actual trouble, Greer has been too blatant. But I do think it gives ammo to a judge who
wants to find a "both sides are obnoxious" excuse to yell at everyone in sight. Whether or not the judge is at that point is a judgement call Hardin has to make, balancing his necessary defenses with further attacks on Greer's case and antics. That's part of the job in any suit, even non-retarded lolsuits.
My outsider, tea leaf reading, useless speculation is that the Magistrate judge is closer to slapping Russ in necessary ways, while the District judge is closer to disliking both sides. The Magistrate sees all the details of Greer screwing around with discovery, the District just sees a garbage suit that keeps popping up. The $1k fee ruling is the sign of someone not willing to figure out what's going on, he just wants everyone to get on with it. The Magistrate is the one who had to issue orders to Russ (and only Russ) to get things moving.
Unless I'm missing something, this
particular thread of orders and motions is wholly before the Magistrate, so maybe that's better for this kind of response. Then again, counting on
any level of the Court to clean up Greer's garbage like they should, is a sure path to disappointment.