Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-01576/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-01576-2/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 220
Nature of Suit: Foreclosure
Cause of Action: 28:2409(a) Quiet Title Action

---

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

RUDIE THOMAS,

Plaintiff,

CASE NO. 13-cv-1576-LAB

ORDER RE: MOTION TO

DISMISS AND MOTION TO

DECLARE PLAINTIFF A

VEXATIOUS LITIGANT

vs.

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS

SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO

LASALLE BANK, N.A., AS

TRUSTEE FOR THE MLMI TRUST

SERIES 2006-RM2 AND ALL

PERSONS UNKNOWN CLAIMING

ANY ILLEGAL OR EQUITABLE

RIGHT, TITLE, ESTATE, LIEN, OR

INTEREST IN PROPERTY

DESCRIBED IN THE COMPLAINT

ADVERSE TO PLAINTIFF’S TITLE

OR ANY CLOUD ON PLAINTIFF’S

TITLE, OR ANY CLOUD ON

PLAINTIFF’S TITLE THERETO;

DOES 1 to 10, inclusive,

Defendants.

Thomas accuses Bank of America of illegally buying his home at a foreclosure sale

and subsequently removing him from it. Now pending before the Court are BOA’s motion

to dismiss and motion to declare Thomas a vexatious litigant. Both motions are GRANTED.

This case is, on its facts, as simple as any other foreclosure case the Court has seen

in recent years. It is actually even simpler considering that BOA’s most direct argument is

- 1 - 13cv1576

Case 3:13-cv-01576-LAB-JLB Document 24 Filed 04/10/14 Page 1 of 6
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

that Thomas’s claims are barred by res judicata, an argument that needn’t even reach the

substantive merits of Thomas’s claims. For whatever reason, however, the case comes with

a staggering amount of briefing and exhibits. Almost everything that has been filed is either

too long or too heavily exhibited. Thomas’s complaint is almost 80 pages, and his

oppositions to the motions are each over two hundred pages. For BOA’s part, its motion to

declare Thomas a vexatious litigant comes with over a thousand pages of exhibits. The

Court has done its best to review everything.

I. Res Judicata

This isn’t the first case in which Thomas has challenged BOA’s right to buy his home

and remove him from it. 

In 2010, after it bought Thomas’s home at a trustee’s sale, BOA filed an unlawful

detainer action against Thomas in San Diego Superior Court. BOA prevailed. The court

entered summary judgment in its favor, ordering that “Plaintiff LASALLE BANK, N.A. as

Trustee have and recover from Defendant(s) RUDIE THOMAS possession of the improved

real property located at 5048 CRESCENT BAY DR, SAN DIEGO, CA 92154.” (Mot. to

Dismiss, Ex. I.) Thomas lost on appeal, and his petition for rehearing was denied. (Mot. to

Dismiss, Exs. R, S.)

After the unlawful detainer action was filed but before it was resolved on appeal,

Thomas filed a motion to set aside the trustee’s sale and to quiet title—also in San Diego

Superior Court. (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. J.) Again, BOA prevailed. The court granted its

motion to dismiss, and on May 13, 2013 the Court of Appeal affirmed. (Mot. to Dismiss, Exs.

K, V.) His petition for rehearing was denied, as was his petition for review with the California

Supreme Court. (Mot. to Dismiss, Exs. W, Z.)

Thomas also pressed his case in federal court. On December 27, 2011, just a few

months after he filed his second amended complaint in San Diego Superior Court, he filed

a motion to set aside the trustee’s sale and to quiet title in this Court. See Thomas v. Bank

of America, Case No. 11-CV-3009, Doc. No. 1. (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. M.) This case was

assigned to Judge Bencivengo, and she dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction on September 7,

- 2 - 13cv1576

Case 3:13-cv-01576-LAB-JLB Document 24 Filed 04/10/14 Page 2 of 6
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

2012. (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. O.) She explained to Thomas that even if he alleged

jurisdictional facts, “the matters that you have pending in the state court are similar to the

matters here and because they involve the disposition of property in your quiet title claim,

the law requires that we abstain from hearing the matter when the state court already had

jurisdiction and heard it first.” Case No. 11-CV-3009, Doc. No. 44 at 3. 

