Bad Day For Prenda Continues: Judge Rejects Stay, Adds $1k Per Day For Each Day They Don't Pay Up
from the couldn't-happen-to-a-nicer-bunch-of-people dept
Prenda's not having a very good day (or month, for that matter). We noted yesterday that Paul Hansmeier had asked the appeals court to put a stay on the attorney's fees awarded by Judge Otis Wright in California. The court rejected the request, partly on procedural grounds, noting that you have to put in the request at the district court first, not jumping the gun and going straight to the appeals court. Soon after that, the lawyer representing many of Team Prenda, Heather Rosing, filed for a stay in the district court, claiming that Prenda was "deprived of due process."Judge Wright made quick work of this, noting the filing irregularity, and the pattern of seeking "eleventh-hour pleas for relief," and then rejected the request, and added a $1,000 per day penalty for every day that they fail to put up a bond in the amount owed. Oh yeah, also he asks them to explain to the court why they didn't pay up as ordered. Might as well include the full text here:
Prenda Law, Inc., through its attorneys at Klinedinst PC, filed a notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit. (ECF No. 157.) Oddly, to this notice of appeal, Prenda attached an ex parte application seeking a stay of enforcement of the Court’s May 6, 2013 Order Issuing Sanctions. (ECF No. 157-1.) Not only was this application improperly filed; but once again, Prenda resorted to an eleventh-hour plea for relief.And so it is. Perhaps, rather than spending so much time talking to the press, John Steele should have been counting his pennies to pay up.
Even assuming this application was properly filed, the Court finds no basis to grant Prenda’s request. Under the Court’s order, Prenda, along with John Steele, Paul Hansmeier, Paul Duffy, Brett Gibbs, AF Holdings LLC, and Ingenuity 13 LLC, were required to pay by May 20, 2013, an attorney’s-fee award of $81,319.72. By filing this application, it appears no such payment was made.
Instead, an emergency motion was filed with the Ninth Circuit to stay enforcement of the order. That motion was promptly denied. (ECF No. 150.) Prenda now seeks to remedy a problem of their own making. By refusing to pay, or at least refusing to post a supersedeas bond, Prenda (and the other parties) cannot establish that it “is without fault in creating the crisis that requires ex parte relief, or that the crisis occurred as a result of excusable neglect.” Mission Power Eng’g Co. v. Cont’l Casualty Co., 883 F. Supp. 488, 492 (C.D. Cal. 1995). Prenda’s application is therefore DENIED.
Further, Steele, Hansmeier, Duffy, Gibbs, AF Holdings, Ingenuity 13, and Prenda are hereby ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE why they have contravened the Court’s order to pay the attorney’s-fee award. The Court hereby imposes a penalty of $1,000 per day, per person or entity,1 until this attorney’s-fee award is paid or a bond for the same amount is posted. This penalty shall be paid to the Clerk of Court on the same day the attorney’s-fee award is paid or the bond is posted. This penalty must be paid unless it is evident that the award was paid or the bond was posted on or before May 20, 2013. Failure to comply will result in additional sanctions.
Upon motion and posting of a supersedeas bond, the Court will stay execution of the attorney’s-fee award. Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(d).
Finally, as a housekeeping matter, the Court requests Brett Gibbs to file requests for withdrawal of attorney in this and the related cases. Brett Gibbs appears to have withdrawn from these cases. (OSC Hr’g Tr. 87:1–8, Mar. 11, 2013 (“I am no longer employed by Prenda or any other corporation or LLC that is involved in these cases.”).) Given the circumstances and the relationship between Gibbs and his clients, the Court will approve his requests for withdrawal.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Filed Under: brett gibbs, john steele, otis wright, paul duffy, paul hansmeier, prenda
Companies: ingenuity 13, prenda, prenda law
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But I do love the fact that Judge Wright tacked on that 1k a day penalty per entity, wonderful sense of righteousness this no nonsense judge has.
