Buxbaum v. Rockland County

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedApril 25, 2025
Docket7:25-cv-02088
StatusUnknown

This text of Buxbaum v. Rockland County (Buxbaum v. Rockland County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buxbaum v. Rockland County, (S.D.N.Y. 2025).

Opinion

DOCUMENT ELECTRONICALLY FILED MEMORANDUM ENDORSEMENT DOC # DATE FILED: 4/25/2025 Michael Buxbaum v. County of Rockland 7:25-cv-2088-NSR The Court is in receipt of Defendant’s letter dated April 24, 2025, requesting a pre-motion conference, a “gatekeeper order,” and to dismiss several of Plaintiff’s motions and applications for ex parte relief as premature (ECF No. 32) (attached hereto). First, the Court directs Plaintiff to respond to Defendant’s letter dated April 24, 2025 to address the Defendant’s requests for a pre-motion conference and a “gatekeeper order.” Second, the Court will dismiss Plaintiff’s request for summary judgment and ex parte relief in ECF Nos. 13, 15, 19, 23, 25, 27, 28 and 29 without prejudice to renew. Plaintiff’s motions for summary judgment (ECF Nos. 13, 15) are premature and fail to comply with the Court’s Individual Rules of Practice. Plaintiff’s motions for ex parte relief (ECF Nos. 19, 23, 25, and 28) fail to a provide legal basis for seeking the proposed relief, fail to provide a basis for why it should be considered ex parte, fail to comply with the Court’s Individual Rules of Practice, and are without an affidavit of merit. Third, Plaintiffs letters requesting a signature of the previously filed subpoena duces tecum (ECF Nos. 17, 26) also fail to comply with the Court’s Individual Rules of Practice and are otherwise improper. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s requests at ECF Nos. 13, 15, 17, 19, 23, 25, 26, and 28 are DENIED without prejudice to renew. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate the motion at ECF No.15. Dated: April 25, 2025 sys.

Z ef

NELSON S, ROMAN United States District Judge

\ . \, [ SARETSKY KATZ DRANOFF WEISSMAN & MAYNARD, L.L.P. 565 Taxter Road, Suite 210 Elmsford, New York 10523 TELEPHONE (212) 973-9797 FACSIMILE (212) 973-0939 E-MAIL rweissman@skdwmlaw.com www.skdllp.com April 24, 2025 VIA ECF Hon. Nelson Roman United States Courthouse for the Southern District of New York 300 Quarropas Street, Courtroom 218 White Plains, New York 10601-4150 Re: Michael Buxbaum vy. County of Rockland Docket No.: 25-CV-02088 (NSR) Dear Judge Roman: Defendant the County of Rockland (“the County”) requests a pre-motion conference or briefing schedule regarding a proposed Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss plaintiff pro se Michael Buxbaum’s (“Plaintiff”) Complaint (PACER Doc. 12) and a proposed motion for a gatekeeper order prohibiting Plaintiff from filing further pro se actions without advance Court approval. Plaintiff Pro Se’s Current Complaint Should Be Dismissed Plaintiff’s Complaint should be dismissed in its entirety forfailure to state a cause of action. Even a pro se plaintiff must plead sufficient facts to meet the plausibility standard established in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) and Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007). See Jackson v. Cty. of Rockland, 450 F. App’x 15, 18 (2d Cir. 2011). Here, Plaintiff's claims are not even comprehensibly pleaded, much less plausibly pleaded. Plaintiff seeks awards of $5.5 million and nearly $94 million pursuant to the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3729). (PACER Doc. 12, Pg. 6) However, the Complaint does not identify the allegedly false claims, specify how many there were, set forth the dates they were made, plead who made the claims or specify what is allegedly false about them. The most that can be gleaned from the Complaint is that the claims have something to do with “pensions and... other post- employment benefits” “including a second pension that is overfunded with money paid from the Federal Government”, and that the County supposedly “is fraudulently reporting audited financial reports and making false claims for money to the American Federal Government and fraudulently spending Federal money... with fraudulent actuarial computations that... have no Mathematical fact...” (PACER Doc. 12, Pg. 5) Significantly, qui tam FCA complaints are subject to the heightened pleading standards of F.R.C.P. 9(b), which, “requires a party alleging fraud to ‘state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud,’ which ‘ordinarily requires a complaint alleging fraud to (1) specify the

HAporni.l N2e4l,s 2o0n2 R5o mán Page 2

statements that the plaintiff contends were fraudulent, (2) identify the speaker, (3) state where and when the statements were made, and (4) explain why the statements were fraudulent.’” U.S. ex rel. Askari v. Pharmerica Corp., 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 6227, at *5-6, 2024 WL 1132191 (2d Cir. Mar. 15, 2024). Further, “To be actionable under the False Claims Act, ‘[a] misrepresentation about compliance with a statutory, regulatory, or contractual requirement must be material to the Government's payment decision.’” Askari, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 6227, at *8, citing Universal Health Servs., Inc. v. U.S., 579 U.S. 176, 181 (2016). This standard is “demanding.” Universal Health, 579 U.S. at 194. The Complaint does not even remotely plead facts meeting these demanding standards and it should, therefore, be dismissed.

Moreover, as a procedural matter, even if the Complaint contained enough factual allegations to make it comprehensible and plausible, it is not brought in the name of the government, as required by 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(1), nor does it indicate that it was first filed with the government in camera and under seal, as required by 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(2).

A Gatekeeper Order Is Appropriate Given Plaintiff’s Scores of Frivolous Pro Se Lawsuits

Between December 9, 2024 and April 16, 2024 Plaintiff has filed no fewer than 109 pro se lawsuits in this Court and two more in the Eastern District of New York. (See annexed index of cases.) Of these, 94 have already been dismissed. Plaintiff’s vexatious and frivolous filings include five cases against the County of Rockland and its officials, at least eleven against other governmental entities and officials and approximately 93 against private parties. Given this flagrant abuse of the court system, an anti-filing injunction (a “gatekeeper order”), prohibiting Plaintiff from commencing further pro se litigation without advance court approval, is warranted.

“In determining whether to issue an anti-filing injunction, a district court considers ‘(1) the litigant's history of litigation and in particular whether it entailed vexatious, harassing or duplicative lawsuits; (2) the litigant's motive in pursuing the litigation, e.g., does the litigant have an objective good faith expectation of prevailing?; (3) whether the litigant is represented by counsel; (4) whether the litigant has caused needless expense to other parties or has posed an unnecessary burden on the courts and their personnel; and (5) whether other sanctions would be adequate to protect the courts and other parties.’” Wood v. Mut. Redevelopment Houses, Inc., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164924, 2024 WL 4164485 (SDNY Sept. 12, 2024), citing Safir v. U.S. Lines, Inc., 792 F.2d 19, 24 (2d Cir. 1986). “[T]he Second Circuit has never required that all five factors be met….” Wood, supra citing Hermes of Paris, Inc. v. Swain, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 33075, 2021 WL 5170726, at *3-4 (2d Cir. Nov. 8, 2021).

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

Related

Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Jackson v. County of Rockland
450 F. App'x 15 (Second Circuit, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Buxbaum v. Rockland County, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buxbaum-v-rockland-county-nysd-2025.