A western Pennsylvania judge has determined that a Pittsburgh law firm and two of its clients should face sanctions for filing an allegedly "frivolous" motion against the wife of a bankrupt defendant as part of an effort to recover assets by piercing the corporate veil.

Lawrence County Judge John Hodge ruled March 17 that the Lynch Law Group and the plaintiffs in Burgauer v. Perrotta will need to cover the legal fees that Anna Perrotta, the wife of the defendant in the case, spent defending against the plaintiffs' improper efforts to bring her into the lawsuit. According to the motion, the firm and plaintiffs will now need to pay $1,900 to cover the costs.