SAN DIEGO -- A fax machine, pager and a telephone are what brought 24 lawyers to a local courtroom.

It's not one case; it's 165 and counting.

But there is just one plaintiff -- James Kinder, owner of Rainbow Rent-A-Car on India Street.

Kinder is a former lawyer once convicted of fraud. He is in a legal battle now on another matter.

Including one with Jack DeAngelis.

"They're asking for money, asking for money and kind of shaking me down," said De Angelis.

It all happened after De Angelis sent Kinder a fax soliciting guests for a radio show. Kinder called him.

"He said, 'Today is the worst day of your life. I'm in the fax mafia and I'm in the fax suing business,'" said De Angelis.

Kinder sent De Angelis a demand for $10,000 for the one fax, claiming it violated several federal and state business and telemarketing laws.

"I said, 'Go wherever you need to go, my friend. You're not getting a dime out of me,'" said De Angelis.

Kinder went to court and sued De Angelis for $25,000, plus penalties and fees, adding to the pile of Kinder cases.

"Keep in mind, this is not my only 165 cases, I have lots and lots of other cases," said Judge Ronald Styn.

So, has Kinder over the years. He has been involved in more than 600 cases.

The Superior Court lists him as a vexatious litigant, someone who abuses the court system with frivolous claims.

Kinder was a personal injury attorney until 1989. He gave up his license right before the State Bar Court was set to disbar him from crimes involving moral turpitude.

A State Bar document obtained by 10News explained that Kinder forged a marriage license so a woman could marry her dead boyfriend, collect the life insurance money and split it with Kinder.

Kinder's take for forging the license was $3,300.

In a phone call with 10News' Lauren Reynolds, Kinder described the episode as a mistake. He said it has nothing to do with the current litigation, which he said is a "public service."

Kinder claims to represent the little people against telemarketers, but defense attorneys handling the 165 current cases said it is a scam based on Kinder's unique phone number.

Defense attorney Tim Vanden Heuvel said, "Essentially this number is being used to generate litigation and nothing else."

Kinder has the phone number 999-9999. He said it is the most valuable number in San Diego for marketing.

The problem is many businesses, medical clinics and even charities use 999-9999 when inputting customer information into a computer if the customer's real phone number isn't known. Kinder receives all the calls for 999-9999, calls meant for other people.

"This defense team is optimistic that this will be dismissed at an early stage," said defense attorney Bryan Shartle.

Kinder sues individuals, businesses, non-profits and even charities. He has just filed suit against Rady Children's Hospital and the Salvation Army.

10News attempted to talk to Kinder at his rental car business, but he was not there. It was learned that Kinder was in jail serving time for violating a court order.

10News contacted Kinder in jail by e-mail to see if he wanted to comment, but he did not respond.

Because Kinder is considered a vexatious litigation, he may be forced to post a multimillion-dollar bond before his current round of cases could go forward.