Taj Lives! (And He’s Pissed)
Last week, we posted a highly unusual motion from Arizona. Attorney Tajudeen “Taj” Oladiran filed a “Motion for a [sic] Honest and Honorable Court System” in his racketeering case against Suntrust Bank before the “dishonorable” Susan Bolton.
Taj was extremely disappointed in a ruling by Judge Bolton, calling her “a brainless coward.” He ended the motion with the following:
[M]any good lawyers in town told me the bank’s executives would never be deposed, and that the case would go nowhere. I stupidly stuck to the notion that everyone is equal under the law etc. Boy was I wrong…My thanks go out to Larry Folks and Kathleen Weber [Ed. Note: opposing counsel] who both warned me that I would lose (I should have listened to them).
I apologize to all my clients. I know, I’m sorry does not repair the mess I made but, that’s all I’ve got.
To my family, words can’t express my apologies; please remember me kindly.
Finally, to Susan Bolton, we shall meet again you know where. :-)
Some readers of last week’s post worried that was a suicidal sign-off.
We got worried too when Taj failed to respond to our emails and phone calls of the past few days. Today, we sent him a Facebook message. When our phone rang with a strange number this afternoon, and the voice on the other end had a Nigerian accent, we were relieved.
Taj lives! He sent us a lengthy missive. Here’s an excerpt:
I hope my explanation will stop the jealous haters that sent me nasty comments from holding their breaths in anticipation of news that I’ve committed suicide. Sorry, no such plans. The Whistleblower Pleading is not about a suicidal lawyer, it is about how an out-of-state bank that made bad mortgage loans in Arizona was able to obtain a horribly biased ruling in its favor. An occurrence that I thought was impossible in the federal district court. .
Full statement, after the jump.
Here is his statement, which partially explains “the law of what goes around comes around.” It also directs you to his LinkedIn profile in several places and narrates his resume. We suspect he may be looking for a new job.
When he originally filed this motion [PDF], he was an of counsel at Aguilera International Counsel. Now he’s not.
His name and bio have been removed from the site, though his bio is still up there pdf style and cached.
And here, for your reading pleasure (or displeasure), is Taj’s statement.
TAJUDEEN OLADIRIN — STATEMENT
Most of you have read or heard about a pleading titled: “Plaintiffs’ Counsel’s Motion for a Honest and Honorable Court System,” that I filed in the Federal District Court, Arizona, on October 1, 2009 (Docket No. 48) (the “Whistleblower Pleading”). A copy of the Whistleblower Pleading is attached hereto. Apparently, in a cowardly attempt to discredit me in my ongoing lawsuit against Suntrust Bank, “someone” saw fit to publish the pleading to the entire Bar without an explanation. Funny thing, the wide spread review has resulted in many good things for me. I was contacted by: the press anxious to get the facts,[1] and several attorneys offering their help with the litigation in any way possible; many attorney friends[2] stating their concerns that the Whistleblower E-mail was a suicide note, and reminding me of my unique position as a one of the few minority attorneys trained by the big-firms. And, my obvious desire to serve the public by dedicating my practice to the advancement of the cause of the oppressed and down trodden, and to eradication of poverty.[3]
Of course, not all the comments were good. I received some calls and e-mails from foes, people who claim that I have risen too high too fast, informing me that I was finally going to taste some reality. To the unhappy people who try to make others unhappy, don’t bother trying to bring me down, it’s too late. Check out my page on LinkedIn. I graduated from ASU Law with honors and, after practicing for just over seven years, few resumes are as impressive as mine:
Currently, my practice is focused almost exclusively on Consumer Protection through commercial litigation. To me, consumer protection means fighting for the consumer in any arena, any area of law, at any stage of the dispute, and against any odds (including mega law firms).
For instance, I represent the plaintiff in an employee discrimination lawsuit in which the Defendant School District is represented by a law firm considered to be the best in the country in employment law. Similarly, I am currently representing my family against Suntrust Bank, which is represented by attorneys with all the right resume buzz words and total commercial litigation experience way past 50 years. The best legal talent money can buy.
My prior practice experience includes working as an attorney with Quarles & Brady Streich Lang, LLP (9/2001-3/2003), Office of the Arizona Attorney General (1/2006-10/2006), and Greenberg Traurig, LLP (5/2004-1/2006 & 10/2006-10/2007).
In addition to my law practice, I am a trailblazer in community service. In the over 76 year history of the Arizona Bar, in 2008 I became the second African-American attorney voted in to Membership on the Ruling Board of Governors of the Arizona State Bar (BOG), which represents all Arizona attorneys (in 2009, I voluntarily left the BOG position; too much politics).
