Fredin v. Miller

Background

Brock Fredin brought three related defamation actions against Lindsey Middlecamp; Grace Elizabeth Miller and Catherine Marie Schaefer; and Jamie Kreil. The cases arose from social-media posts concerning sexual-assault allegations, including an affidavit Kreil submitted in the Middlecamp and Miller-Schaefer litigation.

The court previously found Fredin to be a vexatious litigant and issued a preliminary injunction under its inherent authority to address abuses of the judicial process. The injunction required Fredin to stop certain conduct and immediately remove specified websites and videos. The court found that Fredin had created websites and videos to harass and intimidate defendants, their counsel, and the court, and to pressure them for favorable settlements and rulings. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the relevant orders on the merits, and the Supreme Court denied Fredin’s petition for review.

Defendants’ Renewed Sanctions Motion

The defendants asked the court to impose sanctions that had previously been deferred, including a $500 daily fine for each violation and attorneys’ fees. The court confirmed that five websites covered by the injunction remained accessible. Because the websites had not been removed, the court found that Fredin violated the injunction. The court also found the violation especially serious because Fredin had filed a sworn declaration stating that he had removed the websites and videos.

The court granted the defendants’ Joint Renewed Motion for Order to Show Cause and ordered Fredin to pay $12,490.80 in attorneys’ fees. The court did not consider newly created websites and videos for purposes of this order because the underlying cases were closed, the Eighth Circuit had affirmed, and the court found that those materials were not created to obtain favorable settlement terms or judicial decisions.

Fredin’s Motion for Sanctions

Fredin sought sanctions under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, claiming that the defendants’ sanctions motion was baseless and contained false accusations. Rule 11 generally requires a party seeking sanctions to serve the motion on the opposing party and give at least 21 days to correct the alleged violation before filing the motion with the court.

The court denied Fredin’s motion because he had not served the required notice. The court also denied it on the merits, finding that the defendants’ motion was not baseless and that a reasonable and competent attorney could have believed the challenged conduct fell within the injunction. To the extent Fredin sought sanctions under 28 U.S.C. § 1927, the court denied that request for the same reasons.

Motions to Disqualify and Motion to Stay

The court treated Fredin’s motion to disqualify District Judge Nelson as a request to reconsider the earlier denial of his disqualification motion. The court found that Fredin had not identified a clear legal or factual error, presented newly discovered evidence, or shown bias. It denied the motion.

Fredin also sought to disqualify the Robins Kaplan law firm, alleging that he previously had an attorney-client relationship with the firm concerning the same matters and that the firm disclosed confidential information. The court denied the motion as untimely. Fredin waited 15 months after he allegedly became aware of the potential conflict, and disqualification at that stage would prejudice Kreil by depriving her of counsel.

Because the court denied the motion to disqualify counsel, it denied Fredin’s motion to stay as moot.

Other Dispositions

The court granted the defendants’ request to seal Docket Numbers 171 and 182. It denied the defendants’ request to require Fredin to obtain permission before filing future pleadings.

Disposition

The court denied Fredin’s Motion for Sanctions, Motion to Disqualify District Judge, and Motion to Disqualify Counsel. It denied Fredin’s Motion to Stay as moot. It granted the defendants’ Motion to Seal Documents 171 and 182, denied their motion to restrict future pleadings, and granted their Joint Renewed Motion for Order to Show Cause. Fredin was ordered to pay $12,490.80 in attorneys’ fees.