DCWageLaw Wins $172,635 Sanctions Award Against Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Federal court orders defense counsel for GardaWorld to personally reimburse DCWageLaw's fees after finding their motion to disqualify the firm was tactically timed, legally meritless, and pursued in bad faith.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered attorneys Teresa L. Jakubowski and Adam T. Calandra, together with their firm Barnes & Thornburg LLP, to pay DCWageLaw $172,635.10 in attorneys' fees and costs as a sanction for filing a baseless motion to disqualify the firm from two consolidated wage-and-hour class actions against United American Security, LLC d/b/a GardaWorld.
In a memorandum opinion issued June 9, 2026, Judge Beryl A. Howell granted DCWageLaw's motion for sanctions in full under 28 U.S.C. § 1927, holding defense counsel jointly and severally responsible for the fees the firm was forced to spend responding to the disqualification motion on an emergency basis. The court found that the motion unreasonably and vexatiously multiplied the proceedings, and that defense counsel's conduct was at least reckless and at times rose to bad faith.
A tactic, not a motion
Barnes & Thornburg filed its disqualification motion late on the night of February 16, 2026 — two days before DCWageLaw's summary judgment reply was due — accusing the firm's attorneys of six separate ethics violations. The same evening, GardaWorld served eighteen deposition subpoenas on plaintiffs and putative class members. Two days later, on the day of the filing deadline itself, defense counsel threatened to file the same disqualification motion in seventeen additional cases the firm is litigating against GardaWorld in federal and D.C. courts.
The court rejected every one of the six grounds asserted. After roughly twenty minutes of attempting to defend the motion at an emergency hearing, defense counsel moved to withdraw it. Judge Howell denied the withdrawal, finding the damage had already been done: the motion had been filed for tactical reasons, to attack the firm's integrity, and to chill its lawful communications with GardaWorld's employees.
"Defense counsel's effort to impugn the reputation of plaintiffs' counsel by calling their ethics into question has boomeranged."
What the firm says
"This was never about us — it was about whether a multinational employer can use manufactured ethics accusations to strip hundreds of low-wage security officers of their chosen counsel. The Court recognized the motion for what it was and responded decisively. We're grateful for that, and we're getting back to the work that matters: making sure our clients are paid what the law requires."
"Accusations of professional misconduct carry real weight, which is exactly why they can't be deployed as litigation leverage. This ruling reaffirms a basic principle: claims about a lawyer's ethics must be grounded in the rules and the case law, not in tactical convenience. We appreciate the Court's careful attention, and we look forward to litigating these cases on their merits."
By the numbers
The underlying cases
The sanctions arise out of Chang v. United American Security, LLC and Merritt v. United American Security, LLC, consolidated class actions alleging that GardaWorld failed to timely pay security officers the heightened minimum wage and fringe benefits required by District of Columbia law. In the same opinion, the court held that DCWageLaw's claims under the D.C. Wage Payment and Collection Law may proceed, rejecting GardaWorld's argument that the claims could not stand on their own. The litigation continues, and DCWageLaw represents GardaWorld employees in more than fifteen additional wage-and-hour matters pending in federal and D.C. courts.
About DCWageLaw
DCWageLaw, the Law Office of Justin Zelikovitz, PLLC, is a Washington, D.C. firm dedicated to representing workers in wage-and-hour disputes, including claims for unpaid minimum wages, overtime, and fringe benefits under D.C. and federal law. The firm represents employees in individual and class actions throughout the District of Columbia.
Justin Zelikovitz, Principal
DCWageLaw — Law Office of Justin Zelikovitz, PLLC
202-803-7030 · dcwagelaw.com