Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:14-CV-305
10-17-2014
LEOPOLDO LEAL, Plaintiff, v. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, et al, Defendants
ORDER
Plaintiff, appearing pro se, filed this civil action in a pleading entitled "Action On Title Fraud By Concealment." (D.E. 1). Plaintiff has a history of filing civil actions relating to property in South Texas described by Plaintiff as lands that comprise the de la Garza Land Grant. Plaintiff maintains that various persons and entities have unlawfully deprived him of certain ancestral ownership interests he believes he has in the property. Plaintiff's claims relating to this property have previously been determined to be frivolous and Plaintiff has been deemed a vexatious litigant. (D.E. 6).
On December 20, 2004, Plaintiff's vexatious litigation resulted in Senior United States District Judge Janis Graham Jack enjoining Plaintiff from filing similar litigation in the future. (D.E. 6). In violation of this injunction, Plaintiff filed a similar suit on February 2, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas-San Antonio Division, and Judge Jack found Plaintiff in violation of the above referenced injunction and in contempt of court. (D.E. 7). Plaintiff was ordered to pay $24,592.43 in costs and attorneys' fees to The John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Foundation as a sanction for his willful disobedience of the Court's December 20, 2004 Order and his civil contempt. The Court stayed the imposition of the sanction conditioned on Plaintiff dismissing his lawsuit and refraining from filing another lawsuit in any State or Federal court asserting the same causes of action against the same parties. The Court further ordered that Plaintiff would be subject to payment of the sanction and imprisonment if he failed to abide by the two conditions of the stay.
The present action is related and similar to Plaintiff's prior lawsuits determined to be frivolous. The filing of this action by Plaintiff is in clear violation of the previous orders by Senior United States District Judge Janis Graham Jack. Further, Plaintiff filed the present action in the Brownsville Division of the Southern District of Texas, which appears to be an attempt by Plaintiff to avoid appearing before judges familiar with this litigation.
On July 18, 2014, United States Magistrate Judge Jason B. Libby ordered Plaintiff to show cause why the present action should not be dismissed. (D.E. 5). Plaintiff has not provided sufficient reasons for this Court to again reconsider this matter. (D.E. 9 and D.E. 10). This suit is a clear violation of the injunction. Therefore, this case is DISMISSED, all pending motions are DENIED, and the Clerk of Court is directed not to accept or file any further pleadings from Plaintiff in this matter.
ORDERED this 17th day of October, 2014.
/s/_________
NELVA GONZALES RAMOS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
See Leopoldo Leal v. Adelmira Rios, et al., 7:90-cv-00145 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 1, 1990); Leopoldo Leal v. Sun Exploration and Production Co. et al., 2:01-cv-00230 (S.D. Tex. May 18, 2001); Leopoldo Leal v. The John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Foundation., 2:03-cv-00057 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 12, 2003); Leopoldo Leal v. The John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Foundation., 2:03-cv-00494 (S.D. Tex. July 12, 2004); Leopoldo Leal v. The Kerr-McGee Corp. et al., No. 4:04-cv-2950, (S.D. Tex. May 4, 2004).