Williams v. Adams, 660 F.3d 263

Williams, proceeding pro se under 42 U.S.C. §1983, sued four police officers alleging Fourth Amendment violations.
The district court granted in forma pauperis status and summary judgment on most claims, with two excessive force claims to trial.
Payton, retained on a contingent-fee basis, responded to a draft pretrial order after sanctions were sought for lack of cooperation.
The court imposed a $9,055.14 sanction against Williams and Payton, jointly and severally, with 30 days to pay.
Williams could not pay; he offered $25 per month, which would take decades; defendants declined and did not receive payment within 30 days.
The district court later dismissed the suit under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b) for nonpayment, a decision the Seventh Circuit later reversed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether inability to pay sanctions justifies dismissal	Williams cannot pay; dismissal is too severe	Nonpayment shows contumacious conduct and warrants dismissal	No; dismissal was too severe given inability to pay.
Propriety of sanctioning plaintiff for lawyer's misconduct	Payton's mishandling caused delay; Williams should not be punished for it	Sanctions properly imposed against both, with joint liability	Sanction should not stand as dismissal given the circumstances.
Effect of Payton’s payment to the sanction obligation	Payton’s payment should negate automatic dismissal	Payment does not moot the appeal of the dismissal	Payton’s payment does not make the appeal moot; reversal still warranted.

Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660 (U.S. 1983) (inability to pay fines doesn’t justify imprisonment)
Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395 (U.S. 1971) (inability to pay not automatic for civil sanctions)
United States v. Seacott, 15 F.3d 1380 (7th Cir. 1994) (financial inability not automatic defense to sanctions)
English v. Cowell, 969 F.2d 465 (7th Cir. 1992) (monetary sanctions; indigence considerations)
Selletti v. Carey, 173 F.3d 104 (2d Cir. 1999) (considerations of sanctions against pro se plaintiffs)
Moon v. Newsome, 863 F.2d 835 (11th Cir. 1989) (indigence and sanctions)
Walton v. Bayer Corp., 643 F.3d 994 (7th Cir. 2011) (proportionality of court-ordered punishments)
Rice v. City of Chicago, 333 F.3d 780 (7th Cir. 2003) (proportional sanctions; dismissal not automatic)
Link v. Wabash R.R., 370 U.S. 626 (U.S. 1962) (misconduct can warrant sanctions)
Easley v. Kirmsee, 382 F.3d 693 (7th Cir. 2004) (sanctions and misconduct)
Roland v. Salem Contract Carriers, Inc., 811 F.2d 1175 (7th Cir. 1987) (sanctions due to misconduct)
Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235 (U.S. 1970) (state enforcement of judgments; indigence context)