Smartrac IP B.V. v. Safeguard Business Systems Inc et al

Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim

N.D. Tex.May 11, 2017

Defendant Douglas Ritter’s 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS DALLAS DIVISION SMARTRAC IP B.V., Plaintiff, v. SAFEGUARD BUSINESS SYSTEMS, INC., USFI, INC., DOUGLAS RITTER, and DOES 1-10, Defendants. CASE NO. 3:16-cv-03302-M DEFENDANT DOUGLAS RITTER’S RULE 12(B)(6) MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM TO THE HONORABLE DISTRICT COURT JUDGE: Defendant Douglas Ritter respectfully moves pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) to dismiss the Plaintiff’s Complaint against him in its entirety for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted, and would show the Court as follows: Mr. Ritter is the President of Defendant USFI, Inc. (“USFI”). Plaintiff has sued Mr. Ritter individually as a backstop in case USFI is unable to satisfy a judgment against it, invoking “the Court’s equitable discretion to pierce the corporate veil.” But nowhere in its Complaint does Plaintiff identify any factual basis for piercing the corporate veil, much a plausible factual basis for doing so, as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 and the Supreme Court’s decisions in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007) and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). For this reason, and as explained more fully in the attached Brief in Support, this Court should dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint against Mr. Ritter in its entirety pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. Case 3:16-cv-03302-M Document 40 Filed 05/11/17 Page 1 of 2 PageID 443 Defendant Douglas Ritter’s 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss 2 Respectfully submitted, MCCATHERN, PLLC /s/ James E. Sherry ___________ Levi G. McCathern, II State Bar No. 00787990 lmccathern@mccathernlaw.com James E. Sherry State Bar No. 24086340 jsherry@mccathernlaw.com 3710 Rawlins St., Suite 1600 Dallas, Texas 75219 214-741-2662 Telephone 214-741-4717 Facsimile ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS DOUGLAS RITTER AND USFI, INC. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on the 11th day of May, 2017, a true and correct copy of the foregoing was served to all counsel of record using the Court’s ECF system. /s/James E. Sherry ______ James E. Sherry Case 3:16-cv-03302-M Document 40 Filed 05/11/17 Page 2 of 2 PageID 444