The plaintiff’s request for sanctions and filing restrictions were granted by the federal court due to repeated frivolous case removal attempts.
08/21/2023 8:30 A.M.
1.5 minute read
In a recent Minnesota court decision, a plaintiff sought sanctions and a filing restriction against a defendant after he removed the case to federal court, with the court’s ruling highlighting his history of frivolous litigation and addressing the need to prevent future misuse of legal procedures.
Background
In this case, the plaintiff, Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), requested sanctions against the defendant, Donald Mashak, for his actions in removing the case to federal court.
The plaintiff sought attorney’s fees, costs and expenses under various legal provisions due to what they considered to be a frivolous and inappropriate removal. The plaintiff also asked the court to impose a filing restriction on the defendant, preventing him from filing new lawsuits or attempting to remove cases to federal court without prior court approval or legal representation.
Decision
The court examined the defendant’s history of litigation and found that he had a pattern of filing duplicative, frivolous and objectively baseless lawsuits. He had repeatedly attempted to remove cases to federal court without proper jurisdiction, leading to remand orders and appeals that were deemed not taken in good faith. The court determined that the defendant’s removal of this case lacked any objective basis and was unreasonable. As a result of these findings, he was ordered to pay Fannie Mae’s costs and expenses related to the removal under 28 U.S.C. Section 1447(c).
Considering the defendant’s vexatious litigation behavior, the court granted the plaintiff’s request for a filing restriction. The defendant was also prohibited from filing new civil actions or removing cases to federal court in the District of Minnesota without prior court approval or legal representation. This restriction is meant to prevent further frivolous and abusive litigation behavior.
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