Al Shimari v. Dugan et al

Filing 23

Memorandum in Support re 22 MOTION for Leave to File Excess Pages filed by CACI International, Inc, CACI Premier Technology, Inc. (Koegel, Joseph)

Al Shimari v. Dugan et al

Doc. 2

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA ALEXANDRIA DIVISION ____________________________________ SUHAIL NAJIM ABDULLAH AL SHIMARI, Plaintiff, v. TIMOTHY DUGAN, et al., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Case No. 1:08-CV-00827-GBL-JFA

MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION OF DEFENDANTS CACI PREMIER TECHNOLOGY, INC., AND CACI INTERNATIONAL INC TO ENLARGE PAGE LIMITS Defendants CACI Premier Technology, Inc., and CACI International Inc (collectively, the "CACI Defendants") respectfully request that the Court grant the CACI Defendants leave to file a single memorandum of thirty-seven pages in support of their motion to dismiss this action. This seven-page enlargement of page limits is appropriate in order to allow the CACI Defendants to address a number of complex legal issues raised by the allegations in Plaintiff's Complaint. In support of this motion, the CACI Defendants state as follows: 1. This action is a single-plaintiff action, in which the Plaintiff asserts that the CACI

Defendants and Defendant Timothy Dugan are liable for injuries the Plaintiff alleges he suffered while detained in United States custody in Iraq. 2. Plaintiff's Complaint does not identify any alleged contact between Plaintiff and

either Defendant Timothy Dugan or any employee of the CACI Defendants. Rather, the Complaint seeks to hold Defendants liable for injuries suffered by Plaintiff while in United

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States custody based on the theory that Defendants entered into a "torture conspiracy" with whomever allegedly caused injuries to Plaintiff. Compl. ¶ 33. As it relates to the CACI Defendants' alleged entry into this supposed conspiracy, the Complaint alleges that "CACI conveyed its intent to join the conspiracy by making a series of verbal statements and by engaging in a series of criminal acts of torture alongside and in conjunction with several coconspirators." Id. 3. Plaintiff's Complaint contains 171 paragraphs of allegations and asserts twenty

causes of action against Defendants. 4. The CACI Defendants foresee filing a motion to dismiss that asserts as grounds

for dismissal several district and complex areas of the law. The grounds for dismissal that the CACI Defendants anticipate asserting in a motion to dismiss include the following: That Plaintiff's Complaint does not contain allegations of fact sufficient to show a plausible basis for recovery as required under Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S. Ct. 1955, 1969 (2007). That Defendants are entitled to derivative absolute official immunity from Plaintiff's suit under the immunity doctrine applied by the Fourth Circuit in Mangold v. Analytic Services, Inc., 77 F.3d 1442, 1447-48 (4th Cir. 1996). That Plaintiff's Complaint presents nonjusticiable political questions. That Plaintiff's claims are preempted by the federal interests embodied in the combatant activities exception to the FTCA and concepts of international law accepted in the United States. That Plaintiff's claims under the Alien Tort Statute ("ATS") fail to state a claim on which relief may be granted. That Plaintiff's Complaint fails to allege facts sufficient to establish respondeat superior liability on the part of the CACI Defendants.

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5.

The CACI Defendants note that they filed a motion to dismiss the Fourth

Amended Complaint in the related action of Saleh v. CACI International Inc, No. 05-1165 (D.D.C.) in January 2008. Although that action, unlike the present action, did not include ATS claims, and included only common-law tort claims, the CACI Defendants' memorandum in support of their motion to dismiss was 43 pages in length. . 6. Allowing the CACI Defendants to file a single memorandum of 37 pages in

support of a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint will provide the CACI Defendants with a sufficient opportunity to present their arguments to the Court in a useful and efficient manner. The CACI Defendants have made considerable efforts to reduce the length of their draft memorandum to the thirty pages ordinarily allowed by the Court's local rules, but have determined that further reductions in length would detract from the efficient presentation of their arguments to the Court. 7. The CACI Defendants' counsel conferred with Plaintiff's counsel with respect to

this request, and Plaintiff is opposed to the enlargement of page limits sought by the CACI Defendants. Wherefore, the CACI Defendants respectfully request that the Court grant them leave to file a single memorandum in support of their motion to dismiss that is 37 pages in length.

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Respectfully submitted, /s/ J. William Koegel, Jr. J. William Koegel, Jr. Virginia Bar No. 38243 John F. O'Connor (admitted pro hac vice) Attorneys for Defendants CACI Premier Technology, Inc. and CACI International Inc STEPTOE & JOHNSON LLP 1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 [phone] - telephone [phone] ­ facsimile [e-mail] [e-mail]

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on the 29th day of May, 2008, I will electronically file the foregoing with the Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system, which will then send a notification of such filing (NEF) to the following: Susan L. Burke William Gould Attorneys for Plaintiff Burke O'Neil LLC 4112 Station Street Philadelphia, PA 19127 [phone] ­ telephone [e-mail] [e-mail] In addition, I certify that I will, on the 29th day of May, 2008, serve the above-listed counsel with a copy of the foregoing by electronic mail, in addition to serving by electronic mail the following additional counsel: Michael Nussbaum Attorney for Defendant Timothy Dugan Bonner, Kiernan, Trebach and Crociata, LLP 1233 20th St., NW Washington, DC 20036 [phone] [e-mail] /s/ J. William Koegel, Jr. J. William Koegel, Jr. Virginia Bar No. 38243 Attorney for Defendant CACI-Athena, Inc. STEPTOE & JOHNSON LLP 1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 [phone] - telephone [phone] ­ facsimile [e-mail]