I am also one of a select few attorneys appointed as a Judge Pro Tempore in the Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County, with the minimum 5 years practice experience at the time of the appointment.
I am a born-again Christian and my goal in life is to make life better for as many people as I can, using all my God given abilities. For more information, see my profile on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tajudeen-oladiran/15/309/429; or Face Book.
I hope this e-mail will clarify the misunderstanding caused by the Whistleblower Pleading, and put my friends’ minds at rest. In addition, I hope my explanation will stop the jealous haters that sent me nasty comments from holding their breaths in anticipation of news that I’ve committed suicide. Sorry, no such plans. The Whistleblower Pleading is not about a suicidal lawyer, it is about how an out-of-state bank that made bad mortgage loans in Arizona was able to obtain a horribly biased ruling in its favor. An occurrence that I thought was impossible in the federal district court.
EVENTS LEADING TO THE WHISTLEBLOWER PLEADING
Generally, borrowers who allow real estate professionals to convince them to borrow more than they can afford can be called irresponsible, weak, etc; however, their actions are not illegal, just irresponsible. Conversely, banks that knowingly or recklessly lend home buyers more money than they can afford are violating various state and federal lending standards and, in most cases, violating their own internal lending standards. Why do banks make loans that they know will default? To make more loans, gain more market share, artificially influence their stock price and, last but not least, improve the bank’s profits and the salaries and bonuses paid to the multi-millionaire bank’s executives. Such acts by a bank are illegal; collectively they are called PREDATORY LENDING.
My case is about a loan made by a Virginia Bank, Suntrust Bank, to me and my spouse (the “Oladirans” or “Borrowers”) to purchase a second home in Chandler, Arizona (the “Suntrust Loan”). At the time we met Suntrust Bank and its pimps, we had two prior mortgages on our then current residence in Mesa, Arizona, with mortgage loans totaling over $400,000. Despite the pending mortgages, Suntrust lent me and my spouse approximately $760,000, with no money down (except for a $75 administrative fee), to purchase a second house in Chandler.
After the Suntrust Loan, our monthly mortgage payment increased from just over $2K to over $9K/month. Consequently, the subsequent real estate crash and economic depression pushed my family’s finances into the ubiquitous credit card spiral to default. We ended up losing our Mesa house to foreclosure; our credit rating dropped from the mid 700s to just over 400; we borrowed from various credit cards for livings expenses; borrowed from Peter to pay Paul; and, to top it all off, when we thought we were at rock bottom, Suntrust moved to foreclose its Deed of Trust and kick us out of our Chandler house.
At first, I blamed myself for borrowing more money than we could afford. However, after the pity parties, I remembered lender liability cases I had worked on in the past. So, I began researching the law governing the facts of my case. Surprisingly, what I discovered is that while my actions were financially dumb, the Bank’s actions are illegal. Consequently, my spouse and I filed a lawsuit against Suntrust Bank to cancel the Deed of Trust on our house because it was obtained without anything close to full disclosure. A copy of the Complaint is attached hereto (the “Complaint”).
Initially, on July 10, 2009, the Oladirans filed their Complaint against Suntrust Bank and two of its main executives in the Maricopa County Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that the Suntrust Loan violates, among other things, A.R.S. § 13-2314.04 and other Arizona laws prohibiting racketeering activity, etc.[4] Further, the Complaint alleges that Plaintiffs incurred extensive damages as a direct result of Suntrust Bank’s predatory lending practices.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the Bank and its executives increased the Bank’s profits and its market share in Arizona by loaning money to borrowers, regardless of the borrowers’ ability to repay the loan funds. The Bank achieved its goal by spreading the word that it was willing and able to make risky loans that would normally have been denied. Because Suntrust Bank provided loan professionals (real estate agents, mortgage brokers, mortgage bankers, etc.) the ability to make more loans and more money, the loan professionals had a financial incentive to convince borrowers to buy additional homes or more expensive homes with money from Suntrust Bank. Consequently, as alleged in the Complaint, the Suntrust Bank system resulted in mortgage loan contracts that were destined to default.
The Oladirans’ mortgage loan story is not unique. As explained by Dr. Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States (1987 to 2006), in sworn testimony to Congress Committee of Government Oversight and Reform on October 23, 2008:
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:Thank you for this opportunity to testify before you this morning.
We are in the midst of a once-in-a century credit tsunami. Central banks and governments are being required to take unprecedented measures. You, importantly, represent those on whose behalf economic policy is made, those who are feeling the brunt of the crisis in their workplaces and homes. I hope to address their concerns today.This morning, I would like to provide my views on the sources of the crisis, what policies can best address the financial crisis going forward, and how I expect the economy to perform in the near and longer term. I also want discuss how my thinking has evolved and what I have learned in this past year.
