United States District Court, District of Columbia
GARY J. BYRNE, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
CLINTON FOUNDATION, et al., Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
PAUL
FRIEDMAN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
On June
15, 2018, plaintiff Gary J. Byrne/GJB LLC filed a civil
complaint [Docket No. 1] (“Initial Complaint”) to
initiate this lawsuit alleging violations of the Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
(“RICO”). Four days later, on June 19, 2018,
plaintiff filed a Corrected RICO Complaint [Docket No. 3]
(“Corrected Complaint”). Plaintiff filed a RICO
Amended Complaint [Docket No. 51] (“Amended
Complaint”) on August 29, 2018, which adds one
defendant and drops others. Defendants have filed eleven
motions to dismiss the three complaints. This Memorandum
Opinion and Order disposes of seven of the motions to dismiss
now pending before the Court: the motions filed by those who
are no longer defendants in this case and the motions that
are directed against earlier versions of the complaint.
A
number of individuals and organizations who were named as
defendants in the Corrected Complaint [Docket No. 3] are
clearly excluded from the Amended Complaint [Docket No. 51].
The fifteen defendants named in the Corrected Complaint were:
the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, The
Clinton-Giustra Enterprise Partnership, William Jefferson
Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Podesta, David Brock,
George Soros, Jonathan Wackrow, Jan Gilooly, American Bridge
21st Century (“American Bridge”),
Media Matters for America (“Media Matters”),
Correct the Record, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in
Washington (“CREW”), and Shareblue. The caption
of the Corrected Complaint also includes “Numerous
Unknown Named” defendants. The Amended Complaint names
Mr. Byrne and “The GJB Project, aka GJB LLC” as
plaintiffs. The caption of the Amended Complaint adds Peter
Strzok as a defendant and again names as defendants Hillary
Rodham Clinton, John Podesta, David Brock, and an unspecified
group of defendants (now referred to as “Numerous Named
Unknown”). The caption of the Amended Complaint does
not list William Jefferson Clinton, Jan Gilooly, Jonathan
Wackrow, or George Soros, among others.
The
status of some of the organizations who previously had been
identified as defendants in the Corrected Complaint is
unclear. A review of the text of the Amended Complaint
suggests that Mr. Byrne may have intended to include some of
these organizations as defendants in his Amended Complaint,
even though he did not identify them in the Caption of the
Amended Complaint.[1] Specifically, American Bridge, CREW, Media
Matters, Correct the Record, and Shareblue appear as
defendants in the Corrected Complaint but are not identified
as such in the caption of the Amended Complaint. The text of
the Amended Complaint, however, identifies American Bridge
and CREW as defendants, see Amended Complaint
¶¶ 61, 64; CREW is also listed as an enterprise
member, see id. ¶ 63. Similarly, the text of
the Amended Complaint identifies Media Matters and Correct
the Record as defendants or “defendant entities,
” see id. ¶¶ 19, 43, and also as
enterprise members, see id. ¶¶ 7, 11, 20.
The text of the Amended Complaint refers to Shareblue as a
defendant. See id. ¶ 64.
By
contrast, what is abundantly clear is that certain
individuals and entities previously named as defendants are
no longer defendants under even a liberal reading of the
Amended Complaint. William Jefferson Clinton is mentioned
frequently throughout the Amended Complaint. But he is not
named as a defendant in the caption or in the body of the
Amended Complaint except in one paragraph which, in context,
seems clearly to be unintentional. See Amended
Complaint ¶ 35. Plaintiffs name George Soros as a
“Non-Defendant Enterprise member, ” and Jonathan
Wackrow and Jan Gilooly are both identified as
“Enterprise member, non-Defendant.” See
Amended Complaint ¶¶ 9, 11, 12. The Clinton
Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the
Clinton-Giustra Enterprise Partnership do not appear in the
caption of the Amended Complaint and are identified in its
text only as “Enterprise members, ” or without
any label that clarifies their status. See ¶
19.
