Allison v. U.S. District Courts Clerks Office

District Court, D. Nevada·Decided August 25, 2022·No. 2:22-cv-01114·Unknown

Opinion

Ronald J. Allison, Case No. 2:22-cv-01114-CDS-EJY

Plaintiff,

v. Order Declaring Plaintiff a Vexatious

Litigant and Imposing a Pre-filing United States Courts Clerks Office, Injunction

Defendants.

On August 3, 2022, I dismissed with prejudice the claims brought by pro se Plaintiff Ronald J. Allison (ECF No. 1) based on Allison’s attempt to sue this District’s Clerks Office, which is generally immune from suit. ECF No. 3. At that time, I ordered Allison to show cause as to why he should not be deemed a vexatious litigant under the All Writs Act, § 28 U.S.C. 1651(a). Id. I gave Allison the deadline of August 19, 2022 to respond to the show cause order. Id. He has neither shown cause nor responded to my order. Having thoroughly reviewed the circumstances of this case, and some of the 123 others Allison has filed in this district, I find that Allison has abused the judicial process in a fashion that wastes substantial resources and prevents this Court from addressing the legitimate concerns of other litigants. Allison’s persistent and unrelenting conduct, despite numerous admonitions and instructions, warrants the extreme remedy of a pre-filing order prohibiting him from filing any further lawsuits in this District without prior court approval. I. Legal Standard Federal district courts enjoy inherent authority to issue writs – including pre-filing orders – to prevent vexatious litigants from filing frivolous lawsuits and abusing the judicial process. Moy v. United States, 906 F.2d 467, 469 (9th Cir. 1990); Molski v. Evergreen Dynasty Corp., 500 F.3d 1047, 1057 (9th Cir. 2007) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a)). Pre-filing orders are an extreme remedy and should be granted only “after a cautious review of the pertinent circumstances.” Molski, 500 F.3d at 1057. Before entering a pre-filing order, the district court must provide notice and an opportunity to be heard to the party against whom the order is sought. Id. If the Court imposes a pre-filing order, it must set forth which cases and motions support its conclusion that the party’s filings are so numerous or abusive that the party should be enjoined, make substantive findings as to the frivolous or harassing nature of the litigant’s actions, and narrowly tailor the order to “fit the specific vice encountered.” Id. (quoting De Long v. Hennessey, 912 F.2d 1144, 1148 (9th Cir. 1990)). District courts considering imposing a pre-filing order on a vexatious litigant should consider four factors. Id. The first two requirements, “(1) notice and an opportunity to be heard and (2) the creation of an adequate record, are procedural considerations – that is, the factors define ‘[a] specific method or course of action’ that district courts should use to assess whether to declare a party a vexatious litigant and enter a pre-filing order.” Id. at 1057-58 (quoting Black’s Law Dictionary 1241 (8th ed. 2004)). The latter two factors, requiring “(3) findings of frivolousness or harassment and (4) that the order be narrowly tailored to prevent the litigant’s abusive behavior, are substantive considerations – that is, the factors help the district court define who is, in fact, a vexatious litigant.” Id. at 1058. Those factors allow a district court to “construct a remedy that will stop the litigant’s abusive behavior while not unduly infringing the litigant’s right to access the courts.” Id. II. Analysis Having cautiously reviewed the pertinent circumstances, I find that a narrowly tailored order prohibiting Allison from bringing additional litigation in this District is appropriate. i. Notice and an Opportunity to be Heard I issued an August 3, 2022, Order for Allison to show cause as to why he should not be deemed a vexatious litigant and subjected to a pre-filing order. ECF No. 3. I gave Allison until August 19, 2022 to respond to that Order. Id. To date, he has not responded. I have waited a few days beyond the August 19th deadline in order to give Allison every opportunity to