Sconiers v. Judicial Council of CA, et al.

Filing 113

ORDER To Stay Warrant For One Week To Allow Attorney To Respond, signed by District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 4/23/2012. (Fahrney, E)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JANETTA SCONIERS,

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Plaintiff,

CASE NO. F CV 11-113-LJO-SMS
ORDER TO STAY WARRANT FOR ONE
WEEK TO ALLOW ATTORNEY TO
RESPOND

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vs.
FRESNO COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT,
et al.,

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Defendants.
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/

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An April 20, 2012 warrant issued for the arrest of attorney Ralston L. Courtney. Mr. Courtney

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was ordered to be held in civil contempt until he paid sanctions in the amount of $5,000.00 ordered by

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this Court. Mr. Courtney’s arrest warrant, civil contempt, and sanctions were ordered, inter alia, for the

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following reasons:

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On March 1, 2012, this Court ordered Mr. Courtney to show case why he should not be held in

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contempt for failure to pay the sanctions imposed against by by this Court’s order dated December 13,

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2011. On March 15, 2012, an objection to the order to show cause was filed with this Court, ostensibly

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by Mr. Courtney. This Court questioned whether the objections were filed by Mr. Courtney for a

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number of reasons, including its poor quality, rambling nature, misstatement of facts, and the history

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in this case.

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Based on the consistent practice of the attorney in this action, this Court concluded that Mr.
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Courtney’s “representation” of plaintiff Janetta Sconiers (“Ms. Sconiers”) consisted of Mr. Courtney’s

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granting Ms. Sconiers’ unsupervised access to Mr. Courtney’s log-in and password to the Court’s

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electronic filing system. This Court found that Mr. Courtney was irresponsible to allow Ms. Sconiers

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to file frivolous and malicious documents in violation of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 and 11. The filing of these

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frivolous and malicious documents without supervision and bearing Mr. Courtney’s name gave rise to

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the sanctions order against Mr. Courtney in the amount of $5,000. Mr. Courtney has failed to pay the

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sanctions order.

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In addition, Mr. Courtney consistently failed to appear at multiple show cause hearings. Mr.

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Courtney declined to appear at the scheduled hearing at the civil contempt show cause hearing based

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on an illness. This Court found, however, that because Mr. Courtney incurred the unpaid sanctions prior

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to his current illness, the illness did not excuse his failure to pay the sanctions that were due on January

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14, 2012. The Court further found that Mr. Courtney has “flouted the authority of this Court” by failing

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to appear at “no less than three scheduled order to show cause hearing in the case that gave rise to the

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sanctions against him.”

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Upon receipt of the notice of the arrest warrant, Mr. Courtney contacted chambers attempting

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to explain his health and financial situations. This Court cannot address Mr. Courtney informally.

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Accordingly, this Court ORDERS as follows:

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1.

The April 20, 2012 arrest warrant shall be STAYED for one week to allow Mr. Courtney

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either pay his sanctions or convince this Court why an alternative sanctions would be

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more appropriate to address the egregious behavior outlined in this and other orders

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against Mr. Courtney is this case. The arrest warrant shall not be executed until after

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April 30, 2012.

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2.

No later than April 30, 2012, Mr. Courtney must file a declaration with this Court that

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establishes good cause why this Court should reconsider its order of civil contempt

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against Mr. Courtney. That declaration shall address the following issues:

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(A)

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Mr. Courtney’s failure to appear at multiple show cause hearings ordered before
and after his representation of Ms. Sconiers ended; and

(B)

Mr. Courtney’s irresponsible “representation” of Ms. Sconiers by allowing her
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unfettered access to his e-filing account, and by allowing her to file friviolous

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and vexatious pleadings.

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3.

Mr. Courtney must further address his ability to pay his $5,000 sanctions order. If Mr.

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Courtney has no ability to pay, that must be documented. If Mr. Courtney is requesting

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an alternative remedy to Mr. Courtney’s grave affront to the Court in this action, then

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Mr. Courtney must be clear as to what that alternative remedy is, and how he intends to

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fulfill it.

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4.

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If Mr. Courtney intends to discuss his health, those issues must be supported by an
attached letter from his health care provider.

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This Court shall deem as non-responsive and strike any declaration filed that is not

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succinct, that does not address the Court’s points above, or addresses extraneous matters.

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The declaration must be succinct. No rambling, single-spaced, 50+ page, motion-style

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filings will be accepted by this Court.

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6.

Once this Court has read and reviewed Mr. Courtney’s declaration, this Court shall

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determine whether to reconsider its order or to continue to pursue the currently-

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suspended arrest warrant to enforce the sanctions order against Mr. Courtney.

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Dated: April 23, 2012

/s/ Lawrence J. O’Neill
HONORABLE LAWRENCE J. O’NEILL
U.S. District Court Judge

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