A trial judge has levied sanctions against a New Jersey attorney who the judge said filed a lawsuit “solely in bad faith, for the purpose of harassment of … adversarial counsel.”

Bergen County Superior Court Judge Robert Wilson on Aug. 20 granted motions for sanctions filed by Florida attorney Jonathan Etra and other defendants against Jay Joseph Friedrich of Friedrich & Friedrich in Ridgewood.

Friedrich represents parties in a Florida business dispute in which Etra also is involved, and filed suit in New Jersey claiming Etra and his clients had engaged in fraud, according to court documents.