Larriante Sumbry filed a civil tort action against LaPorte Superior Court Judge William Boklund. The trial court granted Boklund's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, but declined to find that Sumbry's complaint was "frivolous, unreasonable or groundless" within the meaning of Indiana Code section 85-50-6-5(a)(4) (Supp.2004). The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed in an unpublished decision, Sumbry v. Boklund, No. 46A04-0404-CV-237,
Background & Discussion
Sumbry is an inmate at the state prison in Michigan City. His direct appeals and post-conviction proceedings with respect to his convictions havé been resolved against him. See Sumbry v. Miscellaneous Docket Sheet for Year 2003,
Boklund also moved the trial court to certify Sumbry's action as "frivolous, unreasonable or groundless" under Indiana Code section 35-50-6-5(a)(4). The trial court's order states that the court found "no merit" to Sumbry's complaint, but the court "refuse[d] to certify the case" under the statute. (Appellee's Br. at 14 (containing copy of trial court's order).) Boklund raised the issue in his appellate brief, but the Court of Appeals affirmed, "declin[ing] to revisit the trial court's determination." Slip op. at 3 n. 8.
The statute provides that an inmate may be deprived of earned credit time a court determines that a civil claim brought by the person in a state or administrative court is frivolous, unreasonable or groundless." LC. § 35-50-6-5(a)(d). The relevant terms have been defined in earlier cases:
[A] claim is frivolous if it is made primarily to harass or maliciously injure another, if the proponent is not able to make a good-faith and rational argument on the merits of the claim, or if the proponent cannot -support the action by a good-faith and rational argument for extension, modification, or reversal of existing law. A claim is "unreasonable" if, considering the totality of the cireum-stances, no reasonable attorney would consider the claim justified or worthy of litigation. A claim is "groundless" if there are no facts that support the legal claim relied upon.
Parks v. Madison County,
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We construe the trial court's refusal to certify the case to be a legal conclusion that the complaint was not frivolous, unreasonable or groundless. Reviewing this legal conclusion de novo, we reverse. See Emergency Physicians,
In any event, Sumbry has a good deal of experience with the legal system. In addition to his criminal proceedings and the actions he has commenced in trial courts, our. chronological case summary shows that he has initiated twenty appeals in civil cases, filed eleven original actions with us, and that his cases have been the subject of seventeen special judge matters, some of which resulted from his filing this complaint against Boklund. There is an abundance of correspondence between Sumbry and our Administrator's Office concerning procedural inquiries and requests for legal forms, among other things. The Court of Appeals has noted Sumbry's "proclivity for filing frivolous and vexatious lawsuits."
Under the cireumstances of this case, we conclude that Sumbry's complaint against Boklund was unreasonable such that he is subject to being deprived of earned credit time under Indiana Code section 35-50-6-5(a)(4). See Parks,
Conclusmn
We grant transfer, summarily affirm that portion of the Court of Appeals Memorandum Decision affirming the trial court's dismissal of Sumbry's complaint, remand this case to the trial court for entry of an order finding Sumbry's complaint "unreasonable" under Indiana Code section 35-50-6-5(a)(4) and ordering any further proceedings appropriate under that statute.
