Klayman v. Rao

LARRY E. KLAYMAN, Plaintiff, v. THE HONORABLE NEOMI RAO, et al., Defendants.

No. 21-cv-02473 (CRC)

United States District Court, District of Columbia

October 25, 2021

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHRISTOPHER R. COOPER, United States District Judge.

Larry E. Klayman, proceeding pro se, filed this action against the judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia and two judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging violations of his rights under the Due Process Clause and the First Amendment. The claimed “unconstitutional and illegal actions” of the defendants occurred during the course of two prior related cases involving Klayman, Klayman et al. v. Judicial Watch, Inc., et al., No. 06-cv-670 (D.D.C.) (“Judicial Watch I”) and Klayman et al. v Judicial Watch, Inc., et al., No. 19-7105 (D.C. Cir.) (“Judicial Watch Appeal”). See Compl. ¶¶ 23-24. For the reasons explained below, this Court will dismiss this action sua sponte. Klayman's claims are barred in their entirety, either by absolute judicial immunity or by collateral estoppel, and this Court lacks jurisdiction to grant any of the relief Klayman seeks.

I. Background

A. Prior Litigation

This case arises from an earlier lawsuit between Klayman and the organization he founded in 1994, Judicial Watch. In short, Klayman left the helm of Judicial Watch in 2003. The relationship between Klayman and the organization then deteriorated further, leading to a series of lawsuits that have now spanned nearly 20 years.

1. Judicial Watch I

In 2003, after his resignation from Judicial Watch, Klayman sued the organization asserting breach of his severance agreement and violations of the Lanham Act. Judicial Watch responded with counterclaims of the same variety. See Klayman v. Jud. Watch, Inc., 6 F.4th 1301, 1307-09 (D.C. Cir. 2021). This litigation proceeded before The Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly for approximately sixteen years. Compl. ¶ 24. During the proceedings, Klayman filed numerous discovery and pretrial motions, including five motions for Judge Kollar-Kotelly's recusal. See Judicial Watch I, 6-cv-670-CKK, ECF Nos. 298, 345, 414, 587, 606 (recusal motions); ECF Nos. 76, 126, 146, 156, 226, 275. (motions to quash subpoenas, discovery motions, and motion for partial summary judgment). Judge Kollar-Kotelly granted partial summary judgment to Judicial Watch. Id., ECF Nos. 318, 319. The remainder of Klayman's claims and Judicial Watch's counterclaims were presented to a jury, which returned a $2.3 million dollar verdict against Klayman. Judicial Watch I, No. 6-cv-670-CKK, 2019 WL 1244079, at *31 (D.D.C. Mar. 18, 2019). Klayman filed several motions under Rules 50, 59, and 60 to alter the judgment, to grant a new trial, and for relief from judgment, all of which were unsuccessful. See Docket, No. 6-cv-670-CKK, ECF Nos. 571, 587, 603, 604, 608.

2. Appeal of Judicial Watch I & Judicial Watch II

In August 2019, after Judge Kollar-Kotelly denied Klayman's post-trial motions and his motion to reconsider those rulings, Klayman appealed to the D.C. Circuit. See No. 6-cv-670-CKK, ECF No. 613 (D.C. Cir. Case No. 19-7105). He also filed a motion in the district court to stay enforcement of the judgment pending appeal, which was denied. Id., ECF No. 609, 614.

Simultaneously, Klayman filed a separate action seeking relief from the judgment against him under Rule 60. Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Inc., No. 19-cv-02604, 2021 WL 602900 at *2 (D.D.C) (“Judicial Watch II”). Klayman sought vacatur of the Judicial Watch I judgment. Id. at *5. The case was assigned to The Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan, whom Klayman also names as a defendant in the present lawsuit. Judge Chutkan initially stayed the matter pending the outcome of Klayman's appeal, but then dismissed the action sua sponte in February 2021, finding that he had failed to state a claim for relief under Rule 60(b) or (d), and failed to plead facts supporting his allegation of fraud on the court. Id. at *7-10. Klayman appealed that decision, and the D.C. Circuit affirmed without argument in June 2021. See Docket, No. 19-cv-02604 (TSC) (D.D.C), ECF No. 14; Docket, No. 21-5076 (D.C. Cir.), Document # 1904268 (June 29, 2021) (unpublished disposition).

On July 30, 2021, the D.C. Circuit issued its opinion in the original Judicial Watch Appeal. See Klayman, 6 F.4th at 1301. Klayman raised a host of issues before the Court of Appeals, including challenges to Judge Kollar-Kotelly's pretrial and evidentiary rulings, her sanctions order, her grant of partial summary judgment to Judicial Watch, the jury instructions she used, and her entry of judgment against him. Id. The Court of Appeals affirmed in full, finding no error in Judge Kollar-Kotelly's handling of the case. Id. at 1321. Klayman filed a petition for rehearing en banc, which was denied on September 15, 2021.