In 2005, I raised concerns that the protracted period of under-pricing of risk, if history was any guide, would have dire consequences. This crisis, however, has turned out to be much broader than anything I could have imagined. It has morphed from one gripped by liquidity restraints to one in which fears of insolvency are now paramount. …
***
As I wrote last March: those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder’s equity (myself especially) are in a state of shocked disbelief. Such counterparty surveillance is a central pillar of our financial markets’ state of balance. If it fails, as occurred this year, market stability is undermined.
What went wrong with global economic policies that had worked so effectively for nearly four decades? The breakdown has been most apparent in the securitization of home mortgages. The evidence strongly suggests that without the excess demand from securitizers, subprime mortgage originations (undeniably the original source of crisis) would have been far smaller and defaults accordingly far fewer. But subprime mortgages pooled and sold as securities became subject to explosive demand from investors around the world.
These mortgage backed securities being “subprime” were originally offered at what appeared to be exceptionally high risk-adjusted market interest rates. But with U.S. home prices still rising, delinquency and foreclosure rates were deceptively modest. Losses were minimal. To the most sophisticated investors in the world, they were wrongly viewed as a “steal.” …
Testimony of Dr. Alan Greenspan before the Committee of Government Oversight and Reform, October 23, 2008, courtesy of C-SPAN (emphasis added). Plaintiffs filed the entire Greenspan testimony as an exhibit to one of the Plaintiffs’ pleadings in their lawsuit against Suntrust Bank.
Back to the Oladirans v. Suntrust Bank case, once Defendants removed the case to the federal court, Defendants immediately moved to foreclose the Deeds of Trust on the Oladirans’ Property. In response, the Oladirans filed a motion seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the sale. The Court held a hearing on the Oladirans’ motion for preliminary injunction. At the hearing, in open court, Judge Bolton set a preliminary injunction evidentiary hearing for November 2009. Further, Judge Bolton ordered the Oladirans to depose Defendants, James M. Wells III and Sterling Edmunds, Jr., and ordered Defendants to depose the Oladirans. See Transcript of Proceedings re: Scheduling Conference held on 08/31/09 before Judge Susan R. Bolton, Docket Nos. 44, 45.
Defendants ignored the Court’s orders and never attempted to depose the Oladirans; instead, Defendants cancelled their foreclosure plans for the Oladirans’ house and filed a non-emergency motion with the Court, seeking a protective order to stop Plaintiffs’ depositions of the two bank executives. As of the date of the first bank executive deposition, the Court had not ruled on the Defendants’ motion for a protective order; consequently, I purchase expensive last minute airline tickets and travelled to Atlanta for the properly noticed deposition of Defendant Wells III. Defendant Wells did not appear for his deposition. See Deposition no-show certificate.
After the court reporter and the videographer set up for the deposition, I called the Court from the transcriptionist’s office regarding Defendant Wells III’s failure to show up for his deposition. Judge Bolton’s JA spoke with the judge and returned with the following response, [I paraphrase]: “the judge said there is nothing she can do if they don’t show up, but you’ll know what to do.” I took this to mean that when I returned to Phoenix, I should file a motion to compel Mr. Wells’ deposition
However, upon my return to Phoenix, very weary and sleep deprived (I missed my flights twice) from the wasted trip to Atlanta, I was SHOCKED to find an e-mail waiting for me from Defendants’ counsel. Apparently, inexplicably, judge Bolton had granted the Defendants’ motion for protective order, after Defendant Wells III’s failed to show up at his deposition!!! Further, the judge cancelled the preliminary injunction evidentiary hearing and, suddenly, Suntrust was no longer interested in clearing the names of its executives from so called unfounded claims. I lost it.
In anger, I wrote the Whistleblower Pleading, calling for judge Bolton to return to her earlier neutral and honorable position. When my anger passed, I wished I had expressed my views in a less insulting manner. Consequently, I apologize from the bottom of my heart to judge Bolton, the Bar and the Bench, for my foul language. My language was caused by lack of sleep, extreme fatigue, and the utter injustice of the Bolton ruling.
However, if you read the Whistleblower Pleading and mistook it for a suicide note, you missed the train. In the Complaint and the Whistleblower Pleading:
I accused Suntrust Bank of racketeering, etc., and many good lawyers in town told me the bank’s executives would never be deposed, and that the case would go nowhere. I stupidly stuck to the notion that everyone is equal under the law, etc. Boy was I wrong. The bank cancelled depositions set by the court, cancelled a hearing set by the court, and walked away without as much as a scratch.
