9th Circuit also tired of ‘vexatious litigant’

Even the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit appears has gotten tired of the numerous appeals filed by “vexatious litigant” John Sablan Pangelinan.

According to the Ninth Circuit in its order issued last week, Pangelinan initiated 18 litigations since 2000.

“Respondent’s practice of burdening this court with meritless litigation justifies careful oversight of respondent’s future litigation in this court,” said the Ninth Circuit, referring to Pangelinan.

The Ninth Circuit directed Pangelinan to explain within 14 days of the date of the order why the court should not enter a pre-filing review order.

“If respondent fails to file a timely response to this order, the Clerk shall forthwith enter the pre-filing review order regardless of further filings by respondent,” the court said.

Should the pre-filing review order be entered, Pangelinan’s failure to comply with the order shall result in any new appeal(s) he seeks to file being dismissed or not being filed and other sanctions being levied against him.

The Ninth Circuit said the court faces the same problems of limited resources in handling its large volume of appellate litigation.

Early this month, the U.S. District Court for the NMI sanctioned Pangelinan by ordering him to pay attorneys’ fees and court costs to attorney Robert T. Torres for including the lawyer’s clients in a $61.1 million lawsuit that the court found frivolous.

U.S. District Court for the NMI designated judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood ordered Pangelinan to pay Torres $6,651 in attorneys’ fees and $282 in court costs.

Tydingco-Gatewood sanctioned Pangelinan for filing a lawsuit that the judge determined to be “repetitive, meritless, vexatious, abusive, and burdensome.”

In January 2008, Pangelinan filed a $61.1 million lawsuit against judges Alex Munson and David Wiseman. He also named as co-defendants two lawyers, a federal prosecutor, an FBI agent, two federal probation officers, two U.S. Marshals, and seven other people.

In the lawsuit he filed pro se (without a lawyer), Pangelinan also sued 13 grand jurors and 12 jurors.

Torres represented the defendants except the judges and federal employees.

In a separate order issued last month declaring him a “vexatious litigant,” Tydingco-Gatewood prohibited Pangelinan from filing any lawsuit or documents in federal court that is related to a 1997 civil lawsuit filed against him.

M. Tydingco-Gatewood said Pangelinan’s actions “have clearly caused, and will continue to cause if not abated, needless work and expense to not only the court and its staff, but to any other party who has incurred his wrath.”

She set many conditions in order for the plaintiff (Pangelinan) to be allowed to submit court documents.

On May 16, 2008, district court designated judge Juan T. Lizama ordered Pangelinan to spend 10 months in jail.

Lizama revoked Pangelinan’s probation in his criminal conviction for violating numerous terms and conditions of his probation.

Tydingco-Gatewood described the plaintiff as one of the Commonwealth’s most active pro se litigant.

The judge noted that court records show that Pangelinan filed 18 appeals related to matters having their genesis in the court’s judgment in a 1997 case where he was found liable to pay $270,000.