The State Bar of California has shuttered three Southern California offices of attorney Mitchell W. Roth, who was recently declared a vexatious litigant by a federal judge in Los Angeles.
Roth has been hospitalized due to severe depression since January 23rd.
On January 30th, US District Judge Manuel Real of the Central District of California declared Roth, who has filed dozens of lawsuits in recent months, a vexatious litigant.
Vexatious litigation is legal action which is brought, regardless of its merits, solely to harass or subdue an adversary. It may take the form of a primary frivolous lawsuit or may be the repetitive, burdensome, and unwarranted filing of meritless motions in a matter which is otherwise a meritorious cause of action. Filing vexatious litigation is considered an abuse of the judicial process and may result in sanctions against the offender.
The State Bar, using a court order, shut down Roth’s offices in Sherman Oaks, San Diego and Riverside.
A recording at his Sherman Oaks office said: “Due to the illness of attorney Mitchell W. Roth, this law office is temporarily closed.”
The State Bar will inventory the files of Roth’s law firm and notify clients of the developments.
Roth was an unsuccessful candidate for Superior Court Judge in 2004. He graduated from St. John’s University School of Law in New York.