Watch the full video at https://rumble.com/v2bh53c-vexatious-litigant-warned.html and at https://youtu.be/TG59DxSOL8k
After a car accident, Nehemiah Rolle filed a claim with his insurer, Founders Insurance Company, a member company of the Utica National Insurance Group. The founders responded with a request for more information, and when none came, the company denied the claim only to find it and its chairman sued, claiming their racism resulted in Rolle’s claim being rejected. IN Nehemiah Rolle, Jr. v. Richard P. Creedonno. 22-1720, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (February 23, 2023) the Seventh Circuit heard the appeal and warned Rolle that further frivolous filings would result in sanctions being imposed against him.
FACTS
A few months after the denial, the founders sent Rolle a notice that his policy would expire and would not be renewed. Rolle then sued Richard Creedon, chairman and chief executive officer of Utica National, alleging that the founders breached its insurance contract by not paying his claim and discriminated against Rolle because he is black by “aiding” white employees to “criminally defraud” Rolle by to accept his insurance premium while denying coverage.
Rolle sought $1 billion in compensatory damages and $500 million in punitive damages. Creedon moved to dismiss the case for lack of personal jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Rolle filed a motion seeking an “emergency injunction” for “A Stay or Restraining Order” requiring his insurance coverage to continue beyond its expiration date and until the insurance company (through this lawsuit) was obligated to pay for the repairs to Rolle’s car.
The district judge interpreted Rolle’s motion for an “emergency injunction” as a request for a temporary Rule 65(b) restraining order and denied it. Rolle, unhappy with the outcome, then petitioned the district judge to dismiss on the grounds of alleged racial bias, which, he argued, is what prompted the judge to deny the “emergency order” and say there was no emergency.
Rolle filed an interlocutory appeal following the denial of his two motions. The essence of a TROU is its brevity, its ex parte nature and (related to the second element) its informality. A preliminary injunction requires notice to the opposing party and usually involves a hearing held before the injunction is issued.
Here, the district court labeled the motion as a request for a TRO and, in accordance with such process, denied it without a hearing in short order. On merits, Rolle argues that the judge erred in finding it unlikely that he would suffer irreparable harm without an injunction. Rolle claims that if his coverage is not maintained, he cannot be insured by another company because of the damage to his car that his insurer refused to pay.
ANALYSIS
To obtain a preliminary injunction, a plaintiff must show that it is likely to prevail on the merits, and that traditional remedies would be inadequate, so that it would suffer irreparable harm without the injunction. The Seventh Circuit concluded that the district judge did not err in finding that Rolle could not show that denial of his insurance claim (even if erroneous) or failure to renew his auto insurance would cause irreparable harm under the circumstances. The harm Rolle claims is measurable in monetary terms (the cost of repairing his car or a higher insurance premium), and can be adequately addressed by damages.
VEXATIOS LITIGANT
Rolle’s procedural history shows a disturbing pattern of misconduct against this defendant and others. Rolle filed a second lawsuit against Creedon in the Northern District of Illinois four months after filing this one. The second complaint alleges that Creedon “defamation[ed] and slander[ed]” Rolle by notifying the court of Rolle’s litigation history which was otherwise identical to the Seventh Circuit complaint.
Rolle is a prolific litigator. He has filed at least 55 federal lawsuits in the Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts of New York, the Southern District of Ohio and the District of New Jersey. Most claim that corporations, elected officials, judges and government employees engaged in racist acts that violated his constitutional rights, but none went far. The majority of these cases have been frivolous and dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Two courts (EDNY and SD Ohio) imposed restrictions on Rolle due to his nuisance filings.
The Seventh Circuit warned Rolle that further frivolous filings in this circuit could result in monetary penalties that, if not paid, could result in a filing.
On the jurisdictional issue, the Seventh Circuit sided with Rolle but affirmed the denial of relief.
Insurance companies are often frowned upon, especially when a claim is denied. People like Mr. Rolle believes a lawsuit alleging bad faith and racism will result in a monetary settlement to avoid the costs of defending the suit. Mr. Rolle is an annoying litigator who has received the kindness of federal courts that take the time to hear his frivolous lawsuits and claim that anyone who disagrees with him is a racist who needs to pay him millions of dollars for his hurt feelings. A warning after 55 rogue suits is too little too late. Mr. Rolle should be severely punished with sanctions that harm—not just a refusal to allow him to file a lawsuit.
(c) 2023 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to serving as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims management, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders. He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims attorney and more than 54 years in the insurance industry. He can be reached at http://www.zalma.com and zalma@zalma.com
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