Sieverding v. Colorado Bar Ass'n
| Decision Date | 14 November 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-1038.,06-1038. |
| Citation | 469 F.3d 1340 |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
| Parties | Kay SIEVERDING, Plaintiff-Appellant, and David Sieverding; Ed Sieverding; Tom Sieverding, Plaintiffs, v. COLORADO BAR ASSOCIATION, and their insurance company (true name unknown); City Of Steamboat Springs, CO, a municipality; American Bar Association, and their insurance company (true name unknown); Jane Bennett, private citizen acting in conspiracy with City policy makers; Kevin Bennett, individually and in capacity as City council member; Ken Brenner, individually and in capacity as a City council member; David Brougham, individually and in capacity as apparent City insurance agent; CIRSA, insurance agent for the City; Insurance Agent, other than Brougham, and decision makers for CIRSA (true name unknown); Kathy Connell, individually and as employed as City council member; Davis, Graham & Stubbs, LLC; James Engleken, individually and in capacity as City council member; Art Fiebing, individually and as employed as City assistant chief of police; Sandy Fiebing, individually and as the City code enforcement officer; Daniel Foote, individually and in capacity as assistant City attorney; James Garrecht, in capacity as district court judge (for injunctive relief only since he is immune from suit for damages); J.D. Hays, individually and in capacity as City director of public safety; Hall & Evans, LLC, and their insurance; James "Sandy" Horner, individually and as attorney working for Klauzer & Tremaine and his insurance company; Paul Hughes, individually and in capacity as City manager; Klauzer & Tremaine, a law firm, and insurance (true name unknown); Randall Klauzer, individually and in capacity as an attorney and his insurance company; Charles Lance, individually and in capacity as former district attorney and his insurance; Anthony Lettunich, individually and in capacity as City attorney and his insurance; Paul R. McLimans, individually and in capacity as a district attorney and his insurance company; Wendie Schulenburg, (a.k.a.Rooney), individually and in capacity as City planning services director and her insurance; Melinda Sherman, former assistant City attorney, individually, and in capacity, and their insurance; Kerry St. James, individually and in capacity as deputy or assistant district attorney and his insurance; James B.F. Oliphant, Bennett's attorney and purchaser of plaintiff's home; Suzanne Schlicht, individually and in capacity as newspaper publisher and her insurance; Steamboat Pilot & Today Newspaper, (Worldwest Limited Liability Company), and insurance (true name unknown); Arianthe Stettner, individually and in capacity as City council member; Paul Strong, individually and in capacity as City council member and his insurance company; Richard Tremaine, individually and in capacity as an attorney and his insurance company; James Weber, individually and in capacity as City public works director and his insurance company; P. Elizabeth Wittemyer, individually and in capacity as deputy district attorney, and her insurance, Defendants-Appellees. |
Submitted on the briefs:* Kay Sieverding, Pro Se.
Patricia J. Larson, Senior Associate General Counsel, American Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois, for Defendant-Appellee American Bar Association.
Thomas B. Kelley, Christopher P. Beall, Faegre & Benson, LLP, Denver, Colorado, John M. Palmeri, Brett Norman Huff, White and Steele, P.C., Denver, Colorado, Michael T. McConnell, Traci L. Van Pelt, Robert W. Steinmetz, McConnell, Siderius, Fleischner, Houghtaling & Craigmile, LLC, Denver, Colorado, David R. Brougham, Hall & Evans, Denver, Colorado, for Defendants-Appellees.
Before BARRETT, ANDERSON, and BALDOCK, Circuit Judges.
Kay Sieverding, proceeding pro se, appeals from the district court's order imposing filing restrictions. We affirm the district court's imposition of filing restrictions, but we conclude that a portion of the order must be modified.
Ms. Sieverding, her husband, and two sons filed a complaint in the District of Colorado in October 2002. The complaint was 106 pages long and set forth claims against thirty-six individuals or entities. The underlying issue in the case related to the alleged violation of the Sieverdings' rights with regard to zoning decisions that affected them and their former neighbors. During the pendency of the case, the Sieverdings filed more than 100 motions. In October 2003, the magistrate judge assigned to the case issued a sixty-one page recommendation that the case be dismissed with prejudice; that the Sieverdings be required to pay defendants' costs and fees; and that they be enjoined from commencing further litigation in the District of Colorado regarding these events without first obtaining counsel. The district court accepted and adopted the recommendations in an order entered on March 19, 2004, but expanded on the magistrate judge's recommended filing restrictions by enjoining the Sieverdings from filing lawsuits related to this subject matter in the District of Colorado or any other court.
