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	Controversial Attorney Sanctioned for Katrina Victim Claim North Country Gazette September 19, 2007 http://www.northcountrygazette.org/news/2007/09/19/sanction_aretakis/ New York—A controversial attorney known for his sex abuse litigation against Roman Catholic leaders has been fined $10,000 by a federal judge for what was deemed a frivolous lawsuit and using the case to advance his own agenda. He could have to reimburse opposing counsel over $15,000 in fees spent to defend the action bringing the total sanction to $25,000. John A. Aretakis, who maintains offices in Albany and New York, represented the plaintiff, Tina Zlotnick, a Hurricane Katrina victim, suing Bishop Howard Hubbard, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, Catholic Charities, Albany Catholic Charities, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the federal government. The complaint centered on the charitable housing assistance provided by Catholic Charities to Zlotnick, alleging eight counts based on multiple legal theories. The complaint consisted of essentially three claims—that the defendants breached an oral contract to provide Zlotnick a safe and acceptable plce to live, that the defendants participated in a fraudulent conspiracy to exploit Zlotnick for mercenary purposes and that the defendants breached a duty of care to her in connection with the charitable housing as provided. Aretakis was representing the woman pro bono and the lawsuit was yet another in the series of actions brought against the Catholic Church by Aretakis during the past five years focusing on sexual abuse by members of the clergy. Zlotnick's apartment in New Orleans had been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and she had been relocated to the Albany area by a charitable group because she had grown up and Troy and has relatives in the area. She refused to give up her two dogs and thus was not accepted in other housing. She was offered a place to live temporarily by Catholic Charities in a building owned by the church in Watervliet but in January, the church told her she would have to move because it was selling the building. She refused and the diocese began eviction proceedings. She was evicted in July and is now reportedly living in a low-income, government subsidized apartment in Rensselaer County. In making his ruling during a motion hearing on Sept. 6, Northern District Judge Gary Sharpe said that "three quarters of the complaint takes about sexual abuse in the church which has nothing to do with Ms. Zlotnik. It's crystal clear Mr. Aretakis, what's going on here. This is just more of the same of the conduct for which you've been sanctioned by numerous courts in this state. There's no basis for any of the causes of action that are alleged in the complaint". Sharpe said that it was clear to him "this lawsuit was filed because you have your own personal agenda and you were able to find a client that would poster your own personal agenda". Sharpe said that due to the legal insufficiency of the complaint and Aretakis' use of the matter to pursue his own agenda, he was imposing sanctions. He ordered Aretakis to reimburse attorneys from the Albany law firm of Tobin and Dempf who had defended the Roman Catholic diocese and Aretakis must answer an order to show cause why he shouldn't have to pay to reimburse the legal expenses Barbara Cottrell, an assistant U.S. attorney who represented FEMA and the federal government in defending the litigation. The federal government had not sought sanctions but the judge said he could impose attorney's fees sua sponte. Costello filed an affidavit with the court seeking $14,310 in fees at $210 an hour while the government attorney submitted a billing for $2,368—25 hours at $94 per hour. Aretakis is expected to challenge the sanctions and will probably seek to recuse Sharpe from the case, claiming that the judge has ties to the Catholic Church and Albany diocese, a tactic used previously by Aretakis. In February, Aretakis was fined $8,000 by a federal judge for bringing a series of "utterly baseless" lawsuits which claimed that the church's actions constituted racketeering. He is appealing that ruling. The judge said that Aretakis' complaint was "sloppy and filled with mistakes, for example, it names a dead man as a defendant". In his decision, the judge wrote "further evidence of Mr. Aretakis's motives is the drumbeat of publicity which Mr. Aretakis has sought. The day he and his client filed this complaint, he held a press conference to announce his lawsuit. This appears to be his common practice. The immediate link between the filing of the complaint and the press conference support the inference that Mr. Aretakis's intention was to injure. That intent is confirmed by Mr. Aretakis's statements in which he describes himself as an activist for clergy sexual abuse victims and is quoted as intending to "continue to humiliate and embarrass the Church" by bringing incidents of sexual abuse to light, even if he cannot bring them in court. :This intent to humiliate and embarrass is further manifested in the amended complaint which is littered with wholly irrelevant, inflammatory, and embarrassing facts concerning defendants and non-defendants alike that have no bearing on the actions brought, such as 'it was widely known that he [one of the defendants] was an alcoholic.' Accordingly, the Court finds that sanctions are necessary in this case". The $8,000 fine represents $2,000 to be paid to each of the four law firms representing the defendants. 9-19-07
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