UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
JOSEPH H. ZERNIK, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 09-805 (RJL)
)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, )
et al., )
)
Defendants. )
MEMORAND~NION
(June 1L, 2009)
This matter is before the Court on pro se plaintiff Joseph Zemik's petition for a
writ of mandamus and plaintiffs motion to disqualify this Court [Dkt. #3]. For the
following reasons, the Court will deny the motion to disqualify and dismiss the petition
sua sponte for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed. R. Civ. P.
12(b)(6); Baker v. Dir., us. Parole Comm 'n, 916 F.2d 725, 727 (D.C. Cir. 1990) (district
court may dismiss complaint sua sponte if it is patently obvious that plaintiff cannot
prevail on the facts as alleged).
Plaintiffs petition centers primarily on events related to the compelled sale of his
house, as ordered by the Los Angeles Superior Court in August 2007 following
contentious litigation over a purchase and sale agreement. (See Pet. at 3-38.) Plaintiff
alleges that his civil rights were abused in that proceeding, and he now seeks a writ of
mandamus ordering the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and
Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate alleged frauds committed by Bank of
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America Corporation (as successor to Countrywide Financial Corporation), alleged
harassment by the law firm Bryan Cave LLP, and alleged corruption and fraud in the
California state and federal courts.) (See generally Pet. at 99-110.) Plaintiff also seeks a
writ of mandamus ordering investigations into the alleged abuse of Richard Fine, an
attorney imprisoned in Los Angeles County, and into the alleged wrongful imprisonment
of 10,000 individuals in the late 1990s in connection with the Rampart Scandal. (Pet. at
96-98.) Finally, plaintiff also asserts a civil RICO claim pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c)
and False Claims Act claim pursuant to 31 U.S.c. § 3729 against Bank of America for
alleged conduct related to plaintiff s loss of his house and for alleged conduct related to
the nation's subprime mortgage crisis.
At the outset, the Court addresses plaintiffs motion to disqualifY. A judge shall
disqualifY himself "in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be
questioned," 28 U.S.C. § 455(a), or in which the judge has "personal knowledge of
disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding," id. § 455(b)(l), among other
circumstances. Plaintiff contends that this Court's service as Deputy Chief Minority
Counsel for the u.S. House Select "Iran-Contra" Committee warrants recusal here, based
on plaintiffs allegation that the Iran-Contra affair was "a key event in the abuse of [Los
Angeles] County residents," (Mot. at 1), which plaintiff briefly identifies in his petition as
In connection with plaintiffs allegations regarding the California state courts, plaintiff
also seeks an writ of mandamus (l) ordering certain Los Angeles Superior Court actions be
deemed void and/or vacated, (Pet. at 99-102), (2) ordering that the Grant Deed filed with the Los
Angeles County Registrar in connection with plaintiff s former property be deemed void, (Pet. at
108), and (3) ordering Bryan Cave LLP to provide him with information concerning its
representation of Countrywide in the litigation involving plaintiff s house, (Pet. at 110-112).
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evidence of widespread abuse of Los Angeles residents' civil rights. Because this
Court's prior service does not call into doubt the Court's impartiality due to the wholly
unrelated nature ofIran-Contra's alleged connection to this case, and because this Court
does not have personal knowledge of any facts relevant to plaintiffs petition, plaintiffs
motion to disqualify will be DENIED. See s.E.C v. Loving Spirit Found. Inc., 392 F.3d
486,493 (D.C. Cir. 2004) ("Recusal is required when a reasonable and informed observer
would question the judge's impartiality.").
A writ of mandamus is "a drastic and extraordinary remedy reserved for really
extraordinary causes." Cheney v. u.s. Dist. Court, 542 U.S. 367,380 (2004) (internal
quotation marks and citations omitted); see also Doe v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 473 F.3d
345, 353 (D.C. Cir. 2007). The Court's mandamus authority derives from 28 U.S.C. §
1361, and it extends only to "officer[s] or employee[s] of the United States or any agency
thereof[.]" Further, a writ of mandamus is available only if"(1) the plaintiff has a clear
right to relief; (2) the defendant has a clear duty to act; and (3) there is no other adequate
remedy available to the plaintiff." In re Medicare Reimbursement Litig., 414 F.3d 7, 10
(D.C. Cir. 2005) (internal citation omitted). A court may issue a writ of mandamus only
if "the duty to be performed is ministerial and the obligation to act peremptory and
clearly defined. The law must not only authorize the demanded action, but require it; the
duty must be clear and undisputable." Shoshone Bannock Tribes v. Reno, 56 F.3d 1476,
1480 (D.C. Cir. 1995) (internal citation omitted).