The Sieverdings filed three appeals from the March 2004 order in this court and they were consolidated. The district court's order adopting the magistrate judge's recommendation was summarily affirmed on appeal. We observed that "appellants did not assert error with the imposition of filing restrictions and, therefore, this court will enforce those restrictions." Sieverding v. Colo. Bar Ass'n, 126 Fed.Appx. 457, 459 (10th Cir.2005).
In late 2004 and 2005, the Sieverdings continued filing actions relating to the subject matter of their previous lawsuit. They filed five new civil actions in the federal district courts in Minnesota, Northern Illinois, and the District of Columbia; one new civil action in the state court in Denver County, Colorado; and one appeal in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In the summer of 2005, the defendants filed a motion requesting a show cause order as to why the Sieverdings should not be sanctioned for violating the filing restrictions portion of the March 2004 order. On September 2, the district court held a hearing and found the Sieverdings to be in contempt of court for violating the March 2004 order. The district court gave both of the Sieverdings the option of dismissing the lawsuits that remained pending in the District of Columbia and Colorado state court or going to jail. Ms. Sieverding refused to dismiss the lawsuits and was sent to jail. Mr. Sieverding withdrew his name from the pending cases.
On January 4, 2006, Judge Nottingham held a show cause hearing, and ordered Ms. Sieverding to dismiss the remaining lawsuits that had been filed in violation of the March 2004 order. Ms. Sieverding was released from custody with the condition that she dismiss all of her remaining lawsuits by January 11. At that hearing, Judge Nottingham also entered another order, which prohibited Ms. Sieverding from filing any further lawsuits anywhere in this country unless she is represented by a lawyer or unless the district court specifically approves her filing of a given lawsuit. This order broadened the March 2004 order because it was not limited by subject matter. The district court entered a written order on January 31 that memorialized the verbal order from January 4 and gave support for his filing restrictions decision. Ms. Sieverding filed a petition for mandamus from the January 4 order and this court construed it as a notice of appeal from the verbal January 4 order as memorialized in the January 31 order.
"[T]he right of access to the courts is neither absolute nor unconditional and there is no constitutional right of access to the courts to prosecute an action that is frivolous or malicious." Tripati v. Beaman, 878 F.2d 351, 353 (10th Cir.1989) (citations omitted) (per curiam). Federal courts have the inherent power "to regulate the activities of abusive litigants by imposing carefully tailored restrictions under the appropriate circumstances." Id. at 352 (quoting Cotner v. Hopkins, 795 F.2d 900, 902-03 (10th Cir.1986)). We agree with the district court that filing restrictions were appropriate in this case. We conclude, however, that the restrictions were not carefully tailored as required by our case law and that a portion of the filing restrictions order must be modified.
The substance of the filing restriction states:
Kay Sieverding and David Sieverding are hereafter prohibited from commencing any pro se litigation in any court in the United States on any subject matter unless they meet the requirements of Paragraph 2 below.
R., Vol. I, Doc. 788 at 7 ¶ 1. Paragraph 2 explains that the Sieverdings must seek approval from the District of Colorado...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Sieverding v. US DEPT. OF JUSTICE
...adopting a magistrate judge's recommendation, dismissed the Sieverdings' complaint in full. See Sieverding v. Colo. Bar Ass'n, 469 F.3d 1340, 1342-43 (10th Cir.2006) ("Sieverding I"). In light of what it described as the Sieverdings' "abusive litigation practices," the district court also i......
-
In re Meltzer
...courts, other courts have not, see Van Deelen v. City of Kansas City, 262 Fed.Appx. 723, 724 (8th Cir.2007) ; Sieverding v. Colorado Bar Ass'n, 469 F.3d 1340, 1344 (10th Cir.2006), and even Martin–Trigona balked at a federal bar to filings in state courts, see Martin–Trigona, 737 F.2d at 12......
-
Sieverding v. U.S. Dep't of Justice
...recommendation, dismissed the Sieverdings' complaint in full and the Tenth Circuit affirmed. See Sieverding v. Colo. Bar Ass'n, 469 F.3d 1340, 1342–43 (10th Cir.2006) (“ Sieverding II”). In light of what it described as the Sieverdings' “abusive litigation practices,” the district court als......
-
In re Meltzer
...other courts have not, see Van Deelen v. City of Kansas City, 262 F. App'x 723, 724 (8th Cir. 2007); Sieverding v. Colorado Bar Ass'n, 469 F.3d 1340, 1344 (10th Cir. 2006), and even Martin-Trigona balked at a federal bar to filings in state courts, see Martin-Trigona, 737 F.2d at 1263; see ......