An appeals court on Tuesday upheld a $43,000 sanction against a lawyer in a fee dispute for his refusal to give deposition testimony and his sudden attempt to introduce evidence of his fees at trial.

Charles Waskevich Jr.’s actions were grounds to order payment of the other side’s defense costs in what became a mistrial, the Appellate Division said in International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers v. Werner-Masuda, A-4937-09/A-5067-09.