Smith v. Garcia

Filing 16

SANCTIONS ORDER RE: 15 Motion for Final Judgment. So Ordered by Chief Judge William E. Smith on 4/13/2017. (Jackson, Ryan)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND
___________________________________
)
BRADLEY SMITH, an individual,
)
)
Plaintiff pro se,
)
)
v.
)
)
C.A. No. 16-144 S
DEBORAH GARCIA,
)
)
Defendant,
)
)
MYVESTA FOUNDATION,
)
)
Defendant-Intervenor.
)
___________________________________)
SANCTIONS ORDER
The parties have submitted a Consent Motion for Final
Judgment (ECF No. 15), a Proposed Order (ECF No. 15-1), and a
copy of the Settlement Agreement (ECF No. 15-2). Having reviewed
these submissions, the Court adopts the Proposed Order and
recites its terms:
In response to the Court’s order (Document No. 14)
directing the parties to address the amount of attorney fees and
other sanctions to be awarded, and addressing the question of
what persons should be held responsible for the filing of this
lawsuit, intervenor defendant Myvesta Foundation was able to
identify Richart Ruddie as the person who caused the lawsuit and
the fraudulent consent order to be filed with the Court.
Following the issuance of discovery subpoenas to Ruddie, to the

customers on whose behalf he was believed to have presented
these papers, and to two attorneys whom Ruddie hired to file two
similar lawsuits, Ruddie and some of his companies admitted
being responsible for causing this action to be filed in this
Court, as well as causing several similar actions to be filed in
state courts in Maryland and Florida. Ruddie has agreed that, in
addition to paying Myvesta’s attorney fees and expenses as well
as damages, he will take actions to ensure that the orders that
he fraudulently secured from those state courts would be lifted,
and he has further agreed that this Court, pursuant to its
authority under the Rhode Island anti-SLAPP statute as well as
its inherent sanctions power, should order him to take such
actions and retain jurisdiction both to see that he meets those
obligations and that the former customers on behalf of whom he
procured those orders cooperate in the effort to have the orders
lifted.
Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows:
Richart Ruddie will promptly take steps to secure the
lifting of the orders that he obtained for his customers in
Smith v. Levin, 24-C-15-004789 (Maryland Circuit Court for
Baltimore City), Financial Rescue LLC v. Smith, No. 15-006119-CI
(Florida Circuit Court for Pinellas County), and Rescue 1

2

Financial LLC v. John Doe, No. CACE-14-024286 (Florida Circuit
Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit for Broward County).
The Court will retain jurisdiction to ensure that Richart
Ruddie complies with the foregoing order and, if necessary, to
issue such orders as may be needed to ensure that the former
customers on behalf of whom Richart Ruddie procured those orders
cooperate in the effort to have the orders lifted.
The Consent Motion for Final Judgment (ECF No. 15) is
GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

William E. Smith
Chief Judge
Date: April 13, 2017

3