Mirch

MEMORANDUM ***

Kevin Mirch appeals the district court’s imposition of sanctions in the form of attorneys’ fees against him under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 , which authorizes such sanctions for an attorney’s unreasonable and vexatious multiplication of proceedings. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm both the imposition of and amount of sanctions.

The protracted litigation history that eventually gave rise to the sanctions is summarized as follows: In 1995, Mirch, representing Dr. Kenneth Frank and Advanced Physicians Products, Inc. (collectively, the “Frank parties”), obtained a default judgment in a case in which Mirch claimed he was to receive 40 percent of the judgment and $25 per hour as attorneys’ fees. Thereafter, Dr. Frank retained a collection agency to locate the assets of the defaulted party. As a result of the collection efforts, $1.8 million became the subject of an interpleader action in which Mirch intervened and filed a lien for attorneys’ fees.

Subsequently, in 2001, Mirch filed a separate state court action against the Frank parties for breach of contract based on his claim for attorneys’ fees. This action was then removed to district court, and…