Wilson v. Leigh Law Group, P.C,

Background

Mount Diablo Unified School District moved to have Michael Geary Wilson declared a vexatious litigant and ordered to post security. Wilson litigated the nine cases considered by the court without a lawyer. The cases arose from a dispute concerning special education services provided to the minor children of Wilson’s girlfriend and from related litigation.

The court reviewed seven cases filed by Wilson and two state-court cases that he removed to federal court. The court described repeated complaints involving many defendants and very large amounts of text. Several cases were dismissed because the complaints did not provide the short and clear statement required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8. Other cases were dismissed because the claims were duplicative or failed as a matter of law and fact. One removed case was sent back to state court for lack of federal jurisdiction, and Wilson dismissed the other removed case before a remand decision.

Legal standard

The court explained that federal district courts have inherent authority under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a), to issue pre-filing orders against vexatious litigants. Before imposing such an order, the court must provide notice and an opportunity to be heard, develop an adequate record, make substantive findings that the litigation is frivolous or harassing, and narrowly tailor the restrictions to the misconduct identified.

Court’s analysis

The court found that the nine cases, taken together, involved an inordinate number of repetitive and increasingly lengthy filings arising from the same dispute. It also found that the claims were patently without merit. Based on those findings, the court concluded that the litigation was frivolous.

The court separately found a pattern of harassment. It noted that Wilson repeatedly sued Mount Diablo, its employees and board members, lawyers who represented Mount Diablo, lawyers who represented those firms, and his own former lawyers. The court also considered documents containing a graphic that displayed personal information about Mandy Gina Leigh, Damien Berkes Troutman, and Jay Toivo Jambeck.

Ruling

The court granted in part and denied in part Mount Diablo’s motion. It declared Wilson a vexatious litigant. It did not impose the requested restriction covering any new litigation in state courts. Instead, the clerk may not file or accept a complaint initiated in or removed to the Northern District of California without review and approval by the district’s general duty judge when the complaint concerns the Mount Diablo dispute and names Mount Diablo, its current or former employees or board members, specified law firms and attorneys connected to the dispute, or Leigh Law Group, P.C. and its current or former attorneys, including Leigh, Jambeck, and Troutman.

Wilson must provide the proposed complaint, a filing-request letter, and a copy of the order to the clerk for that review. The order states that violating the restrictions may lead to a contempt hearing and sanctions, and that an action filed in violation may be dismissed.