RUDOLPH CONTRERAS, United States District Judge.
Pro se plaintiff George Webb Sweigert brings this putative class action against a host of individuals and entities purportedly associated with the Democratic National Party — including Haseeb Rana, the Democratic National Committee ("the DNC"),
For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants Defendants' motions to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 12(h)(3), this order applies to all Defendants, not just those who have responded, because no named Defendant bears a causal relation to Mr. Sweigert's alleged injury in fact. And the Court denies as moot four motions filed by Mr. Sweigert, one asking the Court to direct the United States Marshal to serve a Defendant who has now been served, a second requesting a hearing on one of the now-resolved motions to dismiss, a third requesting an order for substituted service on a Defendant, and a fourth seeking summary judgment on claims against one Defendant.
In the 2016 Presidential election's Democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton won the party's nomination over Bernie Sanders and other candidates. Mr. Sweigert, an alleged supporter of Bernie Sanders, claims that he contributed $30 to Bernie Sanders's Presidential campaign,
First, Mr. Sweigert alleges that the DNC unlawfully favored Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries by signing a "Joint Funding Agreement," or "pay-to-play" scheme, without donors' knowledge, amounting to fraud. See id. ¶¶ 47, 60. According to Mr. Sweigert's complaint, "[t]he DNC is the formal governing body for the United States Democratic party." Id. ¶ 21. Its role is to "coordinat[e] strategy in support of Democratic Party candidates for local, state, and national" elections. Id. With respect to the Presidential election, "the DNC organizes the Democratic National Convention" in order to "nominate and confirm a candidate for President." Id. ¶ 22. At the time of the 2016 Democratic primaries, Deborah Wasserman Schultz, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, served as the DNC's chairperson. Id. ¶ 23. In its charters and bylaws, Mr. Sweigert alleges, the DNC obliged itself to "financial fidelity and impartiality." Id. ¶ 24.
Plaintiff claims that in August 2015, the DNC executed an agreement with Hillary for America, a not-for-profit affiliated with the Clinton campaign, wherein the DNC ceded "financial control and substantial management oversight[,] including selection and approval of personnel[,] to Hillary For America." Id. ¶ 27. Plaintiff alleges that the DNC never voluntarily disclosed
Aside from the alleged funding agreement, Plaintiff claims that some of the Defendants conspired to orchestrate and, in fact, orchestrated a number of hacking operations against the DNC. See generally id. ¶¶ 30, 43-65. In particular, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants Glen Simpson (who is the CEO of Fusion GPS) and Imran Awan conspired to hire professional hackers to penetrate the DNC's computer network. Id. ¶¶ 30, 46. Plaintiff further alleges that Defendant Imran Awan "engineered a sophisticated email phishing attack against Bernie Sanders supporters" using a donation webpage that has a confusingly similar URL to that of the official donation site, and that Mr. Awan used the website to "rout[e] donations intended for Progressive candidates to bank accounts controlled by [] Wasserman Schultz and/or Imran Awan." Id. ¶¶ 44-45. Furthermore, according to Plaintiff, some of the Defendants hacked key congressional communications and constituent management systems, such as iConstituent and InterAmerica. Id. ¶ 56. Specifically, Mr. Sweigert alleges that Defendants Deborah Wasserman Schultz, Imran Awan, Abid Awan, Hina Alvi, Rao Abbas, Haseeb Rana, Jamal Awan, and Omar Awan were involved in the hacking and that they accessed private communications through DNC servers. Id. Plaintiff further alleges that using this private information, ARMZ Uranium Company, which Defendant Podesta Group created, sold nuclear fuel and weapons to foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia, to fund Hillary for America. Id. ¶¶ 46, 59. According to Mr. Sweigert, in the process, Defendant Podesta Group acted as a foreign agent of the Saudi Arabian government but never disclosed this fact to the public. Id. ¶ 46. And Mr. Sweigert's complaint alleges that during the period from February 2016 to October 2016, the Podesta Group illegally transferred this information from iConstituent to Defendant Anthony Weiner's laptops. Id. ¶ 60.
Plaintiff also claims that some Defendants were involved in an illicit scheme involving individuals or entities in Pakistan.
Based on these allegations, Mr. Sweigert filed suit in this Court claiming that Defendants committed fraud and breached fiduciary duties owed to Plaintiff and to members of the putative classes.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) allows a defendant to move to dismiss a complaint, or any portion thereof, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, and the law presumes that "a cause lies outside this limited jurisdiction...." Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994); see also Gen. Motors Corp. v. EPA, 363 F.3d 442, 448 (D.C. Cir. 2004) ("As a court of limited jurisdiction, we begin, and end, with an examination of our jurisdiction."). In view of this presumption, the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that the court has subject matter jurisdiction. Khadr v. United States, 529 F.3d 1112, 1115 (D.C. Cir. 2008). No action on behalf of either party can confer subject matter jurisdiction on a federal court because subject matter jurisdiction is both a statutory requirement and an Article III constitutional requirement. See Akinseye v. District of Columbia, 339 F.3d 970, 971 (D.C. Cir. 2003).
