Board of County Com'rs of Morgan County v. Winslow
| Decision Date | 30 September 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 83SC415,83SC415 |
| Parties | BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MORGAN COUNTY, Colorado, Petitioner, v. Rainsford J. WINSLOW, Respondent. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
William H. ReMine, III, Montgomery, Little, Young, Campbell & McGrew, P.C., Englewood, for petitioner.
Rainsford J. Winslow, Fort Morgan, for respondent.
We granted certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in Board of County Commissioners v. Winslow, 679 P.2d 1089 (Colo.App.1983), which held that the jurisdiction to hear a request for an injunction preventing Rainsford J. Winslow from filing actions or pleadings pro se in the District Court in and for the County of Morgan lies exclusively with the state supreme court. We reverse and remand the case to the court of appeals for consideration of the remaining issues on appeal.
Since 1979, Winslow, who is not an attorney, and his wife have been litigants in several lawsuits regarding zoning and sewer systems on a tract of land they own in Morgan County. On June 21, 1979, a class action suit was filed against Winslow and the Board of County Commissioners of Morgan County (the county) concerning "road issues" and an improvement agreement involving the Morgan Heights subdivision, which was developed by Winslow. He claims that his attorney's fees for this action were approximately $150,000 and that he began to appear pro se in this and subsequent actions to avoid financial ruin. The county prevailed on a crossclaim against Winslow for attorney's fees and costs.
The first action in which Winslow appeared as a pro se plaintiff arose when Stanley Rosener allegedly hooked up to Winslow's sewer system without permission and without paying any fee. Winslow asked Morgan County District Attorney Doyle Johns, Jr., to file criminal charges against Rosener. When Johns failed to file charges and refused to explain his decision, Winslow filed a "Communication Demand" with the Morgan County District Court, which granted Johns' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.
Winslow then filed a pro se complaint on December 1, 1980, challenging the sufficiency of the county's notice regarding particular zoning resolutions and subdivision regulations. The district court granted the county's motion for summary judgment. The court of appeals affirmed, and certiorari was denied by this court and by the United States Supreme Court.
On August 4, 1981, the county brought an action seeking Winslow's compliance with a county zoning regulation that requires a Special Use Permit for any sewer system modification. Winslow responded by filing a pro se action to stop the county's "harassment." He claimed that only one other sewer system was required to obtain such a permit and that the numerous remaining systems were not required to obtain permits. These actions were consolidated, and the district court ordered Winslow to obtain the permit and to pay court costs.
On February 10, 1982, Winslow filed a pro se action (No. 82CV20) alleging that certain county zoning and subdivision regulations are void because of procedural defects. While this action was pending, the county filed a petition seeking to enjoin Winslow from prosecuting the action pro se and from further pro se appearances in the Thirteenth Judicial District. At the ensuing hearing, the Clerk of the Morgan County District Court identified Register of Action sheets for each of the actions involving Winslow and testified that Winslow's case files were more voluminous and contained longer pleadings than similar case files.
The district court found that Winslow
has appeared pro se before this Court on many occasions ...; that his pleadings are usually extraordinarily voluminous and replete with irrelevant and immaterial matter; that the actions filed by [Winslow], except for the latest, have all been determined adversely to him; that this latest action appears to be an attempt to raise an issue which is res adjudicata by reason of the Court's judgment in one of [Winslow's] prior suits; that [Winslow's] actions and methods of procedure impose a heavy burden on the resources of this Court.... That the unwarranted burden placed on the operation of this Court due to [Winslow's] actions and the resultant expense thereof are prejudicial to the interests of the taxpaying public; that where it is necessary to prohibit such an abuse of the judicial process within this Court, it is within the power and authority of this Court to prevent the further commission of the abuse and the concomitant injury to public rights and interests....
The court's amended injunction states:
that [Winslow] be and he is enjoined and restrained from filing any further actions or pleadings in the District Court in and for the County of Morgan, Colorado, wherein he appears pro se and seeks affirmative relief, as contrasted from purely defensive action, and that he be and is further enjoined from appearing pro se in Civil Action No. 82CV20 in said Court and that he arrange for the appearance of duly licensed legal counsel in said action.
After Winslow retained counsel, the court granted summary judgment against the county on the basis that the county improperly adopted the zoning regulations at issue.
Winslow appealed the district court's injunctive ruling on several grounds. The court of appeals did not address Winslow's substantive bases for appealing the district court's injunction. Instead, the court held that only the Supreme Court of Colorado may enjoin a litigant from further pro se appearances. The county petitioned for a writ of certiorari on the issue of whether the district court had jurisdiction to enter the injunction. Winslow petitioned for certiorari on the substantive issues he raised before the court of appeals. 1 We granted certiorari on the limited question of whether a district court may issue an injunction against a litigant proceeding pro se in that district court.
On a number of occasions this court has enjoined parties from appearing pro se in all courts of the state. Board of County Comm'rs v. Howard, 640 P.2d 1128 (Colo.1982); People v. Dunlap, 623...
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