Cunnigham v. Singer et al

Filing 3

ORDER RE ARCHIBALD CUNNINGHAMS PROPOSED LAWSUIT. Signed by Judge Alsup on 9/8/2015. (whalc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/8/2015)

1
2
3
4

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

5
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
6
7
8

ARCHIBALD CUNNINGHAM,

9

11
For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

10

Plaintiff,

No. C 15-80233 MISC

v.

17

KEVIN SINGER, CITY AND COUNTY
OF SAN FRANCISCO, DISTRICT
ATTORNEY GEORGE GASCON,
ATTORNEY GENERAL KAMALA
HARRIS, JUDGE RONALD
QUIDACHAY, JUSTICE ANTHONY
KLINE, JUSTICE TANI CANTILSAKAUYE, MICHAEL COOMBS,
TAMARA WOODS, SCOTT MCKAY,
ED DELESKI, ROGER LANDRY,
MELODY ROYAL, and MICHAEL
SIMONICH,

18

Defendants.

12
13
14
15
16

ORDER RE ARCHIBALD
CUNNINGHAM’S PROPOSED
LAWSUIT

/

19
20

In January of this year, the undersigned judge declared Archibald Cunningham a

21

vexatious litigant (Case No. 14-cv-3250; Dkt. No. 113). At that time, Cunningham had filed

22

twenty-one different actions against the same defendants, and subsequently against the judges

23

who ruled against him, in connection with an unlawful detainer dispute regarding the property

24

located at 1487–1489 McAllister Street in San Francisco. Cunningham had also been declared a

25

vexatious litigant in state court. During the hearing on the vexatious litigant motion in federal

26

court, Cunningham stormed out of the courtroom screaming “Justice! Justice! Justice!” while

27

the undersigned judge was in the middle of making a ruling. In declaring Cunningham a

28

vexatious litigant, the undersigned judge held that Cunningham would be subject to the
following pre-filing review (id. at 9):

1

Plaintiff must submit to pre-filing review of any pro se complaint
filed in the Northern District of California against Michael
Coombs, Tamara Woods, Scott McKay, Kevin Singer, or any
judicial or court officer relating to the property at 1487–1489
McAllister Street in San Francisco, or any subsequent dispute
relating to that property. The Clerk shall then forward any
complaints or notices of appeal submitted by plaintiff to the
undersigned for pre-filing review. If the Court ascertains that the
complaint or notice of appeal is duplicative or frivolous, it will not
be filed and will be returned to plaintiff. If the Court finds that the
proposed pleading meets the pleading standards, it will be given to
the Clerk with instructions to file it.

2
3
4
5
6
7

Now, Cunningham has filed another pro se lawsuit against Coombs, Woods, McKay,
8
Singer and several others. The present suit also names California Attorney General Kamala
9
Harris, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, and several judges as defendants. In
10
defendants regarding the McAllister Street property. The complaint states (Compl. at 6):
For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

essence, the 63-page complaint is a rehashing of all of Cunningham’s grievances with the named
11
12
Having been locked out of the state court for essentially five years,
Plaintiff now files this civil rights lawsuit with its state law claims
and asks the district court to set-aside [sic] the sale order and
finally vindicate his fundamental contractual rights under the
parties’ 2009 CC&Rs and adjudicate the issues of Mr. McKay’s
fraudulent substitution of material terms in his various pleadings.

13
14
15
16

As stated in the order declaring Cunningham a vexatious litigant, “[f]ederal court is not a super

17

appellate court meant to supervise the conduct of the state court system” (Case No. 14-cv-3250;

18

Dkt. No. 113 at 3). Cunningham’s latest lawsuit is simply a repeat of his previous ones. It

19

relates to the same property, the same defendants, the same judges that had previously ruled

20

against him, and, this time, he has added San Francisco’s District Attorney and California’s

21

Attorney General as defendants. The new lawsuit is both duplicative and completely frivolous

22

and permission to file it is DENIED. The Clerk shall RETURN THE COMPLAINT TO

23

CUNNINGHAM.

24
25

IT IS SO ORDERED.

26
27

Dated: September 8, 2015.

WILLIAM ALSUP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

28
2