Colafranceschi v. Moody (In re Prefiling Order Declaring Vexatious Litigant)

435 P.3d 1091, 164 Idaho 771
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 25, 2019
DocketDocket No. 45554
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 435 P.3d 1091 (Colafranceschi v. Moody (In re Prefiling Order Declaring Vexatious Litigant)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Colafranceschi v. Moody (In re Prefiling Order Declaring Vexatious Litigant), 435 P.3d 1091, 164 Idaho 771 (Idaho 2019).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal of an administrative order entered by Administrative District Judge Melissa Moody for the Fourth District declaring appellant, Mark D. Colafranceschi (Colafranceschi), a vexatious litigant pursuant to Idaho Court Administrative Rule 59. Colafranceschi appeals that order, arguing that the administrative judge erred in declaring him a vexatious litigant. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the administrative district judge's order finding Colafranceschi a vexatious litigant and uphold the order prohibiting Colafranceschi from filing any new pro se litigation in the courts of this state without first obtaining leave of a presiding judge.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Colafranceschi and his former wife, Julie Neustadt (Neustadt), have been involved in contentious litigation dating back to May 6, 2016. On March 16, 2017, Neustadt's attorney, Scot Ludwig (Ludwig), filed a motion to refer Colafranceschi to the administrative judge to determine if he was a vexatious litigant pursuant to I.C.A.R. 59. In response, Colafranceschi filed an objection to that motion on March 20, 2017, and another one on March 29, 2017. In addition, he filed a document titled " Rule 59" in which he requested a hearing on Ludwig's motion. He also filed a document with the administrative judge on April 12, 2017, reiterating many allegations against Neustadt and requesting that the court allow him to call Neustadt and other witnesses to respond to the allegation he was a vexatious litigant.

On April 19, 2017, the administrative district judge filed Proposed Findings and Notice of Intent to Issue a Prefiling Order. The proposed findings stated that Colafranceschi's conduct satisfied I.C.A.R. 59(d)(1), (d)(2), and (d)(3) - three of the four grounds upon which a person may be found to be a vexatious litigant. She determined that Colafranceschi had satisfied I.C.A.R. 59(d)(1) because in the preceding seven years he had represented himself in at least three cases that were finally determined adversely to him.1 Next, the administrative judge determined that Colafranceschi had satisfied I.C.A.R. 59(d)(2) because he repeatedly relitigated outcomes in two cases. Finally, she determined he had satisfied I.C.A.R. 59(d)(3) because he had propounded discovery requests for improper purposes.

On May 1, 2017, Colafranceschi filed a written objection to the administrative district judge's proposed findings. In that objection, he requested that the order in which the administrative judge issued her findings be dismissed, or in the alternative, that he be allowed to present evidence to counter the findings. On June 12, 2017, the administrative judge granted his request and scheduled a hearing for August 7, 2017. Colafranceschi submitted exhibits and subpoenaed witnesses for the hearing.

During the August 7 hearing, Ludwig objected to Neustadt being compelled to testify. The administrative judge sustained the objection, releasing Neustadt, and another witness,2 from their subpoenas. At the hearing, *1095Colafranceschi claimed for the first time that he had contacted attorneys prior to filing the lawsuits cited and relied upon by the administrative judge in her proposed findings. He claimed that those attorneys told him that his lawsuits had merit. However, he failed to subpoena any of the attorneys or obtain any affidavits from them. In order to give Colafranceschi the opportunity to verify the claims raised, the administrative judge gave Colafranceschi until September 7, 2017 - she later extended the date to October 15, 2017 - to submit affidavits from the attorneys. Colafranceschi submitted affidavits from the following individuals: Curt McKenzie, Carol Griffith, Sam Johnson (Johnson), Nate Peterson, Terri Melcher (Melcher), and himself. The administrative judge found that only two of these affidavits, those from Johnson and Melcher, contained information relevant to the court's findings.

On November 6, 2017, after reviewing the evidence presented at the August 7 hearing as well as the post-hearing affidavits, the administrative judge dismissed the proposed findings under I.C.A.R. 59(d)(1) and 59(d)(2) but sustained the finding under 59(d)(3). The judge dismissed the proposed finding under I.C.A.R. 59(d)(1) because Melcher, an attorney in another state, had advised Colafranceschi that one of his cases had some merit; thus, that case would not be relied on to determine him to be a vexatious litigant. The administrative judge also concluded her proposed finding under I.C.A.R. 59(d)(2) was unfounded because, in one of the cases she cited, Colafranceschi quoted Justice Schroeder stating, "[i]t was not unreasonable for [Colafranceschi] to retry the custody issues." Consequently, the administrative judge found that the case could not be relied on to support finding him a vexatious litigant.

However, the administrative judge affirmed her original proposed finding that Colafranceschi was a vexatious litigant under I.C.A.R. 59(d)(3). The finding stated,

Mr. Colafranceschi has engaged in a pattern of conducting frivolous discovery, or discovery solely intended to cause unnecessary delay, in the following case[:]
1. Neustadt v. Colafranceschi , Valley County case no. CV 2016-125-C. In a divorce case, Mr. Colafranceschi propounded over 380 discovery requests, including 337 requests for admission. These requests included asking Petitioner to describe the nature and duration of her affairs with other married men in the last ten years and to admit that another man had raped her. Aff. of Scot Ludwig Ex. 8, at 3, 6. The court concluded that many of these requests were irrelevant. Mr. Colafranceschi filed several motions to compel responses to his discovery requests, at least one of which was denied in its entirety. Order Den. Mot. to Compel, Oct. 6, 2016.

The administrative judge wrote "no evidence or argument alters the Court's conclusion with respect to" the proposed findings under I.C.A.R. 59(d)(3). In addition to her administrative order finding Colafranceschi a vexatious litigant, the administrative judge issued an order prohibiting Colafranceschi from filing any new pro se civil actions in Idaho courts without first obtaining leave of the court where the litigation is to be filed. Colafranceschi timely appealed.

II. ISSUE PRESENTED ON APPEAL

Whether the administrative district judge abused her discretion when she found Colafranceschi a vexatious litigant based on I.C.A.R. 59(d)(3).

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A person determined to be a vexatious litigant by an administrative judge may appeal the order to this Court as a matter of right. I.C.A.R. 59(f). Determining a person to be a vexatious litigant is within the sound discretion of the administrative judge. Telford v. Nye , 154 Idaho 606, 610, 301 P.3d 264, 268 (2013). When reviewing a lower court's decision for an abuse of discretion, this Court *1096

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
435 P.3d 1091, 164 Idaho 771, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/colafranceschi-v-moody-in-re-prefiling-order-declaring-vexatious-idaho-2019.