Opinion ID: 2336375
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: Ebershoff State Court Proceeding

Text: a. D'Amato demurrer As noted earlier, on July 31, 1992, Respondent filed a 180-page lawsuit against his former law firms and all the partners therein, as well as the law firms who had represented the defendant law firms in other actions filed by Respondent. ( Shieh v. Ebershoff, et al. (case no. BC061170).) The complaint was served on Lewis, D'Amato by Respondent's counsel on December 4, 1992. On January 5, 1993, Lewis, D'Amato filed a demurrer and requested sanctions against Respondent and his counsel, contending that the state court complaint sought to assert claims and allegations which Respondent had raised in his prior federal action, which he was barred from relitigating after its dismissal with prejudice. Lewis, D'Amato sought sanctions from Respondent and his counsel claiming that pursuing the allegations and causes of action after they had been dismissed in federal court constituted frivolous and bad faith tactics within the meaning of Code of Civil Procedure section 128.5. In its pleading, Lewis, D'Amato noted that the allegations in the state complaint were word for word those alleged in the federal matter, down to misspellings and typographical errors. On January 29, 1993, the trial court sustained the demurrer without leave to amend as to all claims against Lewis, D'Amato and imposed sanctions of $2,750 under section 128.5, finding that Respondent's actions were frivolous and without merit. Respondent filed a motion for reconsideration, which was denied and additional sanctions under Code of Civil Procedure section 1008(d) of $975 were ordered against Respondent and his attorney. The Court of Appeals affirmed the rulings in an unpublished opinion filed on March 7, 1995. Respondent has never reported these sanctions to the State Bar. b. Respondent Declared Vexatious Litigant As to the remaining defendants in Shieh v. Ebershoff, et al. (case no. BC061170), three groups of defendants [3] moved to have Respondent declared a vexatious litigant under Code of Civil Procedure section 391 and for an order requiring him to post a bond pursuant to section 391.1. After the filing of such a motion prior to trial, the litigation is stayed. (Code Civ. Proc, § 391.6.) Notwithstanding the pending motion and resulting stay, Respondent and his attorney filed on January 19, 1993 a motion to (1) request a continuance of the vexatious litigant hearing until Respondent had completed his discovery, (2) compel depositions of 32 of the defendants and production of documents, (3) stay defendants' discovery until the completion of his discovery, (4) award sanctions, and (5) order defendants to show cause re: contempt. At a hearing held on February 18, 1993 and by order filed March 16, 1993, the motions to declare Respondent a vexatious litigant were granted. The action remained stayed, and security was to be posted within 30 days or the Court would entertain a motion to dismiss. Respondent's motion was denied. The Court found that the motion [was] frivolous and brought without substantial justification,... and ordered that Respondent and his attorney be sanctioned, jointly and severally, and pay opposing counsel a total of $4,500. Respondent filed six motions for reconsideration, as well as requesting other relief from the Court. On March 22, 1993, the Court denied the motions for reconsideration with prejudice, found that the motions were frivolous and without justification, and ordered that Respondent and his attorney pay an additional $3790 in sanctions. In its ruling, the Court reiterated that the proceeding remained stayed as to all defendants until 10 days after Respondent provided the security ordered in the March 16, 1993 ruling. On April 2, 1993, Respondent filed 12 motions seeking vacation, clarification, modification, and reconsideration of the Court's rulings on February 18 and March 22. New counsel for Respondent filed voluminous documents in support of the 12 motions. Further, on May 18, 1993, Respondent filed a voluminous first amended complaint, adding as a new plaintiff, Say & Say. This filing was in violation of the stay order issued on February 18 and reiterated in the March 22 ruling. On June 3, 1993, the Court denied the 12 motions, found that they were identical to the six motions for reconsideration previously denied, and that no new or different facts were alleged. It ruled that the twelve Motions for Reconsideration were brought in bad faith and were frivolous, unnecessary and brought for purposes of delay. The first amended complaint was struck as well. The Court sanctioned Respondent and his attorneys, jointly and severally, a total of $4,810, to be paid by June 23, 1993. In a separate order filed June 3, 1993, the Court found that Respondent had not filed the required security ordered on February 18, 1993, and therefore dismissed the action in its entirety with prejudice as to all remaining defendants. Respondent and Say & Say appealed the dismissal and the vexatious litigant determination to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals dismissed Respondent's appeal on October 23, 1993, after finding he was subject to a prefiling order as a vexatious litigant in other proceedings (discussion infra ) and after according him the opportunity to explain why his appeal had merit. The Court concluded that his appeal in the instant case was maintained for the purpose of harassment. ( Say & Say, Inc. v. Ebershoff (1993) 20 Cal.App.4th 1759, 1761-1762 [25 Cal.Rptr.2d 703].) The Court also concluded that Say & Say, Inc., is an alter ego of Respondent which had been used by Respondent to circumvent the provisions of the vexatious litigant statute. Say & Say, Inc. would be held responsible for the acts of the individual who controlled it. The Court concluded that Say & Say, Inc. was a vexatious litigant. Rehearing was denied, as well as three petitions for review to the California Supreme Court. ( Id. at p. 1770 [25 Cal. Rptr.2d 703].)