The Southern District of Florida recently dismissed Trump v. Clinton 2:22-cv-14102 (Middlebrooks, J.) which alleged a smorgasbord of grievances against various defendants who plaintiff claimed had attempted to rid the 2016 Presidential Election against him. Defendant Charles Halliday, Jr. filed the first of an expected dozen or so Rule 11 motions against the lawyers for the former President. The motion alleges sloppy work by Trump’s lawyers.
“Defendant Charles Halliday Dolan, Jr has been dragged into this lawsuit via speculation, rumor and innuendo.Large and small matters are falsely and cavalierly presented in Plaintiff’s pleadings; any one of these false statements is grounds for sanction.
The original complaint falsely presented Mr. Dolan as a former Chairman of the DNC. Complaint, ¶96.Undersigned counsel sent a Rule 11 letter to Plaintiff’s counsel noting, among other things, that statement was false.See Exhibit A. The Amended Complaint now describes
Mr. Dolan as the former Chairman of a “national democratic political organization.” Amended Complaint, ¶96. Thatdoes not fix the problem, as Mr. Dolan was never the Chairman of any such organization. Mr. Dolan’s resume is available online and could have been easily checked.
The new, Amended Complaint further complicates its prior error by now identifying Mr. Dolan for the first timeas a citizen and resident of New York, Amended Complaint, ¶20. This is a new allegation that is not true at all, andagain could have been easily checked. Mr. Dolan lives and has lived for most of his adult life in Virginia. Mr. Dolan already submitted a declaration identifying himself as an Arlington, Virginia resident.Mr. Dolan is alleged to be the ultimate source of a rumor that Mr. Trump engaged in salacious sexual activity at a Moscow hotel.This is also not true, and there is no basis for this rumor….
There was no factual basis to allege that Mr. Dolan was ever Chairman of the DNC, or former Chairman of any national democratic political organization, and no basis to allege he has ever been a resident of New York. There apparently was not a scintilla of due diligence on the part of the plaintiff’s attorneys. These false statements alone merit sanction, especially since undersigned counsel warned Plaintiff’s counsel of a potential Rule 11 motion via letter. These false facts are indicative of a lack of reasonable diligence generally.”
Comment: I take no position on whether the motion has merit, but will keep readers updated on the results of this (and other expected sanctions motions) in this case.
Ed Clinton, Jr.
fedcivilprocedure 