Misconduct of Stephen I Goorvitch - the Judge of Los Angeles County Superior Court

Judge Stephen I. Goorvitch, sitting in the Writs and Receivers Department of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, played a pivotal role in what appears to be a deliberate and coordinated effort to deny me emergency relief and obstruct access to justice. On April 29, 2025, Judge Goorvitch denied my ex parte application for a temporary restraining order (TRO), doing so on fabricated and procedurally unfounded grounds—claiming the matter belonged in a different department, despite his own jurisdiction over writ-related relief.

This denial cannot be viewed in isolation. It followed a clear pattern of judicial behavior designed to frustrate my ability to seek equitable protection in a case involving retaliation, fraudulent domain takedowns, and coordinated legal suppression by powerful corporate defendants. Judge Goorvitch’s ruling directly contradicted the later position of Judge Small, who claimed the same matter did in fact belong in Goorvitch’s department—exposing a procedural game of “departmental ping-pong” that left my rights unprotected while the defendants advanced their agenda.

What makes Judge Goorvitch’s conduct especially concerning is not just the legal error, but the appearance of collusion: denying relief on the front end while facilitating a pathway for opposing parties to later claim procedural irregularity—thus prejudicing my standing before another judge. His decision effectively delayed critical injunctive relief and contributed to the broader enterprise of suppression aimed at undermining my litigation, silencing my protest, and protecting the interests of Shein and its attorneys.

By choosing to sidestep his judicial responsibility at a critical juncture, Judge Goorvitch failed to act impartially and independently, enabling what has now become a cascading series of procedural blockades and judicial misconduct. His role in this case reflects not merely misjudgment, but active participation in a broader structure of obstruction and denial of due process.

On April 9, 2025, I appeared before Judge Michael Small in Department 57 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking emergency relief regarding the abrupt takedown of my business website.

During the hearing, Judge Small advised that because no case management conference had yet taken place, and in accordance with Los Angeles Superior Court Local Rules 2.8 and 2.9, my request for a temporary restraining order needed to be submitted to the Writs and Receivers department.

Relying on this directive, I efiled an ex parte application for a temporary restraining order in Department 82 (Writs and Receivers) on April 29, 2025, for a hearing to be held the following day. Shein was notified of the ex parte filing and a copy of the application was provided to its attorneys.

However, the application was denied within the hour it was submitted.

According to my email tracking service, my ex parte notification email was viewed by Shein’s legal department at approximately 8:57 a.m. However, shortly thereafter—by approximately 10:05 a.m.—I received email notice that Judge Goorvitch had denied the application. The minute order is timestamped at 9:57 a.m.

I raise concerns regarding several factual inconsistencies and omissions contained in the court’s minute order:

• The order appears to treat the filing as if it were set for hearing on April 29, the date of filing, when in fact, my ex parte application clearly requested a hearing on April 30. I was not even in Los Angeles on April 29 and could not have appeared in court that day.

• The order notes that the ruling was made in chambers. However, Department 82 operates with proceedings in open court beginning at 8:30 a.m., making it unclear how the ruling was made without a hearing in chambers, especially when the application was filed for the following day.

A Google search of department 82 provides:"Los Angeles Superior Court's Writs and Receivers Department 82 isgenerally considered a very busy department, according to CaliforniaReceivers Forum. This is due to the large volume of cases handled and thesheer size of the Los Angeles Superior Court system, which is the largest in the nation."

• The order states that I failed to notify the opposing party of the hearing. This is contradicted by the statement made by me in the application: “Pursuant to Rule 3.1203, Plaintiff has given notice of this application to Defendants” and a declaration attached to my application submitted under penalty of perjury. Additionally, I possess independent evidence that opposing counsel received and opened my notification email at 8:57 a.m., before the ruling was issued.

• The court noted that I included defendants not named in the complaint. However, I had recently amended my complaint to add those parties, and the revised pleading was on file at the time of the ex parte application.

• The order also states that I failed to provide sufficient justification for the requested relief. However, my application included fifteen paragraphs detailing the basis for the temporary restraining order. The ruling appears to consider only the final paragraph while disregarding the preceding context and facts I presented, including that Defendants’ conduct had resulted in the takedown of my business websites, significantly impacting my ability to earn income.

• Lastly, the order concludes that no urgency existed because a noticed hearing on my motion for a preliminary injunction was set for May 22, 2025. This analysis does not fully consider the time-sensitive nature of my request or the ongoing harm resulting from the unavailability of my websites and business resources in the interim.

Subsequent events and rulings in the case appear to raise additional procedural and interpretive questions that I believe merit further review. I respectfully submit that the concerns outlined above were raised in good faith and in pursuit of a fair and transparent resolution of my application.

On May 22, his comments are contradicted by Judge Michael Small's ruling on May 22, 2025.