Langadinos v. Bd. of Trs. of the Univ. of Mass.
| Decision Date | 30 September 2013 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO. 12-11159-GAO |
| Parties | GREGORY LANGADINOS, Plaintiff, v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts |
O'TOOLE, D.J.
The magistrate judge to whom this matter was referred has filed a Report and Recommendation ("R&R") (dkt. no. 41) with respect to the defendants' motions to dismiss (dkt. nos. 14, 16, 24). After carefully reviewing the pleadings, the parties' submissions, the R&R, and the plaintiff's objections, I agree with the magistrate judge's analysis and conclusions.
Accordingly, I approve and ADOPT the magistrate judge's recommendation in its entirety. The defendants' Motions to Dismiss (dkt. nos. 14, 16, 24) are GRANTED.
It is SO ORDERED.
v.
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, etal. Defendants.
Boal, M.J.
Pro se plaintiff Gregory Langadinos ("Langadinos" or "Plaintiff"),1 a frequent litigant in this and other courts, filed an amended complaint against defendants University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees ("UMass"), Margaret D. Xifaras ("Xifaras"), in her individual and official capacity, Southern New England School of Law (the "Law School"), Robert V. Ward. Jr. ("Ward"), the Law Office of Kenneth V. Kurnos (the "Law Office"), and Kenneth Victor Kurnos ("Kurnos") (collectively, the "Defendants"). Docket No. 6. Langadinos alleges federal civil rights violations, state law torts, and breach of contract. The Defendants havemoved to dismiss the Amended Complaint. Docket Nos. 14, 16, 24.2 For the reasons discussed below, this Court recommends that the District Court grant the motions.
From 1997 to 1998, Langadinos was a student at the Law School. Langadinos v. Southern New England School of Law, Civ. A. No. 08-2064, Memorandum and Order on Defendants' Renewed Motion to Dismiss for Fraud Upon the Court and for Repeated Non-Compliance with this Court's Orders (Mass. Super. May 3, 2012), p. 1.3 Due to poor performance, Langadinos transferred to Touro Law Center ("Touro") in New York. Id. He was dismissed for academic reasons. Id. He then filed suit against Touro. Langadinos v. Trustees of Touro College, No. 99-cv-4211 (TCP) (E.D.N.Y.). The suit was removed to federal court where it was ultimately dismissed with prejudice. Superior Court Dismissal Order at p. 2. The federal court found Langadinos to be "a vexatious litigant." See Ex. 7B.
Langadinos then applied for readmission to the Law School. Superior Court Dismissal Order at p. 2. When his application was denied, he sued the Law School, alleging discrimination on the basis of handicap and national origin. Langadinos v. Southern New England School of Law, Inc., No. 00-cv-11817-RWZ (D. Mass.). In connection with this lawsuit, Langadinos andthe Law School entered into a Confidential Settlement Agreement (the "Settlement Agreement") in October 2001. Ex. 1 to Amended Complaint. Thereafter, Langadinos attended Appalachian School of Law, against which he immediately brought a claim for discrimination. Superior Court Dismissal Order at 2.
On May 6, 2008, Langadinos commenced an action against the Law School, Ward, Xifaras and others in Massachusetts Superior Court. Langadinos v. Southern New England School of Law Inc., No. 08-2064 (Mass. Super.) (the "Superior Court Action")."4 In that case, Langadinos alleged that he learned during a deposition in the case he had brought against Appalachian School of Law that Ward, while Dean of the Law School, had disparaged him in violation of the parties' prior Settlement Agreement and defamed him. On September 9, 2009, the Superior Court dismissed all counts of the complaint except for the claims of breach of contract and defamation. Superior Court Dismissal Order at 2. On May 3, 2012, the Superior Court dismissed the remaining claims on the grounds that Langadinos had committed a fraud upon the Court and repeatedly failed to comply with court orders. Superior Court Dismissal Order. The Superior Court found, among other things, that Langadinos had served scurrilous, racially charged discovery, filed altered documents with the court, filed perjurious and forged affidavits, and committed other misconduct. Id. at 2-13.
The Superior Court also ordered Langadinos to pay in excess of $208,000 in attorneys' fees incurred by defendants as a result of Langadinos' fraudulent conduct. See Langadinos v. Southern New England School of Law, Inc., No. 2008-2064, 2012 WL 4840678, at *3 ). Further, the Superior Court enjoined Langadinos from "filing any action at law or equity in any Massachusetts state court of original jurisdiction against any party" without first filing a verified complaint and going through a prescreening hearing before a regional administrative justice to determine whether or not Langadinos' claims were frivolous. Langadinos v. Southern New England School of Law, Inc., No. 2008-2064, 2012 WL 4854704, at * 3 (Mass. Super. Sept. 20, 2012).
