Sassower v. Starr (In re Sassower)

338 B.R. 212, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 241, 2006 WL 456768
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 10, 2006
DocketBankruptcy No. 05 B 23120(ASH). Adversary No. 05-8655A
StatusPublished

This text of 338 B.R. 212 (Sassower v. Starr (In re Sassower)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy 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
Sassower v. Starr (In re Sassower), 338 B.R. 212, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 241, 2006 WL 456768 (N.Y. 2006).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

ADLAI S. HARDIN, JR., Bankruptcy Judge.

Before me is an Order to Show Cause, issued sua sponte by this Court, why an adversary proceeding initiated by debtor-plaintiff George Sassower should not be dismissed. After hearing Sassower in opposition to the Order to Show Cause, I conclude that the proceeding must be dismissed on the merits because the complaint is patently frivolous and fails to state a claim against any defendant, and because the proceeding violates an injunction issued by the District Court for the Southern District of New York (Hon. Peter K. Leisure). The Order dismissing this proceeding, at the foot of this Decision, will supplement Judge Leisure’s injunction to make it clear to Sassower that further such litigation is barred.

[214]*214 Jurisdiction

The Court has jurisdiction over this proceeding under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(a) and 157(a) and the standing order of referral to bankruptcy judges dated July 10, 1984 signed by Acting Chief Judge Robert J. Ward.

Background

For a quarter of a century George Sas-sower, a disbarred attorney, has inundated state and federal courts across the nation with an extraordinary number of frivolous filings. Although earlier injunctions bar Sassower from seeking relief in this Court, his persistence in filing utterly baseless claims and motion practice against various public officials remains undeterred. What follows is a comprehensive history of Sas-sower’s litigious past in the hope that future litigants and courts will be spared needless time, energy and expense. For a review of Sassower’s far-flung litigation abuses in the years 1980 through 1993, I defer to District Judge Leisure’s comprehensive recitation in Sassower v. Abrams, 833 F.Supp. 253, 256-60 (S.D.N.Y.1993).

