Foreclosed

The Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers has imposed a public reprimand for an attorney’s frivolous litigation in connection with his personal real estate that had been obtained through foreclosure by a bank

In 2017, in violation of Fed. R. Civ. P. 15, the respondent filed a second amended complaint in the U.S. District Court without first obtaining leave from the court. The court allowed a motion to strike the second amended complaint, observing that no motion for leave had been allowed. Thereafter, the court found the original complaint was deficient and dismissed it with prejudice. Upon respondent’s appeal, the First Circuit affirmed the dismissal and found that, to the extent the respondent’s various challenges to the foreclosure were not waived, they were either squarely foreclosed by precedent or lacked merit. The respondent’s petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court was denied.

In 2021, one of the third-party defendants filed a motion requesting costs, expenses, and attorney fees. The U.S. District Court found the respondent’s action had been meritless and entered an order pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 imposing a sanction against the respondent in the amount of $10,000 in attorney’s fees and costs of $32.00. Although the respondent filed a notice of appeal, the sanctions order was not stayed. The respondent, however, did not pay the sanctions ordered by the court until after bar counsel filed a petition for discipline.

(Mike Frisch)