Man who called court ‘brothel’ will avoid jail time, penalties
Curtis Clark, the 70-year-old Boulder City retiree who thought the First Amendment allowed him to compare bankruptcy court to a brothel in court papers, on Friday avoided potential jail time and fines.
Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Markell said he decided not to refer the matter to federal District Court for possible criminal contempt proceedings. A federal judge could have imposed unlimited penalties if Clark was found in criminal contempt for the written comments in bankruptcy case papers.
Markell ordered Clark to send future filings in the bankruptcy case first to Markell's office for review. The bankruptcy judge said he did not intend to censor Clark but only to make sure the language was appropriate.
"The bankruptcy court will listen to all complaints, but the complaints have to be formed in a way that is within the reasonable bounds of advocacy," Markell said.
If Clark makes similar crude remarks in a court proceeding in the future, Markell said he will immediately refer Clark to federal court for a hearing on criminal contempt.
The incident stems from the 2006 bankruptcy of USA Capital. The hard-money lender had been entrusted with $962 million in assets from 6,000 investors, who brought fractional interests in short-term loans secured by real estate. Clark is among many investors who are furious that they have recovered little or none of the money they entrusted to USA Capital.
Clark, who lost $200,000 at USA Capital, was called before Markell because of the way he responded to a routine bankruptcy court letter.
"The Bankruptcy Court is a brothel," Clark wrote in the response. He belittled Compass Partners, the New York firm that bought rights to service USA Capital loans, as "the john" which paid $63 million "up front; to join the working girls."
Clark continued: "The madam, Judge Linda, pays the working girls and provides the condoms. This orgy is an all-nighter."
Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.