The long and tortured history of vexatious litigation arises out of Sassower’s representation of Hyman Raffe, a shareholder of Puccini. Puccini, a New York corporation, was dissolved and placed in receivership in 1980 by the New York State Supreme Court. Raffe appealed the court’s order and it was unanimously affirmed by the Appellate Division, First Department.
In the early 1980s, Sassower and Raffe filed numerous motions in New York state courts attempting to relitigate the dissolution and receivership of Puccini. The state courts repeatedly denied these motions and, on at least two occasions, imposed extraordinary costs and attorney’s fees. Nevertheless, Raffe and Sassower continued to commence more lawsuits adding, as defendants, the judges and officials who ruled against them. The New York courts found that their various claims were precluded under principles of res judicata, as well as doctrines of qualified and absolute immunity protecting public officials and judicial officers, and such orders were affirmed by the Appellate Division, First Department. See, e.g., Raffe v. Feltman, Karesh & Major, 113 A.D.2d 1038, 493 N.Y.S.2d 70 (1st Dept.), appeal dismissed, 66 N.Y.2d 914, 498 N.Y.S.2d 1026, 489 N.E.2d 772 (1985).
On January 20, 1984, Sassower and Raffe brought an action in the Eastern District of New York naming the same list of Puccini defendants and adding, as defendants, several state court judges and New York State Attorney General Robert Abrams. See Raffe v. Citibank, N.A., No. 84 Civ. 305 (E.D.N.Y.). On August 1, 1984, the Honorable Eugene H. Nickerson, United States District Judge, Eastern District of New York, dismissed the complaint on the grounds that (1) the claims against the private party defendants were barred by the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel, and (2) the claims against the state court judges and Robert Abrams were barred by the Eleventh Amendment and the doctrine of absolute immunity. In addition, Judge Nickerson found that Sassower had conducted the litigation in a vexatious manner and granted defendants’ motion for sanctions. On January 23, 1985, the Second Circuit affirmed Judge Nickerson’s decision without opinion. See Raffe v. Citibank, N.A., No. 84 Civ. 305 (E.D.N.Y. August 1, 1984), aff'd mem., 779 F.2d 37 (2d Cir.1985).
Less than one month after the dismissal of the Eastern District action, Sas-sower and Raffe filed an action in the [215]*215Southern District of New York which named, as defendants, many of the individuals who were the subject of the lawsuit in the Eastern District. The case was assigned to Judge Conner. See Raffe v. John Doe, 619 F.Supp. 891 (S.D.N.Y.1985). Shortly after filing this action, Raffe and Sassower filed new actions in the New York state courts and the defendants in those actions moved the Supreme Court Special Term for a permanent injunction enjoining Raffe and Sassower from filing new lawsuits in the state courts. The New York Supreme Court subsequently granted the motion and entered an order permanently enjoining Sassower from filing any complaint or proceeding relating to Puccini dissolution in state court. See In re Barr, Index No. 01816/80 (N.Y.Sup.Ct., N.Y.Co. January 23, 1985) (Exhibit 24); see also In re Barr, Index No. 01816/80 (N.Y.Sup.Ct., N.Y.Co. March 11, 1986) (Exhibit 25); In re Barr, Index No. 01816/80 (N.Y.Sup.Ct., N.Y.Co. March 1987) (Exhibit 26); In re Barr, Index No. 01816/80 (N.Y.Sup.Ct., N.Y.Co. September 2, 1988) (Exhibit 27).
Sassower and a new actor in the litigation, Sam Polur, Esq., disregarded that order and filed at least ten actions in New York Supreme Court related to the Puccini dissolution and, thus, Sassower was the subject of several criminal contempt convictions. See Raffe v. Riccobono, No. 9522/85, slip op. at 6-7 (Sup.Ct. N.Y.Co. July 1, 1985) (criminal contempt conviction), aff'd, 113 A.D.2d 1038, 493 N.Y.S.2d 70 (1st Dep’t), appeal dismissed, 66 N.Y.2d 915, 498 N.Y.S.2d 1027, 489 N.E.2d 773 (1985) cert. denied, 480 U.S. 932, 107 S.Ct. 1570, 94 L.Ed.2d 762 (1987); Raffe v. Feltman, Karesh & Major, 113 A.D.2d 1038, 493 N.Y.S.2d 70 (1st Dep’t), appeal dismissed, 66 N.Y.2d 914, 498 N.Y.S.2d 1026, 489 N.E.2d 772 (1985). In In re Barr, supra, Sassower was convicted of criminal contempt and sentenced to 30-days imprisonment. See In re Barr, 121 A.D.2d 324, 324, 503 N.Y.S.2d 392, 392 (1st Dep’t), appeal dismissed, 68 N.Y.2d 807, 506 N.Y.S.2d 1037, 498 N.E.2d 437 (1986).
During this same time frame, Sassower, Raffe, and Polur filed three additional actions in this Court which asserted the same claims contained in Raffe v. John Doe and named most of the same defendants. The cases were assigned to Judge Conner as related actions. See Puccini Clothes, Ltd. v. Murphy, No. 85 Civ. 3712(WCC) (S.D.N.Y. filed May 16, 1985); Raffe v. Riccobono, No. 85 Civ. 3927(WCC) (S.D.N.Y. filed May 23, 1985); Raffe v. Relkin, No. 85 Civ. 4158(WCC) (S.D.N.Y. filed June 3, 1985).

On October 11, 1985, Judge Conner dismissed all four actions as being barred by the principles of res judicata and collateral estoppel. The Court stated:

I have reviewed the complaint in this case and have compared it to the complaint filed in Raffe v. Citibank, N.A.

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833 F. Supp. 253 (S.D. New York, 1993)
Matter of Sassower
700 F. Supp. 100 (E.D. New York, 1988)
Sassower v. Dosal
744 F. Supp. 908 (D. Minnesota, 1990)
Raffe v. John Doe
619 F. Supp. 891 (S.D. New York, 1985)
In re Wagner
489 N.E.2d 763 (New York Court of Appeals, 1985)
Sassower v. Finnerty
96 A.D.2d 585 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1983)
Sassower v. Signorelli
99 A.D.2d 358 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1984)
In re Barr
121 A.D.2d 324 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1986)
In re Sassower
125 A.D.2d 52 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1987)
Sassower v. Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland
49 F.3d 1482 (Eleventh Circuit, 1995)
Sassower v. Carlson
930 F.2d 583 (Eighth Circuit, 1991)

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