When reviewing a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1), a court must review the complaint liberally, granting the plaintiff the benefit of all inferences that can be derived from the facts alleged. Zaidan v. Trump, 317 F.Supp.3d 8, 16 (D.D.C. 2018) (quoting Barr v. Clinton, 370 F.3d 1196, 1199 (D.C. Cir. 2004)). However, "the Court need not accept factual inferences drawn by plaintiffs if those inferences are not supported by facts alleged in the complaint, nor must the Court accept plaintiffs' legal conclusions." Speelman v. United States, 461 F.Supp.2d 71, 73 (D.D.C. 2006). A court has "broad discretion to consider relevant and competent evidence" to resolve factual issues raised by a Rule 12(b)(1) motion. Finca Santa Elena, Inc. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 873 F.Supp.2d 363, 368 (D.D.C. 2012) (citing 5B Charles Wright & Arthur Miller, Fed. Prac. & Pro., Civil § 1350 (3d Ed. 2004)); see also Al-Owhali v. Ashcroft, 279 F.Supp.2d 13, 21 (D.D.C. 2003) (explaining that consideration of documents outside of pleadings does not convert a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1) into a motion for summary judgment).
The D.C. Circuit has instructed that a motion to dismiss for lack of standing constitutes a motion under Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure because "the defect of standing is a defect in subject matter jurisdiction." Crow Creek Sioux Tribe v. Brownlee, 331 F.3d 912, 915-16 (D.C. Cir. 2003); Haase v. Sessions, 835 F.2d 902, 906 (D.C. Cir. 1987); see generally Valley Forge Christian Coll. v. Ams. United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U.S. 464, 475-76, 102 S.Ct. 752, 70 L.Ed.2d 700 (1982). Accordingly, a lack of standing denotes a lack of subject matter jurisdiction, which would support dismissal pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1).
Mr. Sweigert brings two claims against Defendants: one for fraud and the other for breach of fiduciary duty. Compl. ¶¶ 42-65. Defendants Haseeb Rana, the DNC, the Podesta Group, Deborah Wasserman Schultz, and Huma Abedin argue, among
To establish subject matter jurisdiction, a plaintiff must have standing, as governed by Article III of the Constitution. See U.S. Const. art. III, § 2. Plaintiffs bear the burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction. Vetcher v. Sessions, 316 F.Supp.3d 70, 75 (D.D.C. 2018) (citing Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992)). A party has standing to bring suit under Article III of the Constitution only when she has suffered an injury in fact — that is, an injury which is concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent — which is traceable to defendant's actions and redressable by the relief sought. U.S. Const. art. III § 2, cl. 1; Clapper v. Amnesty Int'l, USA, 568 U.S. 398, 133 S.Ct. 1138, 185 L.Ed.2d 264 (2013); Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130; see also United States v. Richardson, 418 U.S. 166, 176-77, 94 S.Ct. 2940, 41 L.Ed.2d 678 (1974). Allegations of a speculative or possible future injury do not satisfy the requirements of Article III. See Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 158, 110 S.Ct. 1717, 109 L.Ed.2d 135 (1990). Moreover, "[P]laintiffs bear the burden of pleading ... concrete facts showing that the defendant's actual action has caused the substantial risk of harm." Clapper, 568 U.S. at 414 n.5, 133 S.Ct. 1138.
Defendants contend that Plaintiff lacks Article III standing to bring his claims.
Defendants argue that Plaintiff has not suffered a legally cognizable injury in fact that would support a finding of standing. See Def. Rana's Mem. 5; Def. DNC's Mem. 10-14; Def. Podesta Group's Mem. 7-9; Def. Abedin's Mem. 7. Plaintiff enumerates,
Courts have interpreted "injury in fact" to mean an "invasion of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized... and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical." Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130 (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 155, 110 S.Ct. 1717, 109 L.Ed.2d 135 (1990) (finding alleged harm to conservationist organization associated with danger to wildlife abroad insufficiently concrete to amount to a legally cognizable injury in fact). Courts have similarly rejected so-called "taxpayer standing," labeling grievances about actions that affect all citizens equally as "generalized grievances," which are insufficiently particularized to support standing. See, e.g., Becker v. FEC, 230 F.3d 381, 389 (1st Cir. 2000) (holding that "harm done to the general public by corruption of the political process is not a sufficiently concrete, personalized injury to establish standing" for supporters of a political candidate); Gottlieb v. FEC, 143 F.3d 618 (D.C. Cir. 1998) (individual voters lacked standing based on alleged injury to ability to influence political process). In Clapper v. Amnesty International, the Supreme Court held that an "objectively reasonable likelihood" that a defendant will incur a future injury — in that case, that the government would conduct warrantless phone-taps of American citizens — did not render an alleged injury sufficiently imminent to support standing. Clapper v. Amnesty International, USA, 568 U.S. 398, 401, 133 S.Ct. 1138, 185 L.Ed.2d 264 (2013).
