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	Pro Bono Assignment on Behalf of Hurricane Katrina Client Leads to Sanctions Judge Rebukes New York Attorney for Suing Diocese after Woman Is Evicted from Property Being Sold by the Church By Joel Stashenko Law.com September 19, 2007 http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1190106179736 A pro bono assignment to defend a woman displaced from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina against being evicted in the Albany, N.Y., area has left attorney John A. Aretakis facing a $10,000 court fine and a bill for as much as $16,678 in attorney fees. Northern District of New York Judge Gary L. Sharpe rebuked Aretakis for fighting the eviction of Tina Zlotnick by filing suit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, Bishop Howard Hubbard, the United States and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It was the latest in a five-year series of actions brought by Aretakis against the Catholic Church, most involving allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy. In this case, Aretakis named the Albany diocese and its bishop as defendants because Zlotnick was being evicted from a church-owned property that the diocese was selling. Sharpe found, however, that there is "no legitimate factual or legal basis for the claims that are contained in this complaint." It is "crystal clear," the judge continued, that Aretakis filed the Zlotnick claim because of the attorney's adversarial attitude toward the Catholic Church. "That's a violation of Rule 11 as far as I'm concerned," Sharpe said. "Given the nature of the allegations, given the legal insufficiency of the allegations and the factual insufficiency of the allegations, it's clear to me that this lawsuit was filed because you have your own personal agenda and you were able to find a client that would foster your own personal agenda. Therefore, it is my intention to impose sanctions." Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure authorizes judges to impose sanctions on attorneys for making frivolous arguments. In addition to the fine, Sharpe ordered Aretakis to pay for the time that attorneys from Tobin and Dempf in Albany spent defending the diocese from Aretakis' suit, Zlotnick v. Hubbard, 07-cv-0405. The judge also gave Aretakis until Thursday to show cause why he should not also pay for the time the U.S. Attorney's office in Albany spent defending the United States and FEMA. Michael L. Costello of Tobin and Dempf had filed a motion in May seeking sanctions against Aretakis in the Zlotnick case. The federal attorney's office had not sought sanctions or attorney fees, but Sharpe said the "procedural matrix" of Rule 11 allows the judge to impose attorney fees on his own. Sharpe ruled from the bench during a hearing on Sept. 6 in Albany. Costello subsequently filed an affidavit with the court placing Tobin and Dempf's fees in the case at $14,310. Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara D. Cottrell's affidavit put the U.S. Attorney's office's time in the case at $2,368. Aretakis said in an interview that he would challenge Sharpe's sanctions in his filing before the court, which he expected to make today. He also will move that Sharpe, a former U.S. Attorney in the Northern District, recuse himself from the case defended by that office and to detail any ties the judge has to the Catholic Church and the Albany diocese, Aretakis said. Aretakis, of Albany and Manhattan, said he was also preparing an appeal of Sharpe's Sept. 6 determination to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "My argument is going to be that he is biased and prejudiced against me," Aretakis said. "The judge is just really trying to punish me for my advocacy of clergy abuse victims. That's it in its entirety." Aretakis, who had never appeared before Sharpe prior to the Zlotnick matter, accused the judge of having a "pre-existing contempt for me." Aretakis' complaint alleged that Zlotnick was mentally and physically harmed by Hurricane Katrina. Her apartment in New Orleans was wrecked by the storm and she was transported by a charitable group to the Albany area, where she grew up and has relatives. Catholic Charities offered her a place to live temporarily in a church-owned building in Watervliet, outside Albany. In January, the church informed her that she would have to move because it was selling the building. When she refused, the diocese initiated eviction proceedings. Aretakis was asked by the Albany County Bar Association's pro bono program to represent Zlotnick. 'DEVOID OF FACTS' In his complaint, Aretakis charged that Catholic Charities defrauded Zlotnick by promising her housing and then taking it away. The diocese countered that the housing assignment was to be temporary, with the expectation that the woman would ultimately return to New Orleans or find housing on her own locally. Aretakis also accused Albany diocese officials of generating local media interviews with the woman and then using the publicity to raise money from donors. Some of that money, Aretakis said, could have been used by the church to defend itself against priest sex abuse charges. Aretakis also sketched out what he labeled a possible conspiracy between Catholic Charities and FEMA in which the church allegedly enriched itself through FEMA housing allowances by providing apartments to Katrina victims at inflated prices. Sharpe found no merit in Aretakis' arguments that the diocese engaged in fraud or other wrongdoing. But the judge was even more dismissive of Aretakis' attempt to bring FEMA and the United States into the case. "I give you about 60 seconds to explain to me what the basis of any case against the United States and FEMA is in this complaint before I issue the order to show cause to impose sanctions," Sharpe told Aretakis on Sept. 6, according to the Northern District's transcript of the hearing. When the attorney responded that it is "general public knowledge" that FEMA and the U.S. government have "wasted a lot of money" in Katrina's aftermath, Sharpe shot back, "Congratulations. Why don't you run for the Senate or President of the United States and do somethin' about it?" After more discussion that Sharpe found unconvincing, the judge told Aretakis, "You've exhausted your 60 seconds. Thank you. You failed completely to answer my question." Similarly, the judge derided an affidavit filed by Zlotnick as "just more of the nonsense that's contained in the complaint -- wishes, desires, however you might want to characterize it; it is totally devoid of facts." Sharpe declared that Zlotnick is a domiciliary of New York and not of New Orleans, and, as such, he was dismissing her claim because there was no diversity among the parties. "I honestly think that this judge went so far to tar and feather me that it is actually going to help my ability to appeal it. He wants to teach me a lesson and put me out of business," Aretakis said in the interview. Aretakis is representing numerous alleged victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, and he contends his advocacy for those clients has raised the ire of church officials. His conduct has drawn other court fines and several ethics complaints against him in the 1st and 3rd Departments. Most recently, Aretakis was fined $8,000 by Southern District Court Judge Paul Crotty for bringing what the judge called a "scurri-lous" suit against the Archdiocese of New York and Cardinal Edward Egan. Aretakis is appealing that ruling to the 2nd Circuit. Kenneth Goldfarb, spokesman for the Albany diocese, declined comment Tuesday on the Zlotnick ruling. Costello did not return a telephone call. Zlotnick was evicted in July. Aretakis said she is now living in a low-income, government-subsidized apartment in Troy, Rensselaer County.
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