Shalant

ROTHSCHILD, Acting P. J.—

In the first of these consolidated appeals, Joseph L. Shalant challenges the dismissal of his complaint against Thomas V. Girardi and National Union Fire Insurance Company. The superior court dismissed the complaint on the ground that Shalant, a vexatious litigant, was in violation of the prefiling order that had been entered against him pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 391.7. [1] In the published portion of our opinion, we conclude that because Shalant was initially represented by counsel, who filed the complaint on Shalant's behalf, Shalant did not violate the prefiling order by later appearing in the case in propria persona. Accordingly, we reverse the dismissal.

In the second appeal, Shalant challenges the judgment entered against him on Jose Castro's complaint in a related action. In the unpublished portion of our opinion, we conclude that the judgment against Shalant is not supported by substantial evidence and must be reversed as well.

In a prior action in 2002, the superior court entered an order declaring Shalant to be a vexatious litigant within the meaning of section 391. On that basis the court entered a "prefiling order"…