Buckner had 14 days to object to Bowman’s recommendation, but true to form filed a motion asking Dlott for more time on Monday. A motion she promptly dismissed the next day.
Buckner filed a civil rights lawsuit “involving wrongful foreclosure and having a pecuniary interest, laundering of money through loan activity” against the judge and Butler County, saying he was deprived of his “rights, liberty and freedom.” He also claimed in a court filing he suffered “physical (loss of the gall bladder) and emotional cruelty.”
He attached Powers’ financial disclosure statement with the Ohio Supreme Court as evidence.
RELATED: Plaintiff fined $500 for filing federal lawsuit against Butler County judge
Despite the fact Bowman found the lawsuit frivolous, she went through a lengthy recitation of all the reasons the court shouldn’t consider the case. One of the biggest reasons is Powers can’t be sued for actions he takes in his judicial capacity.
The foreclosure proceeding against Buckner began in 2010 and was still going on with this latest lawsuit — until now.
The docket in the common pleas case shows pages and pages of filings Buckner made trying to stop the proceeding or get Powers to change his mind.
Powers told the Journal-News he cannot ethically discuss the case but his frustration showed through in case documents.
“The court indicated via a decision as well as an entry dated February 9, 2017, that it would no longer consider any additional filings by defendant Buckner in which he attempts to collaterally attack the judgment entered on April 30, 2010,” Powers wrote in one of the entries. “However, defendant continued to harass both the plaintiff and the court with numerous filings.”
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said sanctioning non-lawyers for vexatious litigation is not uncommon and the amount of the fine wasn’t out of line.
“I’m actually happy to see her (the judge) exercise the authority that she has in that regard,” Gmoser said. “While it wasn’t terribly excessive, it sent a message that the federal courts or the state courts for that matter are not just dart boards for people such as him to throw vexatious darts at.”
Buckner could not be reached for comment.
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