225 Montana Ave #103
Santa Monica, CA 90403
11 February 2012 | Disbarred (13 years, 2 months ago) |
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13 February 2010 | Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA (15 years, 2 months ago) |
7 January 1971 | Admitted to The State Bar of California (54 years, 4 months ago) |
February 11, 2012 STEVEN JAY STANWYCK, 66, of Santa Monica was disbarred Feb. 11, 2012, and was ordered to comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court. The State Bar Court’s review department upheld a hearing judge’s decision and found that Stanwyck maintained unjust actions in state and federal courts for more than five years. He was declared a vexatious litigant in 2002 and was sanctioned by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for abusing the judicial process. A bar hearing judge found him unfit to practice and recommended that he be disbarred.Stanwyck sought review, arguing that the bar did not present convincing evidence of his misconduct and asking that the hearing judge’s decision be reversed.He represented United Computer Systems (UCS) in protracted litigation against several parties, including AT&T, Lucent Technologies and NCR. In 2001, AT&T won a motion to declare Stanwyck a vexatious litigant after he filed several unsuccessful lawsuits. A superior court found that in addition to filing the actions, he “repeatedly re-litigated issues, filed unmeritorious pleadings and engaged in frivolous tactics solely intended to cause unnecessary delay,†according to the review panel. It found he maintained an unjust action in state court.The panel also found he did the same in federal courts. A district court declared Stanwyck a vexatious litigant for maintaining five actions over seven years, many involving meritless appeals and attempts to re-litigate prior decisions, and it found he abused the judicial process. He appealed to the Ninth Circuit, filing several additional motions there. That court affirmed the district court and imposed sanctions of $16,000 in attorney fees against Stanwyck for abusing the judicial process.In recommending Stanwyck’s disbarment, the panel wrote, “Despite countless opportunities to conform his behavior to the ethical demands of the profession, Stanwyck chose instead to continue his meritless litigation. We are troubled that he fails to realize that his actions go beyond zealous advocacy, and believe he will continue abusing the legal system.†|