be heard, yet he appears to have abandoned responding to this case. Allison neither responded to the Honorable United States Magistrate Judge Elayna J. Youchah’s Report and Recommendation in this case recommending dismissal (ECF No. 2), nor to my Order adopting Judge Youchah’s Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 3). Consequently, I find that Allison was given notice and an opportunity to be heard yet he took advantage of neither. ii. Creation of an Adequate Record Judge Youchah diligently performed the task of compiling all 123 lawsuits filed by Allison. See Exhibit 1, ECF No. 2 at 7-9. In adopting Judge Youchah’s Report and Recommendation (R&R), I noted that Allison filed 123 lawsuits in this District over the past thirty-one months yet does not seem interested in pursuing his cases after filing. Of the “123 times Plaintiff has initiated a claim, the Court found only one [instance] that was allowed to proceed.” ECF No. 2 at 4, n.1. “Despite numerous orders by various judges giving Plaintiff an opportunity to correct defective filings, he has not once done so.” ECF No. 2 at 4 (collecting cases). To ensure the creation of an adequate record, I also list a portion of the cases compiled by Judge Youchah, infra, section iii, and incorporate by reference into this Order Exhibit 1 to Judge Youchah’s R&R, as if fully set forth herein. iii. Findings of Frivolousness or Harassment Allison’s litigation has been both frivolous and harassing. This Circuit has adopted a five- factor standard which “provides a helpful framework” for determining whether the plaintiff’s litigation has been frivolous or harassing. Molski, 500 F.3d at 1058 (citing Safir v. United States Lines, Inc., 792 F.2d 19, 24 (2d Cir. 1986)). That standard includes: (1) “the litigant’s history of litigation and in particular whether it entailed vexatious, harassing, or duplicative suits”; (2) “the litigant’s motive in pursuing the litigation” and “whether the litigant had a good faith expectation of prevailing”; (3) “whether the litigant is represented by counsel”; (4) “whether the litigant has caused unnecessary expense to the parties or placed a needless burden on the courts”; and (5) “whether other sanctions would be adequate to protect the courts and other parties.” Safir, 792 F.2d at 24. Here, all five factors weigh in favor of a finding of frivolousness and harassment. As to the first factor, Allison has a history of filing duplicative suits. For example, he has filed multiple cases against the courts and court officials despite admonitions informing him of those parties are immune from being sued. See, e.g., Allison v. Clark County Justice Cts., 2:21-cv-00148- RFB-EJY (Jan. 25, 2021); Allison v. Clark County Justice Cts., 2:21-cv-00164-GMN-NJK (Jan. 29, 2021); Allison v. Clark County Cts., 2:21-cv-01395-JAD-NJK (July 26, 2021); Allison v. Clark County, Cts., Jails, 2:21-cv-01400-GMN-NJK (July 23, 2021); Allison v. U.S. Dist. Cts. et al., 2:21-cv-01604-RFB-EJY (Aug. 30, 2021); Allison v. U.S. Dist. Cts. et al., 2:21-cv-01605-JAD-BNW (Aug. 30, 2021); Allison v. Judge Christy Craig et al., 2:21-cv-01736-GMN-VCF (Sept. 21, 2021); Allison v. U.S. Dist. et al., 2:21-cv- 01852-JAD-DJA (Oct. 6, 2021); Allison v. District Cts., 2:22-cv-00264-APG-NJK (Feb. 11, 2022); Allison v. Nevada Dist. Cts. et al., 2:22-cv-00333-GMN-BNW (Feb. 23, 2022); and the present action, Allison v. U.S. Dist. Cts. Clerks Office. Allison has also filed duplicative litigation against the various attorneys who have prosecuted or defended him. See, e.g., Allison v. Clark Cnty. Dist. Attorneys, 2:20-cv-01810-APG-VCF (Sept. 24, 2020); Allison

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Allison v. U.S. District Courts Clerks Office, (D. Nev. 2022).

Allison v. U.S. District Courts Clerks Office (Allison v. U.S. District Courts Clerks Office) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Ortiz v. Cox
759 F. Supp. 2d 1258 (D. Nevada, 2011)
Selch v. Letts
5 F.3d 1040 (Seventh Circuit, 1993)
Safir v. United States Lines Inc.
792 F.2d 19 (Second Circuit, 1986)
Moy v. United States
906 F.2d 467 (Ninth Circuit, 1990)