Gilbert v. Cates
| Decision Date | 13 July 2018 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO: 17-04786 SECTION: "H" (4),c/w 17-12195 SECTION: "H" (4) |
| Parties | DEAN E. GILBERT v. SIDNEY H. CATES, ET AL. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana |
Before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File First Amendment of Consolidated Complaint (R. Doc. 33) and Motion to File a Supplemental or Second Amended Complaint (R. Doc. 65). The motions are opposed. R. Doc. 41, 45, 46, 67, 68. The motions were heard on the briefs.
Plaintiff, Dean Gilbert ("Dean Jr."), filed this lawsuit contending that his constitutional rights,1 Title 42 U.S.C. § 19812, 19833, and 19854 were violated and alleges state law claims5 in astate court succession proceeding involving the death of his mother Bernadette Gaines Gilbert. Dean Jr. contends that after his mother died intestate on December 9, 2011, his brother Dwight persuaded their father, Dean Gilbert Sr., who was experiencing cognitive decline, that Dean Jr. had killed his mother and conspired with other relatives to kill their father.
While the father remained in Michigan with his brother, Dean Jr. alleges that Road Home demanded that he open his mother's estate to pay a contractor for construction work done on her home post Hurricane Katrina through its Small Rental Property Program. As a result, he opened his mother's succession through Duty Judge Robin Giarrusso, rather than the allotted judge, Judge Sidney Cates on February 29, 2012 and was appointed the succession's administrator on March 1, 2012. He contends that he notified all heirs of his appointment by voicemail and certified mail. R. Doc. 33-1, p. 9.
The Court notes that upon learning that Dean Jr. had filed a motion seeking to have himself appointed as succession administrator, the family members filed a motion to revoke the appointment on April 26, 2012. Due to a procedural defect in the appointment pleadings, Dean Jr.'s appointment was deemed null and this saga began.
Dean Jr. alleges that Judge Cates used his judicial office to retaliate against him.6 He does not allege how the judge retaliated and nor does he allege why he would retaliate. Nevertheless he also alleged that the state court judge conspired with Sheriff Marlin Gusman and "others" to violate his civil rights.
While the original complaint clearly attempts to assert a civil rights claim against Judge Cates and Sheriff Gusman, the lawsuit also identify as parties, Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer,LLC, a Louisiana law firm, Thomas J. Cortazzo, Joel Mendler, Karl Zimmerman and Brodie Glenn, attorneys with the Baldwin Haspel firm who were retained to represent his brother Dwight in the succession proceedings. Dean Jr. also named his brother Dwight Gilbert, Michelle Mouton, the law clerk to Judge Cates, and Laurie Hendrickson, the court reporter to Judge Cates as defendants. Finally in the original complaint, Dean Jr. also sued the Parish of Orleans. He does not, however, set forth any allegations against any of the defendants other than his brother, the judge, and a rather vague allegation against Sheriff Gusman.
Thereafter, motions to dismiss were filed by the sheriff, court reporter, the law clerk, the judge, the attorneys, and their law firm. R. Docs. 3, 5, 6, 11, 22, 24 and 29. In response to the motions to dismiss, Dean Jr. filed a motion seeking permission to file an amended complaint on October 23, 2017, which was granted. R. Doc. 13. Dean Jr. was granted an extension until November 12, 2017 to file his amended complaint. R. Doc. 14. He then filed a motion seeking an extension of the deadline until November 27, 2017, which was granted by the undersigned. R. Doc. 16. Dean Jr. filed the subject motion on February 12, 2018, some three (3) months late seeking to amend the complaint. R. Doc. 33. This proposed complaint is eighty-two (82) pages in length.
The proposed Amended Complaint seeks to add eighteen (18) new defendants and assert new causes of action, some having criminal connotations.7 In the proposed amended complaint, Dean Jr. alleges that because he and his brother do not speak to one another, he was not aware of the fact that the Baldwin Haspel firm was hired using their father's money to have him removedas administrator. R. Doc. 33-1, p.9, ¶ 41. He contends that the Baldwin Haspel lawyers alleged that removing Dean Jr. as administrator was necessary to protect the successions assets, which according to Dean Jr. had already been converted by his brother and his lawyers. Id.
