Cok v. Forte

• Decision Date: 03 February 1995
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 94-0376P.
• Citation: 877 F. Supp. 797
• Parties: Dr. Gladys COK, Court Watchers of Rhode Island (an Association) v. Michael FORTE, Justice of a Family Court in Rhode Island, a State Court.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Rhode Island

877 F. Supp. 797

Dr. Gladys COK, Court Watchers of Rhode Island (an Association) v. Michael FORTE, Justice of a Family Court in Rhode Island, a State Court.

Civ. A. No. 94-0376P.

United States District Court, D. Rhode Island.

February 3, 1995.

Gladys L. Cok, pro se.

Office of the Atty. Gen., Appellate Div. by Richard B. Woolley, Asst. Atty. Gen., for defendant.

ORDER

PETTINE, Senior District Judge.

The Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lovegreen filed on December 19, 1994 in the above-captioned matter is hereby accepted pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). I especially note the recommendation for the issuance of the narrow injunction as worded in the Report and Recommendation. I find that it is entirely appropriate and comports with the teachings of Procup v. Strickland, 792 F.2d 1069 (11th Cir.1986); Cok v. Family Court of Rhode Island, 985 F.2d 32, 36 (1st Cir.1993).

SO ORDERED.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

LOVEGREEN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Before me are the defendant's motion to dismiss pursuant to F.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) (lack of subject matter jurisdiction) and 12(b)(6) (failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted) and motion for injunctive relief. Although the defendant does not so state, he presumably seeks injunctive relief pursuant to F.R.Civ.P. 65 or calls upon this Court to use its discretionary powers to regulate the conduct of litigants appearing before this Court. See Castro v. United States, 775 F.2d 399, 408 (1st Cir.1985).

Although plaintiffs have filed numerous motions, I do not find it necessary to address them at this time. These matters have been referred to me for preliminary review, findings and recommended disposition. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B). Based on the following analysis I recommend that defendant's motion to dismiss be granted and his motion for injunctive relief be granted as to plaintiff Cok as narrowly stated herein.

Background

This matter has had a long and tortuous journey through the State and Federal Courts via litigation involving a divorce between plaintiff, Gladys Cok ("Cok"), and her ex-husband, Leo Cok. This litigation has spilled over to involve appellate review of various Rhode Island Family Court ("Family Court") orders, actions of a guardian ad litem and a conservator of the real estate, and actions of certain Family Court judges. These same issues have overflowed into the federal judicial system on past occasions involving the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

A review of the reported cases discloses that Gladys Cok and Leo Cok were married on March 28, 1958. Although the marriage lasted twenty-three years, it was not a happy and joyous union. Plaintiff, Gladys Cok, filed a petition for divorce, and the parties were divorced in 1982 after proceedings in the Family Court extended over a 26 month period. The trial justice hearing the wife's divorce petition and the husband's counterclaim granted the divorce on the ground of irreconcilable differences. Provision was made for joint custody of the one child born to this union, and the marital domicile was granted free and clear to the wife. Major difficulties surfaced regarding the distribution of real estate owned by the Coks jointly. This real estate was ordered sold and the proceeds divided equally between the parties. Due to the "contumacious and completely uncooperative attitude of both parties", Cok v. Cok, 479 A.2d 1184, 1187 (R.I.1984), the trial justice appointed a guardian ad litem and a conservator of assets to safeguard the properties and to see that the Court's orders were followed. The reasonable fees of these appointees would be paid from the proceeds of the sales of real estate. Other provisions were made but are not pertinent here. Both parties appealed, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed with one modification not here relevant.

The battle then switched to this Court when plaintiff attempted to remove the case from the Family Court to this Court. Plaintiff was then opposing a fee for the guardian ad litem and attempts by the conservator to sell certain properties. The district judge found the case unremovable and remanded the matter to Family Court. Plaintiff appealed, which appeal was summarily dismissed by the First Circuit. Cok v. Cosentino, No. 85-1058, slip op. (1st Cir. May 1, 1985).

