SANDLER v. CALCAGNI et al

Filing 19

SANDLER v. CALCAGNI et al

Doc. 19

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MAINE AT BANGOR SHANA SANDLER, Plaintiff v. MIA CALCAGNI, EMET GABAR, JOHN DOE, and/or JANE DOE, Co-Authors, and BOOKSURGE, LLC, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Case No. 07-CV-00029-DBH

OBJECTION TO PLAINTIFF S MOTION TO AMEND COMPLAINT BY DEFENDANT BOOKSURGE, LLC Pursuant to Local Rule 7(b), Defendant BOOKSURGE, LLC ( BookSurge ), through its attorneys, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, LLP, objects, in part, to Plaintiff SHANA SANDLER s ( Sandler ) Motion to Dismiss Defendants Emet Gabar, John Doe and Jane Doe as Defendants and Join as Defendants Ralph Calcagni, Maureen Calcagni and Peter Mars, and to Amend Complaint, as follows: 1. BookSurge objects to Sandler s motion to amend complaint because the proposed

amended complaint, filed as Exhibit A to Sandler s motion, does not identify with particularity (or otherwise) any of the alleged defamatory statements that are the subject of this litigation. 2. Sandler s proposed amended complaint alleges that the book Help Us Get Mia

includes false and defamatory statements about Sandler, but fails to identify in any way which specific statements in the book are false and defamatory. See Proposed Complaint, Exhibit A, at ¶¶ 13, 14, 20-23, 25, 27.

Dockets.Justia.com

3.

Sandler s proposed amended complaint fails to comply with the Federal Rules of

Civil Procedure and this Court s precedent, requiring a plaintiff alleging libel and slander to identify the specific language of each defamatory statement. See Veilleux v. Nat l Broad. Co., 8 F. Supp. 2d 23, 35 (D. Me. 1998) (Brody, J.) ( Federal pleading rules require that plaintiffs alleging libel or slander must set forth the precise language alleged to be defamatory; thus the defendant is provided with information necessary to defend, especially in the case of allegations of defamation per se. (quoting 50 Am. Jur. 2d Lib. & Sl. § 439)). 4. BookSurge does not object to Sandler s motion to the extent it seeks to dismiss

defendants Emet Gabar, John Doe, and Jane Doe. 5. BookSurge does not object to Sandler s motion to the extent it seeks to join as

defendants Ralph Calcagni, Maureen Calcagni, and Peter Mars.

REQUEST FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, BookSurge prays for the following relief: 1. Sandler s motion to amend complaint be granted subject to compliance with an

order requiring Sandler to provide the precise language of each of the allegedly false and defamatory statements in Help Us Get Mia in the amended complaint; 2. Sandler s motion to dismiss defendants Emet Gabar, John Doe, and Jane Doe be

granted, subject to the Court s discretion;

3.

Sandler s motion to join as defendants Ralph Calcagni, Maureen Calcagni, and

Peter Mars be granted, subject to the Court s discretion. BOOKSURGE, LLC By its attorneys, /s/ Steven P. Wright Steven P. Wright (ME BBO# 009473) Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP State Street Financial Center One Lincoln Street Boston, MA 02111-2950 Stephen A. Smith (Pro Hac Vice) Matthew J. Segal (Pro Hac Vice) Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP 925 Fourth Avenue, Suite 2900 Seattle, Washington 98104-1158 Dated: June 14, 2007 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Steven P. Wright, hereby certify that this document filed through the ECF system will be sent electronically to the registered participants as identified on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF), and paper copies will be sent to those indicated as non-registered participants on June 14, 2007. /s/ Steven P. Wright Steven P. Wright