Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College et al

Filing 187

MOTION to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction by President and Fellows of Harvard College.(Waxman, Seth)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
BOSTON DIVISION
STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC.,
Civil Action No. 1:14-cv-14176-ADB

Plaintiff,

Oral Argument Requested

v.
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD
COLLEGE (HARVARD CORPORATION),
Defendant.

DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS
FOR LACK OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), Defendant President and Fellows of
Harvard College (Harvard Corporation) (“Harvard”) hereby moves to dismiss this action in its
entirety. The grounds for this motion, which are explained in detail in the accompanying
Memorandum of Law, include the following:
1.

An organization may not bring litigation on behalf of its constituents unless those

constituents exhibit “indicia of membership” in the organization. Hunt v. Washington State
Apple Advertising Comm’n, 432 U.S. 333, 344-45 (1977).
2.

The members of Plaintiff Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (“SFFA”) bear none

of the traditional indicia of membership in SFFA. SFFA’s members have never controlled its
leadership, have no power to influence its conduct, play no meaningful role in funding it, and do
not otherwise participate in its activities.
3.

Accordingly, SFFA does not have standing to bring this litigation, and this Court

lacks subject matter jurisdiction over SFFA’s claims.

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4.

In support of this Motion, Harvard submits the accompanying Memorandum of

Law and the Declaration of Felicia H. Ellsworth.
WHEREFORE, Harvard respectfully requests that the Court dismiss this action in its
entirety.
REQUEST FOR ORAL ARGUMENT
Pursuant to Local Rule 7.1(d), Defendant respectfully requests oral argument of this
Motion.

Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Seth P. Waxman
Seth P. Waxman (pro hac vice)
Paul R.Q. Wolfson (pro hac vice)
Daniel Winik (pro hac vice)
WILMER CUTLER PICKERING
HALE AND DORR LLP
1875 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Debo P. Adegbile (pro hac vice)
WILMER CUTLER PICKERING
HALE AND DORR LLP
7 World Trade Center
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]

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William F. Lee (BBO #291960)
Felicia H. Ellsworth (BBO #665232)
WILMER CUTLER PICKERING
HALE AND DORR LLP
60 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Dated: September 23, 2016

Counsel for Defendant President and
Fellows of Harvard College

LOCAL RULE 7.1 CERTIFICATION
Counsel for Harvard hereby certifies that on September 16, 2016, counsel for Harvard
conferred by email and phone with Plaintiff’s counsel in a good faith attempt to resolve or
narrow the issues involved in this motion.
/s/ Seth P. Waxman
Seth P. Waxman
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that this document filed through the CM/ECF system will be sent
electronically to the registered participants as identified on the Notice of Electronic Filing.

/s/ Seth P. Waxman
Seth P. Waxman

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