In view
of the procedural posture of the case, the Court can dispose
of seven of the eleven motions to dismiss now pending before
it. As George Soros and Jonathan Wackrow are no longer
defendants in this case, their motions to dismiss [Docket
Nos. 46, 47] will be denied as moot. Similarly, the motion to
dismiss filed by the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global
Initiative, and the Clinton-Giustra Enterprise Partnership
[Docket No. 50] will be denied as moot because these
organizations are no longer defendants. The first motion to
dismiss of defendant John Podesta [Docket No. 45], addressed
to the Corrected Complaint, can also be denied as moot
because Mr. Podesta has filed a new motion to dismiss [Docket
No. 58] that focuses on the pleading now before the Court,
the Amended Complaint. That new motion will be decided at a
later date. The motion to dismiss of William Jefferson
Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton [Docket No. 44] also can
be denied as moot. William Jefferson Clinton is no longer a
defendant in the case, and Hillary Rodham Clinton has filed a
new motion to dismiss [Docket No. 57] the Amended Complaint.
That new motion will be decided at a later
date.[2]
The
Court will also deny as moot the motion to dismiss the
Initial Complaint filed by David Brock and various other
entities [Docket No. 48]; the denial is without prejudice,
however, and the Court requests clarification from Mr. Byrne.
The status of the organizational movants in the first motion
to dismiss filed by Mr. Brock [Docket No. 48] is unclear:
They were not identified as defendants in the caption of the
Amended Complaint but are sometimes described as defendants
in the text of the Amended Complaint. These entities moved to
dismiss only the Initial Complaint, but that complaint is
superseded by the Amended Complaint currently pending before
the Court. Accordingly, the motion to dismiss [Docket No. 48]
is moot as to movants American Bridge, CREW, Correct the
Record, and Media Matters. That motion to dismiss is also
moot as to Mr. Brock himself, because Mr. Brock has filed a
motion to dismiss [Docket No. 59] the Amended Complaint that
is now before the Court. Accordingly, the Court denies as
moot Docket No. 48. The denial is without prejudice, and Mr.
Byrne must clarify whether American Bridge, CREW, Correct the
Record, and Media Matters remain defendants in this case. If
so, these entities may file a motion to dismiss the Amended
Complaint or may supplement Mr. Brock's motion to dismiss
the Amended Complaint [Docket No. 59], as appropriate.
For
similar reasons and with similar instructions, the Court will
deny without prejudice the motion to dismiss of True Blue
Media LLC [Docket No. 49]. True Blue Media LLC does business
under the name Shareblue. See Dkt. 24. Shareblue
does not appear as a defendant in the caption of the Amended
Complaint but is described as such in its text. True
Blue's motion to dismiss was directed to the Initial
Complaint [Docket No. 1] and neither True Blue nor Shareblue
has submitted a motion to dismiss the now-operative Amended
Complaint. Accordingly, the Court denies as moot Docket No.
49. The denial is without prejudice, and Mr. Byrne must
clarify whether True Blue Media d/b/a Shareblue remains a
defendant. If so, True Blue may file a motion to dismiss the
Amended Complaint or may supplement Mr. Brock's motion to
dismiss the Amended Complaint [Docket No. 59], as
appropriate. For the reasons set forth herein, it is hereby
ORDERED
that the following motions to dismiss are DENIED as moot:
Docket Nos. 44, 45, 46, 47, and 50; it is
FURTHER
ORDERED that the following motions to dismiss are DENIED as
moot without prejudice: Docket Nos. 48 and 49; it is
FURTHER
ORDERED that Mr. Byrne shall advise the Court no later than
April 8, 2019, as to whether the following entities continue
to be defendants in this case: American Bridge, Citizens for
Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Correct the Record,
Media Matters for America, and True Blue Media LLC d/b/a
Shareblue; and it is
FURTHER
ORDERED that any of the following entities may be permitted
to file or supplement a motion to dismiss, if they remain
defendants: American Bridge, Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington, Correct the Record, Media Matters for
America, or True Blue Media LLC d/b/a Shareblue. If any
entity anticipates filing or supplementing a motion pursuant
to this order, it must propose a briefing schedule to the
Court within fourteen days of receiving the aforementioned
notice from Mr. Byrne.
SO
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