“Plaintiffs’ Counsel’s Motion for a Honest and Honorable Court System,” at p. 2 (Docket No. 48). No suicide letter, just a motion reminding the judge that it is within her power to be honest and honorable, which she was, just a few weeks earlier when she set the preliminary injunction hearing and ordered the parties to conduct two depositions per side. Back then, I still called the federal judiciary the Untouchables. Not anymore.
After I filed the Whistleblower Pleading to express my frustration, Judge Bolton voluntarily recused herself from the case, making it impossible for Plaintiffs to ask her why she ruled in favor of a bank that could have been exposed by the cancelled depositions and evidentiary hearing.
Currently, the Bank is trying to turn the case into a case of financial attrition. If the Bank is not stopped, and this action takes years to complete, justice is the victim because all the people that would have been helped by Plaintiffs’ counsel will most probably lose their homes without any recourse.
I’m thankful to everyone for giving me the opportunity to have my say, especially, the opportunity to explain the feelings that led to the Whistleblower Pleading. Again, I apologize to Judge Bolton, and and I look forward to moving forward with this case in front of Judge Snow.
[1] So far, I have not given an interview to reputable legal journals calling daily. However, although I offered the Arizona Attorney (through Tim Eigo) an exclusive interview, the State Bar magazine shows very little interest. ???
[2] Just a year ago, I received almost 4,000 votes from the Bar when I ran for a seat on the State Bar Board of Governors.
[3] I now represent people that, before I saw the light, I used the law to grind into dust, without remorse, at the behest of my former employers and their Fortune 500 clients.
[4] Defendants later removed the lawsuit to the Arizona District Court.
Finally. To ATL readers, we shall meet again you know where.
Earlier: Motion of the Day: “We shall meet again you know where.”
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Comments
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Is anyone really going to read all of that? Seriously.
Too long; didn't read.
i need to read this like i need a hole in the head
Agree with above comments. TOO LONG!!!!!!!!
This guy is definitely not into the whole brevity thing. The dude abides.
Is this the guy that sends me emails from Nigeria?
WAAAAAY too long .. but I did read where he at least admits that his "actions were financially dumb" when he presumably got himself into a ARM that caused his monthly payments to balloon from about $2k per month up to $9k per month.
He's a lawyer who, by his own admission, "graduated from ASU Law with honors and, after practicing for just over seven years, few resumes are as impressive as [his.]"
I guess he never took any math courses growing up.
Glad he is well. But too long will never, ever read.
1-8 = Roxanna
Look, all these adjustable-rate mortgages pushed upon unsuspecting poor non-whites/non-males by big, bad, greedy banks are clearly racist.
I mean, even highly educated attorneys with prestigious resumes like Taj didn't know that his adjustable-rate mortgage would eventually have its rates adjusted.
From one Black Man to another:
Brother, you got some serious issues. Get yourself some help, and a white woman, move to Texas to get 3500 Sq ft and a Lexis [sic], and prepare for the onslaught from Deviant Partner Emeritus.
Seriously Brother Man - Get help.
This guy is a moron. In his lawsuit he claims predatory lenders forced him to take out a massive mortgage he couldn't afford for a 2nd home-- does he believe his own bullshit? Of course that case got thrown out. What a fool.
Headline: Smartest and most amazing lawyer in Arizona duped into buying $760k vacation home.
Oh, and one more thing: this would never happen in Nigeria.
The whistleblower "pleading" is not a pleading. It's a motion. Fail.
Umm...is it just me or is this fool not concerned about getting his license suspended so he can't practice law, suffering sanctions, reprimands, contempt of the court, discipline from the Board, loss of professional reputation, losing clients, and most of all, becoming disbarred?
If this guy is going to exercise this poor kind of judgment and screw himself up the butt representing himself pro-se, what poor soul would hire him for representation?
The guy needs to check into a mental facility. He is way too full of himself. Big f**n deal you are a black lawyer who graduated honors from ASU. LMAO b/c he thinks he's so special. He needs to come to some ivys on the east coast or come down to Atlanta. He'll see he is not so special.
The world is full of smart, successful black lawyers buddy, just like the 2 in the white house. No one needs to put up with a crazy one like you.
Good luck trying to reedeem your reputation.
ASU has a law school? Learn something new every day.
This would never happen (if he'd worked) at WILDMAN HARROLD!
And to you, ATL Readers, I will meet you again at the end of this unbelievably long and boring pontificatory statement that no one will actually read.
Also, KashLobster, don't think that I didn't notice that you stole my schtick all up in the text of this here blog post.
@15, A motion is a type of pleading.
Taj, what you've just written is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in your rambling, incoherent rant were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
It's not predatory if the borrower has a graduate degree -- the bank has a right to assume you're not totally retarded.
