Has Joseph Rakofsky Become a Self-Parody?
June 22, 2011
Josephy Rakofsky has sued a bunch of people (including me) for, among other things, calling him unethical and incompetent. How does a person defending himself from a defamation claim prove that a lawyer is incompetent? Perhaps the best way is to have that lawyer submit a moving paper and res ipsa loquitur.
Rakofsky has thus given the defendants a great gift with his motion. In his motion, Rakofsky accuses a lawyer of unethical conduct for telling him to, "Shut the fuck up." His support? The Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which are not binding in New York. While accusing other lawyers of incompetence for violating New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), Rakofsky's motion cites not a single New York case or statute. How can you support your claim that a lawyer violated the CPLR without actually citing the CPLR?
Rakofsky's motion is also full of words that are sure to not impress a court, including, "odious and egregious," "false, scandalous and defamatory," "vile and scandalous," "egregious," "extremely vile, inflammatory and insulting," "vile and offensive," "egregious and offensive," etc.
This is an amazing piece of work, and a lot of people are starting to eye Rakofsky's trust funds and real property.
According to his motion, Rakofsky made a settlement offer. He demanded that everyone erase any negative reference to him, and pay him cash. There will be no settlement.