Seaman v. Empire Airlines, Inc.

MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM Defendant's Counterclaim Angelo Luigi Rosa appearing for Counter Defendant Jason Seaman. Responses due

D. IdahoSeptember 18, 2016

PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DISMISS DEFENDANT’S COUNTERCLAIM - Page 1 Angelo L. Rosa (Idaho State Bar No. 7546) ANGELO L. ROSA, ESQ. P.O. Box 1605 Boise, Idaho 83701 Telephone: (801) 440-4400 Fax: (208) 515-2203 E-mail: arosa@rosacommerce.com Attorney for Plaintiff JASON SEAMAN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO JASON SEAMAN, an individual residing in the State of California, Plaintiff, v. EMPIRE AIRLINES, INC., an Idaho corporation; and DOES 1-50, inclusive, Defendants. Case No. 16-cv-00304-BLW PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DISMISS DEFENDANT’S COUNTERCLAIM [Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)] COMES NOW the Plaintiff, JASON SEAMAN (“Plaintiff” or “Jason”) by and through his counsel of record, ANGELO L. ROSA, ESQ., and respectfully moves this Honorable Court for an Case 2:16-cv-00304-EJL Document 10 Filed 09/18/16 Page 1 of 3 PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DISMISS DEFENDANT’S COUNTERCLAIM - Page 2 Order dismissing Defendant, Empire Airlines, Inc.’s (“Defendant” or “Empire”) Counterclaim (the “Counterclaim”) pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Good cause exists to grant the relief requested for the foregoing reasons: 1. There is no cause of action stated in Defendant’s Counterclaim upon which relief can possibly be granted. The Counterclaim consists of a series of allegations, some of which are admitted by Plaintiff and some of which are denied. See Plaintiff’s Answer to Counterclaim, filed concurrently herewith. 2. Other than a statement of facts and a demand for money, there is no substance to Defendant’s Counterclaim. In plain terms, Defendant is stating “All of these things occurred, so Plaintiff owes us money.” This does not meet even the most basic standards of pleading contemplated by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure nor does it fall to this Court or to Plaintiff to figure out precisely upon what theory of recovery Defendant is seeking to recover upon. This Motion is not brought for any frivolous or improper purpose, is based upon this Notice of Motion, the Memorandum of Points and Authorities filed concurrently herewith, the pleadings and papers on file in this action, and such other and further documentary and/or testimonial evidence that this Honorable Court may consider in adjudicating this matter. DATED: 18 September 2016 Respectfully Submitted, For ANGELO L. ROSA, ESQ. /s/ Angelo L. Rosa Angelo L. Rosa Attorney for Plaintiff JASON SEAMAN Case 2:16-cv-00304-EJL Document 10 Filed 09/18/16 Page 2 of 3 PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DISMISS DEFENDANT’S COUNTERCLAIM - Page 3 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that on 18 September 2016 I submitted the foregoing to the Clerk of the Court for service on CM/ECF Registered Participants as reflected on the Notice of Electronic Filing, including, but not limited to, the following: Lisa J. Dickinson lisa@dickinsonlawfirm.com Morgan W. Campbell morgan.campbell@dentons.com /s/ Angelo L. Rosa Angelo L. Rosa Case 2:16-cv-00304-EJL Document 10 Filed 09/18/16 Page 3 of 3 MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DISMISS DEFENDANT’S COUNTERCLAIM - Page 1 Angelo L. Rosa (Idaho State Bar No. 7546) ANGELO L. ROSA, ESQ. P.O. Box 1605 Boise, Idaho 83701 Telephone: (801) 440-4400 Fax: (208) 515-2203 E-mail: arosa@rosacommerce.com Attorney for Plaintiff JASON SEAMAN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO JASON SEAMAN, an individual residing in the State of California, Plaintiff, v. EMPIRE AIRLINES, INC., an Idaho corporation; and DOES 1-50, inclusive, Defendants. Case No. 16-cv-00304-BLW MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DISMISS DEFENDANT’S COUNTERCLAIM [Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)] COMES NOW the Plaintiff, JASON SEAMAN (“Plaintiff” or “Jason”) by and through his counsel of record, ANGELO L. ROSA, ESQ., and respectfully files his Memorandum in Support of his Motion to Dismiss Defendant’s Counterclaim as follows: Case 2:16-cv-00304-EJL Document 10-1 Filed 09/18/16 Page 1 of 4 MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DISMISS DEFENDANT’S COUNTERCLAIM - Page 2 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief," in order to "give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Proceeding from this standard, this Honorable Court’s review of the Counterclaim filed by Defendant, which is the equivalent of a Complaint, is governed by two United States Supreme Court cases requiring a claimant to state facts, and not just legal theories, in a complaint. See Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (2009). In Iqbal, the Court made it clear that “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” 129 S.Ct. at 1949 (underscore emphasis added). The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit explained that these cases set forth two important pleading standards: First, to be entitled to the presumption of truth, allegations in a complaint or counterclaim may not simply recite the elements of a cause of action, but must contain sufficient allegations of underlying facts to give fair notice and to enable the opposing party to defend itself effectively. Second, the factual allegations that are taken as true must plausibly suggest an entitlement to relief, such that it is not unfair to require the opposing party to be subjected to the expense of discovery and continued litigation. Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202, 1216 (9th Cir. 2011). Here, the argument is simply stated: Defendant presents a series of facts and no legal theories. This deficiency is the equivalent of deficiency in pleading contemplated by the interpretive guidance of Rule 8(a)(2). Defendant has recited a sequence of facts, which are subject to various admissions, denials and affirmative defenses asserted by Plaintiff. See Plaintiff’s Answer to Counterclaim, filed concurrently herewith. However, no causes of action are asserted and no pleading of any particular elements of any particular cause of action are even stated. As a consequence, the four corners of the Counterclaim do not even meet the sort of pleadings that are Case 2:16-cv-00304-EJL Document 10-1 Filed 09/18/16 Page 2 of 4 MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DISMISS DEFENDANT’S COUNTERCLAIM - Page 3 subject to the Twonbly/Iqbal standard. Indeed, even in Iqbal, the party against whom dismissal of their Complaint was sought even bothered to state the basics of a cause of action, which itself was considered insufficient to meet the pleading standards to be deemed acceptable under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. Here, Defendant’s own Counterclaim does not even contain a cause of action. It is not for Plaintiff or the Court to guess at what theory upon which Defendant believes it is entitled to relief (and Plaintiff’s assertion is that there is no such entitlement). This grossly insufficient form of pleading is enough, given the standards applicable to the proper pleading of claims, to justify dismissing Defendant’s Counterclaim. Accordingly, with equal brevity, Plaintiff respectfully submits that the Court uphold the aforementioned immovable standards and dismiss that Counterclaim. DATED: 18 September 2016 Respectfully Submitted, For ANGELO L. ROSA, ESQ. /s/ Angelo L. Rosa Angelo L. Rosa Attorney for Plaintiff JASON SEAMAN Case 2:16-cv-00304-EJL Document 10-1 Filed 09/18/16 Page 3 of 4 MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DISMISS DEFENDANT’S COUNTERCLAIM - Page 4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that on 18 September 2016 I submitted the foregoing to the Clerk of the Court for service on CM/ECF Registered Participants as reflected on the Notice of Electronic Filing, including, but not limited to, the following: Lisa J. Dickinson lisa@dickinsonlawfirm.com Morgan W. Campbell morgan.campbell@dentons.com /s/ Angelo L. Rosa Angelo L. Rosa Case 2:16-cv-00304-EJL Document 10-1 Filed 09/18/16 Page 4 of 4