It is clear that this guy received his training from Greenberg. Who'd have guessed otherwise.
On the other hand, it is rather depressing that you law students cannot manage to read a letter a couple of pages long.
I didn't read the whole thing, but I for one claim that he has risen too high too fast, and I wish to inform him that he is finally going to taste some reality.
According to his touted LinkedIn profile, he is experienced in "cliend development."
Proof your shitty profile before advertising it to the world.
hey, Taj, we will meet again. You know where....
This guy could still get a job at Katten corporate in NYC...they take anyone with a pulse.....
signed Katten Corporate Pussy Pass associate
Kash can recognize Nigerian accents over the phone? I call BS.
Why do I have to do the google search that finds a pic of him with his smoking hot and WHITE wife?!
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/400/45137997.jpg
Do some actual investigation ATL.
ABA
Do you expect better from outsourced legal work?
"At first, I blamed myself for borrowing more money than we could afford. " BINGO.
Also, who buys a second home in Chandler when you already live in the Phoenix-metro area? Who chooses to live in Mesa (besides Mormons)? This guy is full of bad decisions.
13 - Nobody who lives in Mesa would buy a vacation home in Chandler. They are both suburbs of Phoenix, and there is nothing vacation-like about Chandler.
My guess is that this guy decided to get into the flipping game but he was too dumb to get the timing right and he got stuck with a worthless McMansion.
7 & 16 hit the nail on the head. 15 is an idiot, and 30 isn't nearly as clever as he thinks.
Hey, Sara Smile, get your own schtick.
30/34 - Well his wife *IS* white, but is not hot:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/coladiran1 (you have to click through to her full profile)
Test
Wow, not a single funny avatar on here. Pity.
This guy has demonstrated such appalling judgment that I find it hard to believe anyone would vote for him to be dog catcher, never mind hire him to represent them in litigation.
The fact that this man "Taj" took the time of day to write that diffuse and tedious post is evidence enough that he is an abominable lawyer in need of something to do (i.e., work).
"Taj": get to work.
Kash, I would meet you anywhere you want!
"[D]on’t bother trying to bring me down, it’s too late.... I graduated from ASU Law."
That's the one thing he wrote that made sense.
16 - you're overestimating the Arizona bar and the quality of the people who hire lawyers in that state. Anybody with a diploma and most of their teeth can pretend to be a lawyer. Arizona allows JUDGES who aren't even law school grads, let alone attorneys. This guy is way ahead of the curve. It's the armpit of the country for a reason dude.
Shout out to counselor TAJ:
I unfortunately read your entire missive and complaints. Clearly the worthless Nigerian education you tout is serving you well and demonstrating its non-existent value. YOU are talking about mortgage contracts, whilst GREENSPAN is talking about the securitization of them to the investing public. HIS comments on risk analysis, pricing, rating agencies, pooling/servicing agreements, and credit default swaps as the cause of global economic calamity has essentially ZERO to do with or otherwise support your brainless case trying to justify and now weasel out of your own foul judgment when it comes to realty investing and personal financing. In fact, his comments actually seem to support a case for the banks themselves who may claim to have been duped as issuers of and investors in such securities! Your moronic self-serving lawsuit is a waste of valuable court time and resource, and as a member of the bar of another state I can only hope your own state will move to disbar your arse as expeditiously as possible lest you taint the rest of us nationwide with your stench. You're "for the people" on all this, yet you and your wife are the only plaintiffs in your suit. Lastly - anyone who unnecessarily refers to themself in the 3rd person as you do simply deserves to get shafted for being a jerkoff. You and your steaming pile of a suit reminds me of two fave quotes:
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity...and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
"Think about how dumb the average American is, and then just think...half of us are dumber than that." - George Carlin
Class dismissed. Now you, your wife, and your suit, all go EFF-off. Do what every other respectable law-abiding American does. File BANKRUPCTY and get on with it.
TL;DR
I didn't read Taj's incoherent ramblings completely. To me, it is apparent that the bar in Arizona is weak and the courts there are akin to kangaroo tribunals. Taj cites his graduation from the festering ASU College of Law and his brief tenure at the non-peer firm of GT as great achievements. Taj, I am not impressed. You claim to be a clever scoundrel yet by your own admission you were taken advantage of by a bank. Did they teach you what "adjustable rate mortgage" was at ASU or at the 419 college that you attended in Lagos? Perhaps you were counting on a million dollar deposit from a lottery win from the Odua Millionaire Sweepstakes to payoff the mortgage that you clearly could not afford in the first place. In recent months I have read journals and foreclosure defense treatises written by April Charney and Professor Katherine Porter. I am sure you have read the works of these folks and you feel you can defeat the banks. I will offer the following predictions: a) you will lose; b) if your local bar has any professional rules, you will be disciplined; c) your home will be foreclosed; d) your wife will get a TRO against you as a result of your animalistic and out of control temper; and, e) you will serve as a cautionary tale for nigerian lawyers. Before you lodge your veiled threat of "we shall meet again, you know where," I should warn you that I will not be joining you in hell and while I am alive, I doubt you will be allowed admission into the establishments I frequent. Good day to you.
