One Man’s Frivolity
The Minnesota Supreme Court has suspended an attorney with no right to seek reinstatement for twelve months.
The court affirmed findings of instituting frivolous litigation
the St. Paul Urban League (“SPUL”) hired Selmer as president and chief executive officer. In February 2011 the SPUL suspended operations due to “severe fiscal and other mismanagement.” Subsequently, Selmer, the SPUL, and various SPUL constituents became involved in multiple lawsuits spanning a significant number of court files. The Director filed this petition for disciplinary action against Selmer in January 2014 for his conduct in that litigation…
Selmer offers no basis in law to support filing a separate action in Hennepin County, appealing matters not ripe for review, or filing his federal complaint. Our review of the record therefore supports the referee’s conclusion.
As to sanction
We begin with the four factors. Selmer’s misconduct was serious. His dispute with the SPUL spanned a significant number of court files at the state district, federal district, and state appellate levels, all of which were dismissed based either on the frivolity of Selmer’s arguments or because Selmer failed to comply with court rules…
Selmer’s rule violations occurred in multiple court cases from August 2011 through June 2013. Selmer’s misconduct was therefore not a “single, isolated incident,” but included multiple instances of misconduct over several years.
His prior four instances of discipline were aggravating factors
we consider similar cases. Here, one of Selmer’s own previous discipline cases is instructive. We previously suspended Selmer for 12 months after he engaged in a pattern of harassing and frivolous litigation, including filing several frivolous claims and knowingly offering false and misleading evidence in response to discovery requests. In re Selmer, 568 N.W.2d 702, 704-05 (Minn. 1997). The pattern of frivolous claims, which we held was an “abuse of the litigation process,” is similar to the pattern of frivolous claims at issue here. See id. at 705. And the discipline we imposed in that case is the same as the referee recommended here. See id.
In conclusion, we agree with the referee’s determination that a 12-month suspension is the appropriate discipline for Selmer.
(Mike Frisch)