Lewin v. Cooke
| Decision Date | 28 April 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. A. 2:99CV2117.,CIV. A. 2:99CV2117. |
| Citation | 95 F.Supp.2d 513 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia |
| Parties | Jonathan LEWIN, Plaintiff, v. William J. COOKE, Clinton H. Toewe, II, James E. Etheridge, Jr., Robert M. McCombs, James F. Lind, Thomas J. Manser, and Medical College of Hampton Roads, a/k/a Eastern Virginia Medical School of the Medical College of Hampton Roads, Defendants. |
Richard J. Conrod, Sr., Virginia Beach, for Plaintiff.
A. James Johnston, Jonathan B. Sprague, Mark L. Mattioli, Post & Schell, Philadelphia, PA, David K. Sutelan, Mays & Valentine, Norfolk, for Defendant.
The present matter comes before the court on plaintiff's motion to remand and defendants' motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, plaintiff's motion is DENIED and defendants' motion is GRANTED. Moreover, as the court finds that plaintiff's claims are wholly frivolous and part of an ongoing campaign to harass defendants, the court SANCTIONS plaintiff, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, pending a determination of plaintiff's financial status and the reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred by defendants in this lawsuit.
The suit presently before the court represents the sixth lawsuit filed by plaintiff, Jonathan Lewin, against defendants arising out of a 1991 pharmacology examination score that plaintiff contends resulted from substantively defective examination questions. Plaintiff is a former medical student at Eastern Virginia Medical School ("EVMS"). During his second year at EVMS, in April, 1991, plaintiff requested a leave of absence and permission to postpone registration for a required course in pharmacology. EVMS granted the request, contingent upon plaintiff successfully completing a pharmacology course at another school and passing a school administered pharmacology "challenge" examination (the "`challenge' exam") designed to measure competency in the subject. Although plaintiff successfully completed a pharmacology course at another school, he failed the "challenge" exam by a small margin.
Plaintiff requested an opportunity to inspect and review the examination. Although EVMS initially opposed plaintiff's request to review the exam, he ultimately was permitted an opportunity to do so. Upon review, plaintiff concluded that two of the questions he had missed were defective. EVMS, maintaining that the questions were valid, refused plaintiff's request for reconsideration of his score.
Over the course of the next two years, Lewin had numerous other difficulties as a student at EVMS, and in March, 1993, the Student Progress Committee ("SPC") convened a hearing to evaluate plaintiff's future at EVMS. Plaintiff appeared with his attorney to correct what he perceived as misinformation in his academic record, including the results of the 1991 "challenge" exam, which he believed to be inaccurate due to the allegedly defective questions. Based upon a complete review of plaintiff's academic record, however, the SPC determined that plaintiff had not demonstrated the level of academic achievement or professional judgment necessary to earn a medical degree from EVMS and, therefore, dismissed plaintiff from the medical school.
Plaintiff, believing that the committee had made an improper decision based upon incorrect information, including his failure of the "challenge" exam, requested an unabridged version of a tape recording of the deliberations of the SPC in order to challenge the basis for the committee's decision to expel him. Although he was permitted to listen to an abridged version, his request for the complete deliberations was denied.
Plaintiff subsequently filed six lawsuits against the defendants based upon these events. Plaintiff filed his first suit ("Lewin I") in the Circuit Court of the City of Norfolk on December 6, 1993, alleging fifteen separate counts, all of which pertained to the initial withholding of plaintiff's "challenge" exam and the denial of access to the documents used to score the examination. See Lewin v. Cooke, L93-4524 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. filed December 6, 1993). Plaintiff took a voluntary non-suit in that case on November 29, 1994.
Plaintiff filed a second motion for judgment ("Lewin II") in the Circuit Court of the City of Norfolk on March 24, 1994. See Lewin v. Cooke, L94-1037 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. filed March 24, 1994). In that action, plaintiff alleged that defendants acted improperly in failing to provide access to the complete recording of the SPC deliberations. On March 23, 1995, before service of process, however, the Circuit Court entered a second voluntary non-suit at plaintiff's request.
