Peter Strojnik Sr. was an attorney prior to be disbarred some years back for unethical behavior. Since then, he has made a living essentially shaking down hotels, filing suit pro se, using vague pictures as “evidence” and getting settlements to just go the **** away.
Evidently, one hotel showed some spine and instead of folding, filed a motion to dismiss the case and declare Strojnik a vexatious litigator.
And they won.
Case dismissed.
Strojnik given the vexatious litigator status, meaning he cannot file any ADA lawsuits in the Central District of California without the previous permission of that court being given.
He may shift his activities to another district, but with vexatious litigator status in one district, it won’t take long for him to be shut down in other districts.
Congratulations to the hotel for showing they have a pair and for shutting this dirt bag down.
Does that declaration also mean that he is going to be paying the defendant’s legal bills?
It says something that a person can make a living on the basis that defending against a lawsuit is more expensive than settling. It says something about that person, but it also says something about the legal system. (And no, shutting the court house doors to aggrieved parties isn’t the answer. Neither is a loser pays all system. Close calls shouldn’t trigger huge bills.)
I don’t know whether the defendant hotel got an award of legal fees from the plaintiff. As the plaintiff was declared a vexatious litigant, there is a good chance they did.
Typically in the Federal system, each party pays their own legal fees regardless of who won or lost.
Also, under California law, his being labeled a vexatious litigator in Federal court automatically gives him that status in all California State courts, so he is blocked from those forums as well.
Some things, like AIDS and hepatitis, never completely go away. Evidently the same with this boil on the ass of humanity, Peter Strojnik.
Strojnik was banned from filing suits in California, so he has drifted on to Arizona and elsewhere, continuing to file his shakedown ADA suits in Federal court.
So his latest victim defendant hotel is moving for an unprecedented solution. If granted, Strojnik would be banned from filing ADA lawsuits in ANY Federal District Court, unless he previously obtains permission of a Judge for the specific case.
Unfortunately, this scumbag will likely move to filing these lawsuits in State courts where he has not already been banned.
Good on that hotel. I am one who actually needs the ADA because of my hips (I’ll be once again using a walker in December when I have surgery to get one of my rods out) as well as for anxiety and ADD that trips me up when I take tests, feel too unwell to get assignments in by a certain deadline, attend in-person lectures/chapel, etc.
People like Strojnik disgust me at best. He sounds like a “Used Car Salesman” in the book Emotional Vampires by Al Bernstein, PhD. Basically Used Car (or Snake Oil) Salesmen like to skirt the law and make other people miserable for a quick buck- Bernstein describes this type of vampire in the Antisocial section of his book (with the others being Histrionic, Narcissistic, Paranoid, and Obsessive-Compulsive). He also ruins it for the rest of us who legitimately cannot function without accomodations. The ADA is a God-send for me; thank goodness Bush jr. signed it into law.
This scumbag has been extorting businesses here in CA for years. He rarely files a case, just sends a demand letter and threatens to sue.
There is another guy that has a similar business model that threatens to sue internet companies on behalf of people that get spam emails.
Both of them are parasites.
Oh, gross! He has some real personality problems. Who would make people/businesses so miserable, their clientele/customers so miserable, just for a quick buck?
I think someone needs to file a complaint with the licensing boards and have his license revoked. Permanently.
Can you all file a petition with the local government/courts to disbar this thing? I refuse to refer him as a human, because really, he’s not. He’s a more subtle, cowardly form of a sociopath.
Unfortunately, that does nothing to stop him from filing pro se (on behalf of himself). The only thing that will stop him for good is vexatious litigant status nationwide.
I’m surprised he has any luck at all finding an attorney willing to handle this nonsense. Just as doctors should not treat themselves, lawyers should not represent themselves. (I wouldn’t be surprised if he did represent himself though)
Ew. I heard in the video in your second link that he files the lawsuit on behalf of himself, claiming he is the one that is disabled as a veteran. But the thing is, it isn’t directed at him. Such as the handicap sign being placed too low, that may have been just an honest mistake when the parking lot was created.
He’s a male Karen. I wouldn’t necessarily call him a Kyle, because he’s not overtly violent and doesn’t drink monster, but definitely a Karen-o.
I’ll bet my hat that he also has Munchausen’s. I’ll bet ya. I wouldn’t be surprised if he lied about his disabilities to gain disabled status. He sounds very entitled at the very least.