PS Please tell your family to stop spamming my email with your 419 scams. Unlike you, I am too sophisticated to be taken by a conman or in your case, SunTrust.
"And, my obvious desire to serve the public by dedicating my practice to the advancement of the cause of the oppressed and down trodden, and to eradication of poverty."
I'm sorry. Is that a sentence?
"I am stupid, and it is all your fault."
"The best legal talent money can buy."
this is the most ironic sentence fragment I have ever read.
btw, 22 and 27 FTW
We need a psychiatrist to give an opinion here. Personally, I think Taj's incoherent ramblings and general cluelessness points to some sort of functional schizophrenia. Bottom line: this Taj kid is clearly on the fast lane to bonkersville.
What mentally healthy person writes stuff like that?
Reprinted with permission:
Could someone PLEASE use his picture and open up an account under his name and invent a new schtick that's as unfunny as the rest of them here and post comments under every story saying something like "And to, [insert name in relevant story], we'll meet again you know where... like, for example, if the story was about Eric Holder the person with this new schtick could write "And to you, Eric Holder, we'll meet again you know where" or if the story were about Paris Hilton he could write "And to you, Paris Hilton, we'll meet again you know where" and then after a few weeks a buch of people could argue about whether this new Taj guy was a law school student or not and then Partner Emeritus could write something like "blah, blah, blah, I'm a fucking douchebag" and then the new Taj character could write "And to you, Partner Emeritus, we'll meet again you know where" and the someone could write "Yeah, guys in my high school used to make fun of mentally unstable guys named Taj all the time and it was no big deal" and then people could start to speculate whether Taj was actually Loyala2L and the real L2L could come out of retirement and announce that he, after all, really IS the guy who posts "The ship be sinking..." and then G. W. Bush would be all, like, "Mission Accomplished" or, no, no, no, he'd be all "How you like me now" and future Elie would be like "Blah, blah, Elie's fat and has poor grammar" and then man that would be off the hook awesome! Ass lobster.
"However, upon my return to Phoenix, very weary and sleep deprived (I missed my flights twice) from the wasted trip to Atlanta, I was SHOCKED to find an e-mail waiting for me from Defendants’ counsel. "
1) You were so cracked out in the airport bathroom that you actually missed TWO flights? Dude, I think you might have a problem.
2) I do not understand the concept of "an email waiting for me." Where the fuck is your BlackBerry? It vibrates when you get an email, and then you read the email. What is this bullshit? Check your fucking BlackBerry. This behavior would never be tolerated at a peer firm.
21 - A motion is not a pleading; it is a "paper." Go re-read your FRCP. FRCP 7(a), to be specific.
And if anyone's interested, a pdf of this guy's motion is here: http://www.floridalegalblog.org/2009/10/motion-for-honest-and-honorable-court.html
Looks like in addition to losing his houses, he's also aiming to lose his bar license. Am I the only one who interpreted "Finally, to Susan Bolton, we shall meet again you know where. :-)" to be a thinly veiled threat to a federal judge?
nothing worse than being married to an ugly fat chick who gives you hell night and day for losing your savings on a hair brained scheme to get rich by flipping a house with a no money down interest only loan:
http://www.facebook.com/charlotte.oladiran
51 you forgot to add "whether Loyola is accredited .. . and the baby bar.." piece
please revise a repost
The racist commentary I see in the comments is disgusting. I am appalled that these are apparently people with advanced degrees who are or soon will be my fellow members of the bar. This attorney's Nigerian background has nothing whatsoever to do with the lunacy of his behavior. Are you people too thick-skulled to distinguish between his national origins and his actions as an attorney?
This man may not be the best and brightest in the entire country, but he is trying to help out those who were duped by more sophisticated and powerful forces in the US economy.
This is a laudable goal. If more talented people would have the guts to get into plaintiff work, the world might be a better place.
57- Perhaps. Or maybe it'd just be harder for me to get a home loan. Why do people think it's okay to mess in other people's business? I'd really like to get a home loan at a reasonable rate, and you're not helping.