The next skirmish occurred in the Rhode Island Supreme Court which was asked to hear 18 appeals brought by plaintiff concerning various actions and orders of the Family Court. Cok v. Cok, 533 A.2d 534 (R.I.1987), appeal dismissed, cert. denied, 488 U.S. 801, 109 S.Ct. 30, 102 L.Ed.2d 10 (1988). The Court found the appeals "blatantly frivolous," id. at 535, as the orders were interlocutory and other appeals attempted to relitigate what was decided in the first appeal. Most importantly, however, the Supreme Court referenced plaintiff's attempt to remove the case from the Family Court to the United States District Court. The Supreme Court noted that the United States District Court judge ruled that the case was not removable, that subject matter jurisdiction of the Federal Court was never involved, and that plaintiff's filings in the Federal Court were legally insufficient to effect removal.

Id. The Supreme Court stated:

The fact is that the Family Court at no time lost jurisdiction.

Id.

The Supreme Court confirmed the appointment of the commissioner to sell the parties' properties. Id.

The struggle did not cease and 1989 was a very bad year for plaintiff. The Supreme Court heard and denied appeals by plaintiff on a Family Court order requiring her to pay child support, an order discharging a lis pendens plaintiff placed on certain real estate in Coventry, Rhode Island sold by the appointed commissioner, and an order granting distribution of certain funds in the Family Court registry to plaintiff's ex-husband. Cok v. Cok, 558 A.2d 205 (R.I.1989).

The First Circuit was equally inhospitable. Plaintiff filed a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the United States District Court against the Family Court judge who granted the divorce and who appointed the guardian ad litem and the conservator, as well as against the guardian ad litem and the conservator. Plaintiff alleged that certain of her constitutional rights were violated by these defendants and accused them of perjury, extortion, criminal conspiracy and racketeering. The District Judge dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim, and the First Circuit affirmed, Cok v. Cosentino, 876 F.2d 1 (1st Cir.1989), holding that the Family Court judge was entitled to absolute immunity and the guardian ad litem and conservator, because they were involved in the adjudicative process, were also entitled to absolute immunity.

Id. at 3.

Plaintiff's faith in her position remained unshaken. However, the year 1993 dealt her additional blows. When the guardian ad litem moved in Family Court to collect a fee for his services and the conservator attempted to sell properties allegedly owned by her, plaintiff again removed the case to the United States District court. The district judge remanded the matter to Family Court. In addition to the remand order, the district court entered an injunction, sua sponte, enjoining Cok "from attempting the pro se removal of any matter from the family court, or from filing any pro se actions in district court, without the prior approval of a judge of the court, and entered an order to that effect." Cok v. Family Court of Rhode Island, 985 F.2d 32, 34 (1st Cir.1993).

Plaintiff appealed to the First Circuit which stated: "Cok's contentions, while characterized in terms of preemption and federalism, revolve, at bottom, around her continuing objections to family court orders doling out her money to various persons whom she considers unworthy and corrupt." Id. at 33. The First Circuit held that it had no jurisdiction to review the remand order. Id. at 34. However, it vacated the injunction as overly broad and because Cok was not warned or given notice of the restrictions or provided an opportunity to respond before the injunction entered. Id. at 35. Nevertheless, the First Circuit went on to state:

Had the court, after notice and opportunity to respond, merely enjoined Cok from further frivolous removals from the family court, we would have doubtless approved. The present record supports such a limited order. We have not hesitated to uphold injunctions that were narrowly drawn to counter the specific offending conduct.

Id. at 36 (citations omitted).

Plaintiff also appealed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court a Family Court order awarding the commissioner a fee to be paid out of proceeds from the sale of the Coks' real property which were held in the registry of the Family Court. Cok v. Cok, 626 A.2d 193 (R.I.1993). Plaintiff argued again to the Supreme Court that the Family Court had no jurisdiction over these matters as the case had been removed to the Federal Court. The Supreme Court once again pointed out that this issue was previously addressed, Cok v. Cok, 533 A.2d at 535, and that at no time did the Family court lose jurisdiction, because the removal was "without the slightest color of right or merit." 626 A.2d at 194. The court dismissed plaintiff's appeal. Id.

Buoyed by her "victory" in the First Circuit concerning the injunction, plaintiff's substantial passion for litigation remained unabated. Plaintiff commenced this action on July 15, 1994 by filing a complaint against this defendant, a justice of the Family Court. The complaint is nine pages in length and is entitled "Complaint for Declaratory Relief on a Case and Controversy Involving the Question of the Supremacy Clause vs. the 10th Amendment to the Federal Constitution (the sum in question $265,000)." A reading of the complaint is an extremely arduous task as it is rambling, inarticulate and a re-hash of...