One day later, plaintiff filed another suit ("Lewin III") against defendants in federal court, alleging denial of plaintiff's constitutional rights, violation of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA"), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g (West 1990 & Supp. 1994), violation of § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (West Supp.1995), and various state law claims, all based upon the 1991 "challenge" exam score and plaintiff's subsequent dismissal from EVMS. Plaintiff's constitutional claims and Rehabilitation Act claims were dismissed, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), on January 12, 1996, see Lewin v. Medical College of Hampton Roads, 910 F.Supp. 1161 (E.D.Va.1996); and plaintiff's FERPA claims, raised pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (West 1994 & Supp.1999), were dismissed on motion for summary judgment on August 2, 1996, on the basis that FERPA does not create a federal right to challenge the substantive accuracy of an academic evaluation, see Lewin v. Medical College of Hampton Roads, 931 F.Supp. 443 (E.D.Va.1996). With the federal claims dismissed, the court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims, warning plaintiff that these claims were so frivolous as to warrant sanctions should he choose to pursue them in state court. See id. at 447; (Def. Br. Opp. Remand Ex. 1 at 7-8) [hereinafter Lewin III Tr. Summ. J. Hr'g]. Plaintiff, nonetheless, filed these claims in state court ("Lewin IV") immediately following the final dismissal of Lewin III. After three years of litigation, Lewin IV was also dismissed on motion for summary judgment. Lewin v. Medical College of Hampton Roads, L96-2753, slip op. at 2-3 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. Feb. 4, 2000).1
While Lewin IV was pending, however, plaintiff filed two more suits against defendants arising out of the same events. On April 14, 1998, plaintiff filed, in Norfolk Circuit Court, his fifth suit against defendants ("Lewin V"), but again declined to serve process and voluntarily withdrew the case one year later. See Lewin v. Steinberg, L98-0926 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. filed April 14, 1998). Then, on October 8, 1999, the day after all parties participated in a conference designed to limit the issues in Lewin IV, and after the state court expressed concerns over the validity of plaintiff's claims in Lewin IV, plaintiff filed a sixth motion for judgment ("Lewin VI"), which was substantively identical to that filed in Lewin V. See Lewin v. Cooke, L-99-2448 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. filed October 8, 1999). Once again, however, plaintiff did not serve process. In fact, plaintiff apparently made a "strategic decision" to conceal the pendency of this new suit from defendants, allowing defendants to participate in a settlement conference in Lewin IV on October 20, 1999. (Pl. Mem. Supp. Remand Ex. 2 at 28)[hereinafter Lewin IV Tr. Rule 4:13 Hr'g]. The Clerk of the Norfolk Circuit Court advised counsel, sometime after October 20, 2000, of the filing of Lewin VI, and defendants removed the case to this court on December 27, 2000.
Plaintiff, in this most recent lawsuit, alleges three causes of action, all of which, once again, pertain to the 1991 "challenge" exam and plaintiff's demand for an unabridged copy of the SPC deliberations: (1) plaintiff seeks relief, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for defendants' alleged interference with his efforts to obtain discovery of a master copy of the "challenge" exam and the unabridged SPC deliberations in the course of prior litigation, alleging that defendants' actions prevented him from proving through the courts that he should have received a higher score on the exam and should not have been dismissed from EVMS; (2) plaintiff seeks relief, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1985 (West 1994), alleging that defendants conspired to withhold the "challenge" exam and SPC recording in retaliation for plaintiff "belonging to that class of students who challenge academic authority by trying to enforce student rights," (Compl. ¶ 57), and for providing unfavorable deposition testimony; and (3) plaintiff asserts a state law civil conspiracy claim against defendants also on the basis of the alleged conspiracy to "withhold crucial proof," (Compl. ¶ 49), and defeat plaintiff's lawsuits.
Defendants filed a joint motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment on the grounds that plaintiff's claims are barred by the statute of limitations2 and the doctrine of res judicata and that plaintiff's conspiracy claims fail, on the face of the complaint, to state a claim on which relief can be granted. Plaintiff, requesting an extension of time to respond to defendants' motion,3 filed a motion to remand all proceedings to the Norfolk Circuit Court. The parties came before the court for a hearing on these motions on March 14, 2000. The court took both motions under advisement, but allowed plaintiff additional time to respond to defendants' motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. The court also warned plaintiff that sanctions would be considered, setting forth the basis for such sanctions, and ordering both parties to file memoranda of law and necessary...
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