Wang v. International Business Machines Corp.
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:11-cv-02992
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Wang v. International Business Machines, Judge Briccetti barred further filings and warned of escalating fines after repeated frivolous submissions.
Jian Wang is barred from submitting further filings in this case, except a notice of appeal, and faces escalating fines if he violates the order. The defendant’s counsel and the court are also affected by the filing restrictions and sanctions described in the order.
What happened
In Wang v. International Business Machines Corp., Jian Wang, who was representing himself, repeatedly challenged the settlement of the case through letters, motions, appeals, and other litigation. The court said many of these submissions were frivolous and vexatious and that Wang had disregarded earlier orders limiting his filings.
The court ordered Wang not to submit any further letter, motion, or other filing in the case, except a notice of appeal, unless the order was followed by an appeal. Any other submission would be rejected and returned without being docketed or reviewed. The court also warned that violations would trigger escalating fines beginning at $100 and doubling for each later violation.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti issued the order on January 27, 2023. He also denied Wang permission to appeal without paying court fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Wang v. International Business Machines Corp. · No. 7:11-cv-02992
- Vincent Briccetti
- Jan. 27, 2023
Background
Jian Wang, also identified as James Wang, had submitted several letters to the court in December 2022 and January 2023 concerning the settlement of the case. The court described these letters as repeating frivolous and vexatious arguments Wang had previously made. The court stated that it had enforced the settlement in 2014 and that Wang’s later motions, appeals, and separate state-court litigation had failed.
The court had previously warned Wang that continued frivolous filings could result in summary denial of those filings and a filing injunction—a court order restricting future submissions. In May 2021, the court ordered Wang not to file a motion or other submission without first requesting permission by a letter of no more than one page. The court reiterated that restriction in July 2021. Despite those orders, Wang submitted approximately eleven additional letters that the court characterized as frivolous and vexatious.
Ruling
The court ordered that Wang must not submit any additional letter, motion, or other filing of any kind in the case, except a notice of appeal. If Wang violated that order, the submission would be summarily rejected and returned without being docketed or reviewed.
The court also stated that, if Wang violated the order, it would impose escalating financial sanctions under its inherent authority over a vexatious self-represented litigant. The fines would be $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second, $400 for the third, $800 for the fourth, and $1,600 for the fifth, continuing to double thereafter. The order did not impose one of those fines immediately; it stated that the fines would apply if Wang disregarded the order.
Finally, the court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied Wang permission to appeal without paying the required fees. The order is procedural and ancillary to the earlier settlement dispute; it does not decide the underlying merits of that dispute.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.