Thomason v. Norman E. Lehrer, P.C.

183 F.R.D. 161, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19320, 1998 WL 754476
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedOctober 27, 1998
DocketCIV.A. No. 98-2336
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 183 F.R.D. 161 (Thomason v. Norman E. Lehrer, P.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomason v. Norman E. Lehrer, P.C., 183 F.R.D. 161, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19320, 1998 WL 754476 (D.N.J. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

ORLOFSKY, District Judge.

On August 21, 1998, Plaintiff, Charles L. Thomason, Esq. (“Thomason”), was Ordered to Show Cause by this Court why the remaining state-law counts of his Second Amended Complaint against Defendants, Norman E. Lehrer, P.C. and Norman E. Lehrer, Esq. (collectively “Lehrer”), should not be dismissed based upon the “litigation privilege” recognized by New Jersey law. In Thomason v. Lehrer, 182 F.R.D. 121, 123-24, 132-33 (D.N.J.1998), Count I of the Second Amended Complaint, which alleged a federal civil rights claim for abuse of process, was dismissed by this Court for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Counts II through IV of the Second Amended Complaint allege only state-law claims against Lehrer: negligent misrepresentation (Counts II—III); and tortious interference (Count IV).. The Court has supplemental jurisdiction over Thomason’s state law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a).

Thomason’s state-law claims against Lehrer are based upon statements made by Lehrer in an amended answer and counterclaim filed on behalf of a client in .another action pending before this Court. See Waterloov Gutter Protection Systems Co., Inc. v. Absolute Gutter Protection, LLC, et al., Civil Action No. 97-2554, 1998 WL 166589 (SMO) (“Waterloov action”). Rather than seeking redress in this Court against Lehrer, Thoma-[163]*163son filed a civil rights action against Lehrer in the Superior Court of New Jersey. Lehrer removed the case to this Court. For the reasons set forth below, I will dismiss Tho-mason’s remaining state law claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted based upon New Jersey’s “litigation privilege” which affords absolute immunity to attorneys, parties, and their representatives for statements made in the course of judicial proceedings.

In addition, in the exercise of this Court’s inherent powers, I hold that an attorney who seeks to assert an abuse of process claim against an attorney-adversary based upon conduct which occurred in a case pending before a United States District Court, must seek redress in the District Court, and not in state court.

A United States District Court possesses an arsenal of remedies to address such litigation abuse by members of its bar. To allow such claims to be brought in state court unnecessarily burdens the state courts with “satellite litigation” produced by the unseemly acrimony between counsel in a federal court proceeding. More importantly, to allow such disputes to spill over into state court encourages forum shopping, judge shopping, and the unfortunate multiplication of litigation. Attorneys who engage in such conduct dishonor the legal profession and should understand that judges will no longer tolerate the presentation of abusive and baseless litigation against a colleague. A vendetta masquerading as a lawsuit is not likely to escape judicial scrutiny. As Justice Cardozo once noted: “[W]e are not to close our eyes as judges to what we must perceive as men.” People ex rel. Alpha Portland Cement Co. v. Knapp, 230 N.Y. 48, 129 N.E. 202, 207 (N.Y. 1920).

I. BACKGROUND

The facts and procedural history giving rise to Thomason’s claims against Lehrer are set forth in detail in this Court’s August 21, 1998, opinion, Thomason v. Lehrer, 182 F.R.D. 121, 123, 132-33 (D.N.J.1998) (“Thomason I ”), and, therefore, shall only be summarized below.

Thomason represented the plaintiff, Wat-erloov Gutter Protection Systems Co., Inc. (‘Waterloov”), in the Waterloov action. See Thomason I, 182 F.R.D. at 123-24. In response to Waterloov’s amended complaint, the defendants in the Waterloov action, through their attorney, Lehrer, filed an answer, affirmative defenses and counterclaims. See id. 182 F.R.D. at 124. The counterclaims not only asserted claims against Waterloov and its president, but also alleged claims against Thomason, his law partner, and his law firm. See id. Because of the counterclaims, Thomason was forced to withdraw from the representation of Waterloov. See id.

On or about March 4, 1998, prior to withdrawing as counsel in the Waterloov action, Thomason filed a complaint against Lehrer in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Monmouth County, Law Division. See id. The complaint asserted the following claims against Lehrer: a 42 U.S.C. § 1983, civil rights violation for abuse of process (Count I); two claims for negligent misrepresentation (Counts II and III); and a claim for tortious interference (Count I). See Thomason I, 182 F.R.D. at 124-26. Specifically, Thomason alleged that, by filing the counterclaims in this Court, Lehrer had violated Thomason’s civil rights, negligently misrepresented that Thomason had “a financial interest in Waterloov or a related company[;]” and tortiously interfered with Thomason’s “reasonable expectation of prospective work and fee income from acting as attorney [for Waterloov].” See Thomason I, 182 F.R.D. at 124-25; see also Second Amended Complaint (filed May 28,1998), ¶¶ 21, 34,45.1

[164]*164On May 18, 1998, Lehrer removed the state court action to this Court, alleging that this Court had original federal question jurisdiction over the case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, based on Thomason’s § 1983 claim. See Thomason I, 182 F.R.D. at 125-26. Removal was unopposed. See id.

On May 26, 1998, “I ordered Thomason to show cause: why Count I of the [Second] Amended Complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which [relief] can be granted and why Counts II through IV should not be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3).” See id. (citation omitted) (second alteration not added). “I [also] ordered Thomason to show cause: why sanctions should not be imposed against [him] pursuant to: (1) Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; (2) 28 U.S.C. § 1927; and (3) the Court’s inherent powers.” See id. (citation omitted).

On May 28, 1998,. Thomason filed the Second Amended Complaint in this Court deleting all references to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 from Count I. See id. Accordingly, by letter, I amended the Order to Show Cause to require the parties to brief the additional question of why Count I of the Second Amended Complaint should not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See id. (citation omitted).

On August 21, 1998, I held that the complaint as amended, which deleted all references to § 1983, was “minimally sufficient to invoke the Court’s jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331,1343(a).”2

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Bluebook (online)
183 F.R.D. 161, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19320, 1998 WL 754476, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomason-v-norman-e-lehrer-pc-njd-1998.