Undeterred, Thomas turned around and filed a second case in this Court on

October 12, 2012. It asserted claims under RESPA, FDCPA, TILA, RICO, and § 1983,

among others, and also accused Bank of America of criminal violations under state and

federal law. See Thomas v. Bank of America, Case No. 12-CV-2475, Doc. No. 1. (Mot. to

Dismiss, Ex. P.) This case was assigned to Judge Curiel, who ordered that the parties file

supplemental briefing on the question whether principles of res judicata barred the claims. 

Case No. 12-CV-2475, Doc. No. 30. Judge Curiel subsequently issued a thorough, 13-page

order sua sponte dismissing the case based on principles of res judicata. Case No.

12-CV-2475, Doc. No. 46. (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. X.) Judge Curiel recognized that

“res judicata will bar not only those claims actually litigated in a prior proceeding, but also

claims that could have been litigated,” and that “[i]n California, ‘a [1] valid, final judgment on

the merits is a bar to a subsequent action by [2] parties or their privies [3] on the same cause

of action.’” Case No. 12-CV-2475, Doc. No. 46 at 7 (quoting Sargon Enters., Inc. v. Univ. of

S. Cal., 215 Cal. App. 4th 1495, 1508 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013)). (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. X.)

The Court has reviewed Judge’s Curiel’s dismissal order and finds it equally pertinent

to this case. This is the crux of it:

The primary right is Plaintiff’s right to the subject property. The

harm for which Plaintiff sought relief in state court is the same

harm for which he now seeks to hold defendants liable which is

the foreclosure of his property. The alleged wrong by

Defendants is that Defendants wrongfully foreclosed on his

property. The actions in state court and this court concern the

same property, same deed of trust and same foreclosure sale. 

The fact that Plaintiff raises new theories for relief is not relevant

for purposes of claim preclusion. Through different court

proceedings, Plaintiff has been seeking relief for the alleged

wrongful foreclosure of the property. Case No. 12-CV-2475,

Doc. No. 46 at 11. (Mot to Dismiss, Ex. X.)

/ /

- 3 - 13cv1576

Case 3:13-cv-01576-LAB-JLB Document 24 Filed 04/10/14 Page 3 of 6
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

The Court agrees fundamentally with that analysis. Moreover, Thomas has no rebuttal to

it as it applies to this case. In his opposition brief, he merely repeats several times the same

lines with respect to the res judicata issue, and they are meaningless:

Plaintiff denies this argument and it should be noted that Mr.

Stolzman statement is deceptive in that the Ryan Firm

purchased bogus promissory notes in which Bank of America,

N.A. deemed as uncollectible. The Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale

was recorded on May 5, 2008. Bank of America, N.A. just

recently provided the plaintiff with documentation that reflects

that Bank of America, N.A. did not own or service the loan nor

does the Ryan Firm represent Bank of America, N.A. as counsel. 

The documentation will also show that it was The Ryan Firm that

created the bogus account for the plaintiff in which was ordered 

to be removed as part of the Independent Foreclosure Review. 

(Opp’n Br. at 5–7.)

He also says, at least twice, that this case “claims violation, by the defendant, of the liberty

clauses of the 5th and 14th Amendments of the Constitution as they apply to the plaintiff,”

which it obviously can’t do insofar as Bank of America is a completely private actor. See

Collins v. Wells Fargo Bank, 2013 WL 3808097 at *12 (D. Ariz. July 23, 2013). (Opp’n Br.

at 6–7.) When Thomas does seem to have a substantive argument with respect to

res judicata, all he does is cite a case for the conclusory proposition that, as he puts it,

“res judicata [should] not be applied so as to defeat the ends of Justice.” (Opp’n Br. at 6–7.)

The Court has familiarized itself with the record of this case, as well as the records

of Thomas’s past cases, and it concludes that the doctrine of res judicata bars this action

in its entirety. Bank of America’s motion to dismiss is therefore GRANTED, and Thomas’s

claims are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.

II. Vexatious Litigant

BOA has also moved to have Thomas declared a vexatious litigant. The fact is that

he lost an unlawful detainer action in state court, and lost on appeal, and has subsequently

filed a state case, two losing federal cases, and now this case. Also, somewhat tangential

to the vexatious litigant analysis, BOA explains that Thomas vandalized his home after he

was evicted and forced BOA to obtain temporary restraining orders against him.