Plaintiff s petition fails to seek any writs of mandamus this Court could
permissibly issue. First, this Court cannot review the decisions of state courts or direct
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state court judicial offers in the performance of their duties. See In re Taylor, No. 04-
7070,2004 WL 2009373, at * 1 (D.C. Cir. Sept. 9,2004) (per curiam) (denying petition
for writ of mandamus "because this court has no authority over the Superior Court of the
District of Columbia"); In re Carter, No. 92-8033,1992 WL 381041, at *1 (D.C. Cir.
Dec. 2,1992) (per curiam) (citing Van Sickle v. Holloway, 791 F.2d 1431, 1436 n.5 (lOth
Cir. 1986) (federal appellate courts lack authority to "direct state courts or their judicial
officers in the performance of their duties")). Similarly, 28 U.S.C. § 1361, by its plain
language, does not permit this Court to compel action by state officials or private entities.
And finally, it is well established that this Court cannot order the Executive Branch to
exercise its prosecutorial discretion to perform an investigation. Heckler v. Chaney, 470
U.S. 821, 831 (l985); Gray v. Bell, 712 F.2d 490,513 (D.C. Cir. 1983). Accordingly,
plaintiff's petition for a writ of mandamus must be dismissed in all respects for failure to
state a claim.
Plaintiff's civil RICO and False Claims Act claims must also be dismissed. To
state a civil RICO claim, a plaintiff must allege four elements: "( 1) conduct (2) of an
enterprise (3) through a pattern (4) of racketeering activity." Pyramid Securities Ltd. v.
IB Resolution, Inc., 924 F.2d 1114, 1117 (D.C. Cir. 1991) (internal citation omitted). The
term "pattern of racketeering activity" is defined as requiring the commission of at least
two predicate racketeering offenses over a ten year period. See 18 U.S.C. § 1961(5).
Plaintiff alleges seven predicate racketeering offenses to support his claim, including
collusion in robbery, mail fraud, and wire fraud. (Pet. at 93.) Each and every of
plaintiff's alleged predicate racketeering offenses, however, relates solely to the
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compelled sale of plaintiff's house in 2007. (See id.) As such, plaintiff fails, at a
minimum, to allege a pattern of racketeering activity, as his claims relate to a single
alleged scheme, for which he was the sole injured party. See W Assocs. Ltd. ex reI. Ave.
Assocs. Ltd. v. Mkt. Square Assocs., 235 F.3d 629,634 (D.C. Cir. 2001) (plaintiff failed
to allege a "pattern of racketeering activity" where plaintiff only alleges "a single
scheme, a single injury, and a single victim"). And finally, as to plaintiff's False Claims
Act claim, while "private persons acting on behalf of the government may sue those who
defraud the government and may share in any proceeds ultimately recovered," United
States ex reI. J Cooper & Assoc., Inc. v. Bernard Hodes Group, Inc., 422 F. Supp. 2d
225, 233 (D.D.C. 2006) (internal citation omitted); 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b), pro se plaintiffs
are not qualified to represent the interests of the United States in such an action, United
States ex reI. Rockefeller v. Westinghouse Elec. Co., 274 F. Supp. 2d 10, 16 (D.D.C.
2003), aff'd, No. 03-7120, 2004 WL 180264 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 21, 2004), cert. denied, 543
U.S. 820 (2004). Accordingly, plaintiff's civil RICO and False Claims Act claims must
also be dismissed for failure to state a claim.
Thus, for all of the above reasons, the Court will DENY plaintiffs' motion to
disqualify and will DISMISS plaintiff's petition for a writ of mandamus. An appropriate
Order will issue with this Memorandum Opinion.
~ON
United States District Judge
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