56- you are totally wrong. His Nigerian background has everything to do with his schizophreniform narcissistic behavior. It is common knowledge that Nigerians are all scheming scammers with simian- like intellectual abilities at best. Hence, Taj needs to accept his lot in life, return to Africa, and be the best and brightest at
getting people to part with money in a Nigerian bank scheme.
Quck question- if someone Nigeria is a "Nigerian", what does that make someone from the country
of "Niger"?
Oh, and Elie's a walrus, I want to play the role of Shafeef and give Kash a Dirty Sanchez, the ship be
sinking, I'm Jake/Partner douche 2lL at Cardozo, and I'll see you in you know where. Mission Accomplished.
P.S. First one to define "blumpkin" gets a gold star.
JesuscatfuckingCHRIST, 54! I'm gonna have fucking goddamn nightmares for weeks after looking at that fugly bitch.
blumpkin = bj while taking a dump
She's the Notorious C.H.O.!
Cry me a river, Taj!
I am a law student with a mortgage, and I actually pay mine. Although your credentials seem to impress yourself, you failed to excel in the basis fundamentals of life. Your poor investment sense and irrational, frivolous, and over inflated sense of self worth is deplorable to hard working attorneys and home owners alike. Stop clogging the system with your b.s. case and let it serve justice to those who were actually hurt by naiveté not just a stubborn refusal to live within ones means.
you americans are crazy, especially the black ones
Let me get this straight - Taj borrowed $750,000 with no money down to buy a second home and then defaulted on the mortgage. Now Taj is suing the bank because it wants to foreclose on the collateral.
Does this seem totally backwards to anyone else?
how does this moron get to put greenberg traurig on his resume and law students now can't even find f*ing jobs at shiTTTy ambulance chasing firms?
59:
Not funny. Go read comment 102 from a couple threads ago... that was funny.
Two word review of Taj's ramblings - Shit Sandwich.
And while I may not have been university material, even I had to laugh at his claim: "I graduated from ASU Law with honors and, after practicing for just over seven years, few resumes are as impressive as mine." Taj is even more confused than I am.
@21
a motion is not a pleading. i'm a 2L sitting in my civil lawsuits class, and we learned that like the first day of class.
You can't fix stupid.
-- Ron White
66, while having a job is good, I don't think putting GT on your resume earns you any points anywhere.
Hey guys -- Be cool on this.
-JEE, Jr.
Wow! I just read that motion. I don't see how anybody could view it as anything but a suicide note.
Kash- how do you rule on my Motion to Receive a Blumpkin from Kashmir Hill?
"...reminding me of my unique position as a one of the few minority attorneys trained by the big-firms"
HA! What an ego.
Coming this winter: Van Wilder 3: The batsh*t crazy professional self-immolation of Taj.
If he thinks few resumes are as impressive as his, he has a lot more to learn about than respect for the courts.
further proof that high school, undergrad, law school and a few years of practice are an insufficient weeding out process for the stupid and crazy.
Let me get this straight, "Taj". You asked them for a mortgage, and they gave it to you. And because you can't hold a job, [1] you could not meet your contractual obligation to them. If they denied your request, would that have been discriminatory lending?
[1] Quarles & Brady Streich Lang, LLP (9/2001-3/2003), Office of the Arizona Attorney General (1/2006-10/2006), and Greenberg Traurig, LLP (5/2004-1/2006 & 10/2006-10/2007).
I probably should know the answer to this question, but is ASU accredited by the American Bar Association?
I'm embarrassed this guy passed the Character and Fitness portion of the Arizona Bar. Anyone who believes in an all powerful invisible Supreme Being who has forgiven their sins on earth (so they can sin at their pleasure) is officially insane.
Arizona Supreme Court, I'm looking at you to do something about it.
@53 and 69 - Thanks.
@21 - suck it.
Love, 15.
I just don't understand what he was supposed to gain by showing such hideous disrespect for the court. Was the judge supposed to read that and change her mind?
Does Kash eat Kashi bars?
Longest statement ever.
- first, this guy is an idiot.
- second, mcdermott will & emery sucks.
- third, what's up with all the "walrus" comments?
thanks.
Seriously, this guy obviously took a page from Roxanna. either that or Taj = Roxanna.
Too wordy, verbose, dramatic. I got through 3 paragraphs before I realized how long it was and gave up.
dumb,
Jesus Christ,
some people are so dumb
you can hear them
splashing around
in their dumbness. . . .
I want to
run and hide
I want to
escape their engulfing
nullity.
- Charles Bukowski
"It's not predatory if the borrower has a graduate degree -- the bank has a right to assume you're not totally retarded. "
HILARIOUS!
HE THREATENED A JUDGE, A JUDGE! I don't know about AZ but where I live you get the FBI kicking down your door for that.
