In Midland Interiors, Inc. v. Burleigh, download file, the court applied Chancery Court Rule 37(b)(2)(C) to a long list of discovery abuses, such as repeatedly failing to appear for a deposition, as authorizing the court to impose a default judgment as a penalty, but in an act of mercy, the court gave the defendant, who was pro se, one last chance before rendering that punishment, in this case which sought to pierce the corporate veil to collect a judgment.
By comparison, in Jacobson v. Ronsdorf, download file, another case involving a pro se defendant, the Chancery Court did grant the penalty of a default judgment, after carefully listing a long history of abuses. Pursuant to Rule 37(b)(2)(C), the Court based its decision on repeated failures of the defendant to engage in good faith discovery and in light of multiple failures to comply with court orders. The Ronsdorf decision was recently upheld by the Delaware Supreme Court without an opinion.