3. Judicial Watch III

Not a week later, Klayman filed the present action against the sixteen judges of the D.C. Circuit and Judges Kollar-Kotelly and Chutkan. Klayman alleges Judge Kollar-Kotelly “committed numerous highly prejudicial, intentional, and/or reckless manifest errors which resulted in a highly flawed and outrageous jury verdict against Mr. Klayman.” Compl. ¶ 24. He claims that Judge Chutkan “collude[d]” with Judge Kollar-Kotelly to deny him “his constitutional and other legal rights.” Compl. ¶ 44. And he asserts that the D.C. Circuit “mistakenly, intentionally, and/or recklessly failed to reverse clear errors by Judge Kotelly, . . . [and] made new highly prejudicial errors of its own.” Id. ¶ 27. He submits that these errors were “clear cut violations of [his] sacrosanct due process rights, as guaranteed to him under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.” Id. ¶ 35. Klayman also contends these alleged errors violated his First Amendment rights. Id. ¶ 63-65. As redress for these claimed injuries, Klayman seeks “judgment against each of the Defendants, jointly and severally, for declaratory and preliminarily and permanent injunctive relief.” Compl. VI. He also prays that the judgment against him in Judicial Watch I be vacated, “and this matter be reheard and retried before an unbiased and neutral judge.” Id. ¶ 67.

II. Legal Standards

The Court “may sua sponte dismiss a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) without notice where it is patently obvious that the plaintiff cannot possibly prevail based on the facts alleged in the complaint.” Rollins v. Wackenhut Servs., Inc., 703 F.3d 122, 127 (D.C. Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Baker v. Dir., U.S. Parole Comm'n, 916 F.2d 725, 726 (D.C. Cir. 1990) (to do otherwise would “lead to a waste of judicial resources . . . in cases where the plaintiff has not advanced a shred of a valid claim”); Best v. Kelly, 39 F.3d 328, 330-31 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (a court may sua sponte dismiss a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) when a complaint is “legally frivolous”).

A complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted if it does not allege “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). When considering dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court “assume[s] the truth of all material factual allegations in the complaint and construe[s] the complaint liberally, granting plaintiff the benefit of all inferences that can be derived from the facts alleged.” Am. Nat'l Ins. Co. v. F.D.I.C., 642 F.3d 1137, 1139 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). Additionally, a court may take judicial notice of other court proceedings and the records from those proceedings. See Luke v. United States, No. 13-cv-5169, 2014 WL 211305, at *1 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 13, 2014) (citing Dupree v. Jefferson, 666 F.2d 606, 608 n.1 (D.C. Cir. 1981)). Further, “when jurisdictional questions arise in a suit, courts are obligated to consider [those issues] sua sponte.” Worley v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 75 F.Supp.3d 311, 323 (D.D.C. 2014).

Although pro se complaints are “held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers, ” they must still “plead factual matter that permits the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct.” Abdelfattah v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 787 F.3d 524, 533 (D.C. Cir. 2015) (citations omitted).^[1] “Likewise, although a pro se complaint must be construed liberally, the complaint must still present a claim on which the Court can grant relief.” Smith v. Scalia, 44 F.Supp.3d 28, 36 (D.D.C. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted).

III. Analysis

A. Judicial Immunity

“Judges enjoy absolute judicial immunity from suits for money damages for all actions taken in the judge's judicial capacity, unless these actions are taken in the complete absence of all jurisdiction.” Sindram v. Suda, 986 F.2d 1459, 1460 (D.C. Cir. 1993). Judicial immunity “extends even to actions that are allegedly malicious or corrupt.” Sibley v. Roberts, 224 F.Supp. 3d 29, 37 (D.D.C. 2016); see also Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9, 11 (1991) (“Judicial immunity is not overcome by allegations of bad faith or malice.”). Put simply, the only remedy for a judge's alleged past mishandlings of a case is “an appeal . . . not a lawsuit against the judge[].” Smith, 44 F.Supp.3d at 42.^[2]

Klayman does not seek money damages in his complaint. See Compl. IV. However, each of the acts that Klayman claims violated his rights are past judicial decisions of the defendants. For example, he claims Judge Kollar-Kotelly violated his Due Process rights during Judicial Watch I by, among other things, “[a]llowing highly prejudicial, inflammatory statements and an irrelevant court order into evidence, in contradiction of . . . the Federal Rules of Evidence, ” “grant[ing] partial summary judgment to Judicial...