I wonder how long the Prenda gang will try to avoid paying this, I honestly don't see them escaping even if they plead poverty I still see them being liable for the sanction order and the fines and penalties within it.
They better crank up the Professional class action objectors program and start the shakedowns - er - I mean objection notices, there going to need the cash!
But those couldn't happen to a bunch of better people, congrats John et all !
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If you think that's a little beneath you, consider ordering Kevin Trudeau's book called free money. Just need your credit card. You'll like Kevin, you and he have a LOT in common.
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I do think you are right though that Judge Chen may have decided not to move forward with any penalties due to the fact that Judge Wright has already started the proverbial hammer starting it's fall on Team Prenda.
That being said I don't know if Team Prenda will escape unscathed from Judge Chen. I would think Judge Chen is smart enough to know that something smells with this, but I believe he was looking at it from the potential of their being an appeal.
It could be construed as an honest mistake from a CEO who is not too smart (Paging Mark Lutz)I think Judge Chen would rather let them skate on this one, knowing full well they are in serious trouble elsewhere in the state and all over the country.
While they may have escaped this one, I think we all know the noose is becoming a lot tighter
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Judge Wright really ought to consider wearing a cape to court. I don't throw around the word Hero very often, but this man is one of mine. Awesome!
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The story that just keeps on giving
Everything on what not to do in one series of decisions.
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Re: The story that just keeps on giving
Adding more money per day on top makes the judge look even more vindictive, never good.
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Don't ask me how I know.
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Re: Re: The story that just keeps on giving
John Steele was the one who wanted to brag about making millions per day, and chose to drag his feet on revealing information, then publicly whine that the judge hates copyright. You do the math. Vindictive judges for vindictively uncooperative plaintiffs.
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Re: Re: The story that just keeps on giving
By the way, the Prenda team forced those actions on the judge.
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Re: Re: The story that just keeps on giving
Prenda's operations have become so noisome they have been thrust into daylight. It is not "just one judge" now. So what would you call more than one judge? A bunch of judges? A posse of judges? A banc of judges? To Prenda & Co., I imagine they are simply called: trouble.
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Re: Re: Re: The story that just keeps on giving
The harbingers of the apocalypse.
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Yeah, just keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day you'll believe it.
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In a civil trial with no jury, the judge is judge and jury. And when it comes to admitting evidence, he is also investigator...a judge is in charge of reviewing all evidence. If he simply accepts documents and testimony with no overview, he is failing at his job.
The extra money penalty is punishment for 1) completely and utterly failing to follow proper channels for such things, and 2) to enforce the deadline.
Yet again, if Prenda chose to follow proper legal procedure they might have received a stay. If they posted bond at the deadline, there would be no additional fines. But they failed to do both, despite what proper procedure and basic common sense should tell them.
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This bias on the part of the judges is brazenly obvious.
This bias is unfair to the plaintiff/lawyers (who are one and the same party although separated by a tangled web of paper shell companies). This bias prevents the plaintiff from pursuing the much needed mailing list of identities for sending out threatening extortion letters.
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Re: Re: The story that just keeps on giving
> from the bench and make an example, by being
> investigator, judge, and jury all in one.
And yet nothing Wright cited here is false.
Prenda did file an 11th-hour appeal with the wrong court.
They did create the crisis for which they're now seeking relief.
The judge was perfectly correct to deny their motion and sanction them for non-compliance.
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So let it be written, so let it be done!
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>>$1k/day
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This is a lesson that they should have paid attention in regards to the fight over Obamacare. Even though attorneys are aware that certain courts will refuse to grant their motions, they are still required, by law, to go through the long and very drawn out appeals process.
Instead, Prenda tried to skip several hoops by going straight to the appeals court which slapped down their obvious subterfuge. Now, they have to pay an additional $1,000 per day fine past the date they were supposed to pay that judgment that Judge Otis Wright handed down.
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how do i law?
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Re: how do i law?
