In what has become a duel between competing motions for sanctions, the gay lawyer who sued Anapol Schwartz over his scuttled lateral move is seeking to recover some court costs against the defendant law firm over a motion for sanctions the firm filed late last month.

Plaintiff Jeffrey Downs filed a motion for sanctions against Anapol Schwartz on Tuesday, contending the firm's motion for sanctions misrepresented Downs' trial testimony, and was the latest example of the firm's “clear pattern to abuse the process to harass” him.

Anapol Schwartz filed a sanctions motion in May arguing Downs had allegedly made false statements about a key fact in his case. The firm pointed to allegedly contradictory trial testimony that Downs gave as evidence that prior pleadings Downs had made were false.