Ryskamp v. Looney et al

MOTION to Dismiss Pursuant to F.R.C.P. 8

D. Colo.December 16, 2011

{00837302 / 1} UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF COLORADO Civil Action No. 10-CV-00842 WJM-KLM DENIS RYSKAMP, Derivatively on Behalf of BOULDER GROWTH & INCOME FUND, INC., Plaintiff, v. JOEL W. LOONEY, et al., Defendants, and BOULDER GROWTH AND INCOME FUND, INC., Nominal Defendant. DEFENDANTS SUSAN L. CICIORA’S AND JOHN S. HOREJSI’S MOTION TO DISMISS PURSUANT TO F.R.C.P. 8(a), 9(b), and 12(b)(6) Defendants Susan L. Ciciora and John S. Horejsi (collectively, the “Director Defendants”) hereby move, pursuant to Rules 8(a), 9(b), and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, to dismiss this entire action, and specifically Claims 1 through 10 asserted by plaintiff Denis Ryskamp (“Plaintiff”) in his Verified Third Amended Derivative Complaint for Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Unjust Enrichment (the “TAC”). Pursuant to D.C.COLO.LCIV.R. 7.1A and WJM Revised Practice Standard III.D.1, Defendants conferred with counsel for Plaintiff prior to filing this Motion, which Plaintiff opposes. Using their best efforts, the parties conferred about the contested Case 1:10-cv-00842-WJM-KLM Document 198 Filed 12/16/11 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 4 {00837302 / 1} - 2 - deficiencies in the TAC, but could not agree that those contested deficiencies could be corrected by amendment or stipulation.1 Pursuant to Rules 8(a), 9(b), and 12(b)(6), the Director Defendants also move to dismiss Claims 1 through 10 on the ground that Plaintiff has not adequately pled the claims for breaches of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, corporate waste, abuse of control, and gross mismanagement in the TAC. Because the TAC fails to allege the necessary factual elements of the claims, the TAC does not meet either Rule 8(a)’s or 9(b)’s pleading standards, and thus the claims must be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). All matters outside the pleadings submitted with this Motion are either contained in or specifically referenced in the TAC, incorporated by reference in the TAC, or are matters of public record capable of judicial notice under Rule 201 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. Therefore, the Court should not convert the motion to a motion for summary judgment. If the Court declines to take judicial notice of certain matters submitted with the Motion in the Request for Judicial Notice, the Director Defendants request that the Court simply not consider the matters outside the pleadings. 1 Prior to Defendants filing a motion to dismiss the Second Amended Verified Stockholder Derivative Complaint (“SAC”), the parties met and conferred pursuant to D.C.COLO.LCIV.R. 7.1A and WJM Revised Practice Standard III.D.1. (See Dkt. No. 162 at 2.) The parties did agree that there were deficiencies regarding jurisdictional allegations in the SAC that could possibly be cured by amendment. (Id.) The parties’ meet and confer process led to the filing of the TAC in an attempt to cure those deficiencies, which are not raised in this Motion. (Dkt. Nos. 164, 176.) Case 1:10-cv-00842-WJM-KLM Document 198 Filed 12/16/11 USDC Colorado Page 2 of 4 {00837302 / 1} - 3 - Dated: December 16, 2011 /s/ Bruce Montoya Bruce A. Montoya Edward J. Hafer MESSNER & REEVES, LLC 1430 Wynkoop Street, Suite 300 Denver, CO 80202 Telephone: (303) 405-4192 Fax: (303) 623-0552 bmontoya@messner.com ehafer@messner.com Attorneys for Defendants Susan L. Ciciora and John S. Horejsi Case 1:10-cv-00842-WJM-KLM Document 198 Filed 12/16/11 USDC Colorado Page 3 of 4 {00837302 / 1} - 4 - CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on this 16th day of December, 2011, a true and correct copy of the foregoing DEFENDANTS SUSAN L. CICIORA’S AND JOHN S. HOREJSI’S MOTION TO DISMISS PURSUANT TO F.R.C.P. 8(a), 9(b), and 12(b)(6) was filed and served via CM/ECF on all registered participants as identified on the Notice of Electronic Filing: Daniel Scott Carlton -- scottcarlton@paulhastings.com Joshua G. Hamilton -- joshuahamilton@paulhastings.com William F. Sullivan -- williamsullivan@paulhastings.com Jeffrey P. Harris -- jharris@statmanharris.com Brian Thomas Giles - bgiles@statmanharris.com Christian Heath Hendrickson -- chendrickson@shermanhoward.com Rusty Evan Glenn -- rusty@shumanlawfirm.com Kip Brian Shuman -- kip@shumanlawfirm.com Michael Ross MacPhail -- michael.macphail@hro.com Nicole R. Serfoss - nserfoss@mofo.com Judson Earle Lobdell - jlobdell@mofo.com Jordan D. Eth - jeth@mofo.com Laura Stacey Perlov - laura.perlov@hro.com Randall J. Fons - rfons@mofo.com s/Jeanine A. Montoya Jeanine A. Montoya Case 1:10-cv-00842-WJM-KLM Document 198 Filed 12/16/11 USDC Colorado Page 4 of 4