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GIbbs
I just hope he has paperwork that can be used to prove that the court has been lied to and that Steele and Hammershite are and have been lying to the court. If he can identify where all the money went i am sure the court will be able to seize most of it if this is not resolved soon. Saying that i wonder if they have all transferred ownership of their assets to their wives and other business partners.
If i was anyone they knew i would be telling them to keep me out of it all and to stay away from me until this is all resolved. I am sorry but when they have already thrown friends under the buss i would not be taking a chance that i was going to be next.
That is unless they gave me a few million to look after for them, then i would be transferring it and moving out of the country to retire in some place they could not find me.
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Re: GIbbs
Now on top if that Gibbs (who is supposedly out of work, but I still think he is working for Prenda) has this portion of 81k plus 1k a day that it is late.
Gibbs had already turned over an affadavits in the Florida Sunlust vs Nyugen case where he basically singled out John "Teflon John" Steele & Paul Duffy as the senior Prenda partners giving Gibbs his instructions on almost every aspect of the case.
Gibbs in my estimation is the first Person I see State & Federal Prosecutors going to for a deal after they get a grand jury indictment for RICO.
Really what options does Gibbs have left? Prenda is throwing him under the bus, and basically saying he is incompetent and they had no idea that he was mis-handling this case and the courts directives.
Gibbs job prospects are pretty well shot. Who is going to hire someone that was associated with Prenda and John Steele after everything that has come down through the courts and has been reported in the media.
I see Gibbs being the first one to fold and give up everyone else, especially Teflon John. You have to remember that Gibbs will be lucky if he has a licence to chase ambulances when this is said and done.
John still has his licence (miracle that is mind you) even though it may be inactive (Teflon John is supposedly retired but I think that may have been a forced retirement, but I highly doubt he is retired, I just think he practices under the radar ~nudge nudge wink wink~)
I predict if the feds can bring down a RICO indictment there are going to be people scurrying for cover and striking a deal and I see Gibbs first up to save his ass and to extract a little revenge on Steele et all for hanging him out to dry.
Time will tell of course this is just my opinion, but hey even I am entitled to dream!
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Don't you worry John I am sure is sitting with his Barbie doll in the basement that has SJD scribbled on a post-it-note attached to it and sticking pins into it for revenge.
John takes criticism well and always respects everyones opinion and has nothing but highest moral regard for the law...
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He might be subhuman scum, but he's still a people...
:D
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In The Steele Residence...
"Mpph. Another day, another Order To Show Cause. Did you pack up those suitcases yet?"
"I'm trying, but those porno dollars are so...sticky."
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In The Wright Residence...
"Oh, we're still working on that big can of whup-ass you opened up earlier, you handsome man you."
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more than one judge?
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Re: more than one judge?
I do hope that the Judge in the Harris case finds Mr. Harris's outrage appropriate for the situation and overlooks some of the more colorful wording.
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Therefore the court ORDERS that we be allowed the relief of listening to crying screaming children on Mondays, nails being dragged across chalk boards on Wednesdays and sounds of people vomiting on Fridays.
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For reference, a Debt Sheriff is permitted to break in to commercial premises and have the powers of full seizure to possess items in order to settle a debt.
They might be useful with this hive of scum and villainy.
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Kinda, we have debt collectors, bounty hunters and repossessors, But they are usually commercial entities with no law enforcement powers and very strict rules on what they can do (which they often break.) The Sheriff or Marshall is usually responsible for seeing that the orders of the court are enforced.
They might be useful with this hive of scum and villainy.
Considering the characters above, this would be like a Chronicles of Riddick moment where you use one evil to take out another evil. I wouldn't wish debt collectors, bounty hunters, or repossessors on anyone...talk about a hive of scum and villainy.
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A plan for Prenda
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Re: A plan for Prenda
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It is actually $7000 per day
1 That is, Steele, Hansmeier, Duffy, Gibbs, AF Holdings, Ingenuity 13, and Prenda.
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