I don't give a rat's ass about what he wrote before or after that. HE THREATENED A JUDGE!
How is he not wearing government issue clothing while wearing leg irons?
it was definitely a career suicide note.
I am having a hard time explaining how Taj graduated Cum Laude from ASU College of Law. I think that either
a) Taj is lying.
b) ASU is a toilet.
ASU College of Law just isn't the same school it was back in the early 1980s (When it was Tier 1). After it lost accreditation in 1991, there are a lot of people like Taj coming out of Tempe with a JD, even cum laude.
Thankfully, ASU shelled out to steal Dean Berman from UConn with hopes that he can regain accreditation by 2012, but bad PR from this Taj fiasco sure isn't going to help...
read the complaint. the gist of it is that he and his wife were not smart enough to figure out that they couldn't afford the house they chose to buy. not exactly what congress had in mind when it passed the rico statutes.
his famous motion, his complaint, and now his attempted rejoinder are full of errors, both of logic and of grammar. in order to write well, one needs to think well . . . .
it will be interesting to see what sort of discipline the federal court and the state bar choose to impose.
Nice post. Very succinct. But what happened?
this guy really injures the credibility of those who claim that AA hires are as good as their white couterparts. A white person with Taj's ability or facility with language would have been laughed out of even the rankest no-fault toilet firm in Lawn Guyland.
Is Suntrust represented by Partner Emeritus? He's the only person I can think of who has "all the right resume buzz words and total commercial litigation experience way past 50 years."
Sometimes decent people "trip." Like all of us, this guy has an ego problem. He clearly needs a vacation from life.
Suggestions: (1) try to be MODEST and live within your means--as a born again Christian you should know better; (2) it's never a good idea to represent yourself pro se even if you're the smartest person; (3) take a break from life (maybe visit somewhere far); (4) go to Church not to network but to find peace of mind and spirituality; and (5) people like you usually have a long term sleep deficit--try doing some catching up.
Good luck.
- Go Bucks
@59: Someone from Niger is a "Nigerien", you illiterate halfwit.
Sadly, the idiot harrassers rarely off THEMSELVES.
@59 -
Don't be so quick to display your ignorance. Read up on the most educated immigrant groups in America and see what you come up with.
By the way, smartguy, Niger = Nigerien. Nigeria = Nigerian.
This responds to #'s 40 and 46.
Wilfred and Jacob, I am ashamed of you both. Spending your idle time deriding this poor backwards African gent regarding his misfortune. It is the duty of those of us that are born to wealth (and those that marry into wealth Wilfred) to gently instruct those less educated and less fortunate, not to shame them.
Wilfred, had you not been taken on by my father's firm after graduating at the bottom of your class at Harvard you might also have ended up like this poor unfortunate fellow -- desparate enough to be taken in by unscrupulous bankers. Just because you live a life of idle luxury and enjoy a substantial allowance which you squander on strumpets and trollops of all genders and races does not give you the right to denigrate this noble savage.
Jacob, your father and I have let you down. By fulfilling each of your progressively more deviant desires we have spoiled you and weakened you as a man. I had hoped you would take after my father (after who you were named) who built our family fortune -- he was a strong proud man. Instead you have inherited your father's degenerate hedonism and weakness for loose women. It would do you good to spend some time in the African savannah with Mr. Olidiran so you could learn the hard realities of life outside the posh confines of our family compound.
I strongly recommend you both reconsider the way you spend your considerable free time. I suggest some philanthropic endeavor. Otherwise you will find both your allowances severely curtailed.
Not sure how getting a JD from a non-accredited law school gives you "one of the best resumes" anywhere. Also belied by the fact that he thought he could afford $9000 in mortgage payments working with his wife in a 2-person law firm. In Arizona. No sympathy for Taj.
He has a rosy future at Pillsbury
96,
The quality of such a hire is irrelevant.
We just want the percentages.
EQUALITY SECURE
Has anyone noticed that PE (the sometimes-used abbreviation for Partner Emeritus) is also used as an abbreviation for premature ejaculation? Coincidence?
Please disbar this moron immediately. Many litigation attorneys have grown frusturated with certain judges, but only a real scumbag woul file something like this. I can't wait for this pathetic low-life to lose his license.
Too long, didn't read, but no explanation can justify that motion - Taj is just one of many morons bringing down my upstanding profession.
upstanding profession?
upstanding profession?
84 - she let me eat her Kashi bar...
103 - 93 is just fuckin' around. ASU is accredited by the ABA and a member of AALS. Not only that, it is the second best accredited law school in Arizona--out of two.
@ 30
Since kimchi is korean, that picture would only work, if she were korean.
i'm an idiot because i still can't figure out where we'll meet again.