Plaintiff filed this action on June 28, 2012. Docket No. 1. The original complaint alleges that various defendants violated RICO, federal and state wiretapping acts, and committed fraud on the court. Id. The original complaint named as defendants W.R. Berkley Corporation, William R. Berkley, Acadia Insurance Company, Ward, the Law School, Kurnos and the Law Firm. Docket No. 1 at ¶¶ 6-12.
On October 23, 2012, Langadinos filed a motion to extend the time to serve the Complaint for six months until April 28, 2013. Docket No. 2. The District Court allowed the motion in part and extended the time to serve the Complaint until January 21, 2013. Docket No. 4. On January 22, 2013. Langadinos filed an Amended Complaint. Docket No. 6. The Amended Complaint is completely different from the original complaint. The Amended Complaint dropped defendants W.R. Berkley Corporation, William R. Berkley and Acadia Insurance Company and adds defendants UMass and Xifaras. Id. In addition, all of the claims in the original complaint have been replaced by claims for unlawful retaliation, violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, different civil rights violations, breach of contract claims, fraud in the inducement, intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress and defamation,. Id.
Also on January 22, 2013, Langadinos filed proof of service of the Complaint. The proofs of service state that a copy of the Amended Complaint was served on January 18, 2013. Docket Nos. 7-12. I lowever, the Amended Complaint was not filed until January 22, 2013. Docket No. 6.
All Defendants have moved to dismiss the Amended Complaint, Docket Nos. 14, 16, 24, and rely on or incorporate the arguments contained in Docket No. 18, one of the moving memoranda. See Docket No. 25 at 19-20. Langadinos filed an opposition to Defendants' motion to dismiss on May 21, 2013. Docket Nos. 34, 35.
The Amended Complaint is lengthy, rambling, repetitive and contains few non-conclusory allegations. As best as the Court can discern, Langadinos makes the following factual allegations. On or about October 15, 2001, Langadinos and the Defendants agreed to settle a federal lawsuit filed by Langadinos on or about August of 2000 and entered into a Settlement Agreement. Complaint, ¶ 18. The Settlement Agreement contains a non-disparagement clause wherein they agreed "that they will not at any time (i) publicly disparage each other and/or (ii) engage in any conduct that is in any way injurious to the other party's reputation and interest (including, without limitation, any negative or derogative statements or writings).'* Complaint, ¶ 23; Ex. 1 at ¶ 18.
Two and half months after entering into the Settlement Agreement, Langadinos enrolledat Appalachian School of Law in Virginia. Complaint, ¶ 24. On January 16, 2002, while Langadinos attended Appalachian Law School, another student shot and killed three people at the school. Complaint, ¶ 25. On January 3, 2003, Ward approached Wendy Davis, Assistant Dean of Appalachian Law School, and falsely told her that he knew Langadinos well and said "You arc approaching the one year anniversary of the shooting, you have a student on your campus who is capable of violent and irrational behavior and I'm worried about you personally." Complaint.
¶¶ 27. 30. Ward told Davis that the student was Langadinos. Complaint, ¶ 30.
Langadinos also alleges that Ward and Kurnos "have embarked on a vicious campaign of defaming the plaintiff to the Boston Globe." Complaint, ¶ 36. On or about September 2012, Ward and Kurnos were interviewed by the Boston Globe. Complaint, ¶ 45. Ward stated the following to the Boston Globe, with respect to Langadinos: "There has been a whole lot of discussion about bullies." Complaint, ¶ 46. Ward also said, "This guy is a bully, and he uses the court system to do it." Id. Langadinos also attributes the following statements to Kurnos:
(1) "He flunked out of Southern New England, he won a judgment which is sealed by court order."
(2) "Kurnos said that he does not even know if the elusive Langadinos, who represents himself in his lawsuits, knows his case has been dismissed."
(3) "He's abusing the court system and making it spend thousands of hours on nonsense he said."
(4) "He's a big guy with a big head and he intimidates people." Complaint. ¶ 48. Langadinos also alleges that Ward and/or Kurnos said to the Boston Globe,"He is Greek." Complaint. ¶ 63.
The Amended Complaint contains thirteen counts:
(1) Count 1, against all Defendants, alleges unlawful retaliation in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
(2) Count 2, against all Defendants, alleges violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1981;
(3) Count 3. against all Defendants, alleges...
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