Dean Jr. alleges that the Baldwin Haspel lawyers (Cortazzo, Rouchell, Mendler, Zimmerman, Glenn),8 sued in their "individual and official capacities," failed to advise the judge that they had already transferred and converted estate funds. He alleges that he was enjoined without a hearing and denied due process. He alleges that the lawyer then took the pleading, met with Judge Cates or his law clerk, and the judge signed a temporary restraining order, which he called a "second ex-parte order," removing Dean Jr. as administrator pending a hearing. He alleges that the hearing date was open-ended with no scheduled hearing date on the Rule to Show Cause why he should be removed as administrator. R. Doc. 33-1, ¶ 42. Dean Jr. alleges that once he was temporarily removed, he did not get notice of the hearing to permanently remove him as administrator and he was also denied a copy of the transcript by the court reporter. Id. at p. 10, ¶44.
Dean Jr. alleges that after the order was signed, his brother returned to the family rental home, evicted him from the property, and changed the locks. He alleges that the hearing for possession was scheduled in April of 2012, despite this fact he was neither served nor notified of the hearing because the law firm had him permanently removed as administrator and issued an order of usufruct to his father. Dean Jr. contends that the Baldwin Haspel lawyers have claimedpost-judgment moneys that were not shared with him. As a result, he alleges that he needs to reopen the Succession to make his claim.
Dean Jr. also sued the Michigan law firm privately retained by his father to draft his will which resulted in Dean Jr. being disinherited. R. Doc. 33-2, pp. 9-15. He also sued the firm and its lawyer, Joseph Bonventure, because he also prepared a power of attorney for Dean Sr. which granted the power to handle his affairs to Dean Jr.'s brother Dwight and in the event of Dwight's death, Dwight's wife, Julia Gilbert. Id. at pp. 14-18.
Dean Jr. alleges that Judge Tiffany Chase coordinated with Michelle Mouton, Judge Cates's law clerk, who served as a signatory and issued a Rule to Show Cause on a petition for possession. R. Doc. 33-1, p. 9. He also seeks to sue her because she refused to notify him of certain unidentified court orders. Id. at p. 12. Dean Jr. alleges that after he complained to the judge's law clerk about not sending him copies of significant orders, the judge issued an ex parte and sua sponte protective order against him presumably forbidding him from contacting her. He alleged that during the proceedings he had many oral and written questions that were sent to the judge's law clerk, but that his questions were ignored. Id. at. p. 15.
After his father was placed in possession of the property, Dean Jr. requested a copy of the transcript from Judge Cates's court reporter, Laurie Hendrickson. He alleges that Hendrickson refused to provide him with a copy. He contends that this act denied him his civil rights and violated due process. He alleges that Hendrickson, like Mouton, refused to answer questions he submitted. Id.
Dean Jr. alleges that Hendrickson edited transcripts and refused to produce other transcripts for him and the media. Id. at p. 16. He further alleges that Hendrickson discriminated against him by denying him a public trial and access to his court file. Id. at p. 19.
He does not allege how Hendrickson "denied him a public trial," nor does he allege her role in the denial of "access to his court file," which is typically in the custody of the clerk of court. Id. He also alleges that Hendrickson, either alone or in concert, instigated his prosecution by falsely testifying against him and by providing misleading information. Id. at. p. 20.
Additionally, Dean Jr. alleges that Hendrickson, along with the judge, sheriff, and law clerk, intentionally caused him to be falsely imprisoned and arrested for which he seeks punitive damages. He also includes Hendrickson in the group of defendants who conspired to defraud his father and violated Dean Jr.'s due process rights by liquidating and transferring his father's property. Id. at p. 32.
Dean asserts rather incendiary allegations against Civil District Court Judge Cates both in his individual and official capacities. He alleges that the judge violated Title 42 U.S.C.A. Section 1983 because of alleged conflicts of interest because the judge presided over a case with "avid campaign contributors," held ex-parte communications with the campaign contributor, refused to reveal any business relationship with the law firm, allegedly instructed the court reporter to delete portions of the transcript, and avoided or refused to consider evidence of elder abuse, undue influence, theft, identity, money laundering and perjury by Baldwin Haspel and their client, Dwight Gilbert. Dean Jr. also alleges that the judge sealed and then unsealed the case record, closed and reopened the hearings, allowed attorney Cortazzo to waive his right to local rule 9.5,and quashed subpoenas for the medical records of his father. He alleges that the judge twice convicted him of constructive and direct "criminal" contempt of court for allegedly the same offense without due process. Id. at p. 11, ¶ 45(q).
He alleges that the judge...
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