H. Richard Austin v. Hanover Insurance Company, also known as Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 17-2717
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H. Richard Austin
lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant
v.
Hanover Insurance Company, also known as Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company
lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellee
Brown & James
lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis
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Submitted: April 20, 2018
Filed: April 24, 2018
[Unpublished]
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Before GRUENDER, MURPHY, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.

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H. Richard Austin appeals the district court’s order dismissing his action1
seeking to set aside several judgments for fraud on the court, and awarding attorney’s
fees. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms.
After reviewing the parties’ arguments on appeal and the circumstances of this
case, the court finds no basis to reverse the dismissal. See Superior Seafoods, Inc. v.
Tyson Foods, Inc., 620 F.3d 873, 878 (8th Cir. 2010) (appeal from action seeking
relief from a prior judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(d) is reviewed
for clear abuse of discretion). This court also finds no abuse of discretion in the
district court’s award of attorney’s fees. See Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger,
137 S. Ct. 1178, 1184 (2017) (holding a federal court’s inherent authority to award
attorney’s fees as a sanction for bad-faith conduct is limited to the fees incurred
because of the misconduct); Dillon v. Nissan Motor Co., 986 F.2d 263, 266-67 (8th
Cir. 1993) (a court may assess attorney’s fees where a party has “acted in bad faith,
vexatiously, wantonly, or for oppressive reasons”).
The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
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The Honorable John A. Ross, United States District Judge for the Eastern1
District of Missouri.
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