/ /

- 4 - 13cv1576

Case 3:13-cv-01576-LAB-JLB Document 24 Filed 04/10/14 Page 4 of 6
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a), the Court has the authority to issue any writ “necessary

or appropriate in aid of [its] jurisdiction and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.”

This includes restricting a litigant’s right to access the courts when he or she abuses that

right, provided the following conditions have been met: (1) the litigant has been given notice

and the opportunity to respond before being declared vexatious; (2) there is an adequate

record for review that includes the litigant’s activities; (3) the litigant’s activities can be

deemed frivolous or harassing; and (4) the restriction is narrowly tailored to deter the specific

vice encountered. DeLong v. Hennessey, 912 F.2d 1144, 1147 (9th Cir. 1990).

Here, the action is really on (3), and the Court questions whether Thomas is simply

ignorant and doesn’t understand the law, or whether he can truly be said to have filed

frivolous and harassing actions. The Court concludes the latter. When Judge Bencivengo

dismissed his first federal action, she explained that even though it was being dismissed on

jurisdictional grounds there was a larger res judicata problem:

Even if I gave you leave to amend to try to establish diversity

jurisdiction or raise a federal question, in essence, the matters

that you have pending in the state court are similar to the

matters here and because they involve the disposition of

property in your quiet title claim, the law requires that we abstain

from hearing the matter when the state court already had

jurisdiction and heard it first. And they’ve made their

determination. It is on appeal.

Your proper avenue for relief is to follow those appeals. If the

appeal is affirmed by the state court, then it’s over and you can’t

bring it back here. If it’s revised, then there may be an avenue

there for you to reapply here possibly. But at this time, this

Court cannot hear your claim . . . .

So we’ll dismiss your claim here without prejudice so that if there

is an opportunity or a reason for it to be heard here in the future

after the state proceedings are resolved, then you could

potentially come back here. But if there’s a ruling in the state

court that says the judgment there is affirmed and it’s over, this

court will be—will accept that judgment, it’s called res judicata,

and it’s finished. All right? (Case No. 11-CV-3009, Doc. No. 44

at 3.)

To all of this, Thomas responded, “I understand, your Honor.” (Case No. 11-CV-3009, Doc.

No. 44 at 4.) So, it cannot be that Thomas simply doesn’t understand the law and this

explains his frequent filings. Indeed, Judge Curiel’s very comprehensive order in Thomas’s

- 5 - 13cv1576

Case 3:13-cv-01576-LAB-JLB Document 24 Filed 04/10/14 Page 5 of 6
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

second federal action ought to have made it very clear to him that there is simply no relief

available to him, in the federal courts, for the foreclosure on his home. In finding that

Thomas’s actions are frivolous and harassing, the Court has also taken into account, at least

in this case, the volume (very high) and quality (very low and in places incoherent) of his

pleadings, as well as the fact that he attempted to obtain a default judgment by falsely

representing that he had served Bank of America.

Thomas’s rebuttal to BOA’s motion is feeble. In many places, it appears to have been

lifted verbatim from his opposition to BOA’s motion to dismiss. When he does specifically

address specifically being declared a vexatious litigant, he cites California law for the rule

a vexatious litigant is one who “[i]n the immediately preceding seven-year period has

commenced, prosecuted, or maintained in propria persona at least five litigations . . . .” Cal.

Code Civ. P. § 391(b)(1). Of course, California law doesn’t apply for the Court’s purposes

here, and in any event, § 391 lists a number of other reasons that one might be declared a

vexatious litigant.

For the above reasons, the Court GRANTS BOA’s motion to declare Thomas a

vexatious litigant. It finds that the DeLong factors are satisfied and that the designation is

an appropriate one. Accordingly, Thomas is enjoined from filing any future civil action

against BOA that pertains to the foreclosure on his home without first seeking the approval

of the Court. Second, should Thomas file any future civil actions against BOA, he must post

a security/bond to secure payment of costs, sanctions, or other sums that may be awarded

against him should BOA prevail. This is obviously far short of a total ban on Thomas

litigating in this Court, but it should adequately deter him from pursuing BOA for foreclosurerelated relief here.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: April 10, 2014

HONORABLE LARRY ALAN BURNS

United States District Judge

- 6 - 13cv1576

Case 3:13-cv-01576-LAB-JLB Document 24 Filed 04/10/14 Page 6 of 6