New York litigator Edward W. Hayes was accused of legal malpractice for sleeping through his client’s deposition. In 2003, Hayes was retained by Robert Flutie to defend companies he owned against a suit brought by the trustee of a bankruptcy involving Flutie’s brother.

A bankruptcy judge ultimately determined that Robert Flutie’s companies, Flutie Bros. and Flutie Entertainment USA, Inc., were successors to his brother’s bankrupt company Flutie Entertainment Corp. Robert Flutie was therefore on the hook for $191,089.

He sued Attorney Hayes, alleging that he didn’t prepare for the trial, and ultimately slept through most of Robert Flutie’s deposition. The judge has thrown out the case because in order to prevail, Robert Flutie would have to show that “but for” Hayes’s mistakes, the outcome of the proceedings would have been different. The judge determined that even if Hayes hadn’t slept through the deposition, the outcome would have still been the same.