Clerk Brown Files Attorney Disciplinary Action against David Novoselsky for alleged Attorney Misconduct and Taxpayer Waste

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Clerk Brown Files Attorney Disciplinary Action against David Novoselsky for alleged Attorney Misconduct and Taxpayer Waste

Estimated over $1 million spent defending what the Clerk’s Office considers to be Novoselsky’s frivolous legal actions

(Chicago, IL)       June 14, 2010, Today, Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown filed a lengthy complaint stacked with exhibits against Chicago attorney David Novoselsky with the Attorney Registration Disciplinary Commission, allegedly for attorney misconduct and wasting taxpayer money by repeatedly filing what the Clerk's Office considers frivolous legal actions against her, a total of 19, over a six-year period.

“In my opinion, David Novoselsky wasted taxpayer money by filing what we consider to be frivolous legal actions,” said Dorothy Brown. “We believe the evidence in our filing shows Novoselsky developed a pattern of wasting taxpayer money by repeatedly filing what we consider to be frivolous legal actions that were either voluntarily withdrawn by him, or were thrown out of court. It’s my job as Clerk of the Court to protect taxpayer money, and to ensure my staff works on the important issues that are affecting the lives of the people of Cook County every day.  We should not have to repeatedly respond to questionable attacks that have already been dismissed by the court as baseless.”  

It is the responsibility of the ARDC to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawyers, and to prosecute the cases where a lawyer's misconduct suggests a threat to the public or to the integrity of the legal profession.  Clerk Brown believes the ARDC will find Novoselsky guilty of misconduct. “Not only do we believe he has engaged in ‘baseless’ legal actions, but we believe he has wasted taxpayer money by forcing the offices of the clerk and states attorney to defend his allegations,” said Dorothy Brown.

Numerous court opinions have weighed in on Novoselsky’s waste of taxpayer dollars and court time by saying, “Novoselsky could have, through reasonable inquiry in the official court record discovered that there is no factual basis for the present lawsuit,” and “The court finds that the claims in the present action do not have and never had any basis in the facts of this case or law.”

As a lawyer, Mr. Novoselsky should know that his incessant lawsuits are nothing more than a nuisance, which apparently serve no purpose other than to be a distraction.  In retrospect, there appears to be a pattern of his filing legal actions for the purpose of garnering media attention around election time, then subsequently losing or withdrawing them.  In one case he went to the news media claiming he had filed a new case, garnered the media’s attention, and then never filed the case.

The complaint filed with the ARDC details his repeated legal actions, which appear to be based on a personal contempt for the clerk rather than the public good.  “We are not sure of his motivation, but his conduct is clearly not professional,” said Brown.

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