Mr. Sweigert has alleged numerous injuries, each of which he claims supports a finding of standing to litigate his two causes of action. See Compl. ¶¶ 42-50, 51-65. Specifically, Mr. Sweigert contends that:
Plaintiff has advanced in his complaint and in all other documents before the Court only one legally cognizable injury in fact: the $30 that he donated to the Bernie Sanders's 2016 Presidential Campaign. Compl. ¶ 2. Plaintiff's loss of $30 is indeed sufficiently concrete, particularized, and actual to satisfy the injury-in-fact requirement of standing. U.S. Const. art. III § 2, cl. 1; U.S.C.A. § 3730(b)(5)(c). Unlike in Lujan and Clapper, where the potential harm associated with danger to species abroad and with phone-tapping American citizens, respectively, was either prospective, conjectural, or generalized, the alleged $30 injury incurred to Mr. Sweigert occurred in the past and, upon the presentation of evidence, is potentially demonstrable. Lujan, 504 U.S. at 555, 112 S.Ct. 2130; Clapper, 568 U.S. at 420, 133 S.Ct. 1138; see also In re U.S. Office of Personnel Mgmt. Data Sec. Breach Litig., 266 F.Supp.3d 1, 18-19. Accordingly, the alleged $30 injury purportedly incurred is concrete, particularized, and actual, and therefore qualifies as a legally cognizable injury in fact.
However, all other harms that Plaintiff alleges — including grievances with the political process or with the internal workings of the DNC — fail to amount to legally cognizable injuries in fact because Mr. Sweigert has failed to articulate how any of these allegedly wrongful acts harmed him. Compl. ¶ 67; see Ndaba v. Obama, 697 F.Supp.2d 75, 78 (D.D.C. 2010) ("[P]laintiffs seeking to bring class action lawsuits `must allege and show that they personally have been injured, not that injury has been suffered by other, unidentified members of the class to which they belong and which they purport to represent.") (quoting Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 502, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975); see generally Compl. ¶¶ 21-30. Mr. Sweigert's claim regarding the DNC's hacking also fails to reflect injury in fact, since Mr. Sweigert alleges no concrete, particularized harms associated with any purported hacking or other actions. For example, Mr. Sweigert says that Mr. Awan "illegally moved data" and copied "critical information[]" and "critical reports," but Mr. Sweigert does not explain why the purportedly illegal taking of this information might have injured him. Compl. ¶ 43. Likewise, Mr. Sweigert claims that Defendants "concocted a false narrative" regarding
Moreover, Plaintiff does not allege any future, imminent injury in fact which would sustain a claim for damages, In re U.S. Office of Personnel Mgmt. Data Sec. Breach Litig., 266 F.Supp.3d at 18-19, or injunctive relief. See City of L.A. v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 105, 103 S.Ct. 1660, 75 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983) (explaining that each individual claim must be redressable by the relief sought); Compl. ¶¶ 21-30, 42-50. Finally, donating to an organization does not confer to a donee the right to litigate on behalf of an organization, Orient v. Linus Pauling Instit. of Sci. & Med., 936 F.Supp. 704, 706-07 (D. Ariz. 1996), nor does it create a legally enforceable contract. Berg v. Obama, 574 F.Supp.2d 509, 529 (E.D. Pa. 2008) (holding that "statements of principle and intent" in political platform are "not [legally] "enforceable promises under contract law"). And when Plaintiff alleges harm done to "all citizens of the United States," this constitutes by definition a generalized grievance, which cannot support standing. Becker, 230 F.3d at 389; Richardson, 418 U.S. at 166-673, 94 S.Ct. 2940; Gottlieb, 143 F.3d at 618. In sum, Plaintiff has suffered only one legally cognizable injury in fact: the $30 that he allegedly donated to Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign. Therefore, this Court will consider causation of and redressability for only this one alleged injury.
Plaintiff claims that Defendants caused his injury in fact — that is, his loss of $30 in the form of an alleged donation to the Bernie Sanders campaign. See, e.g., Compl. ¶ 69; Resp. Opp. Def. Abedin's Mot. Dismiss ¶ 4. However, this Court concurs with Defendants' contention that Plaintiff has failed to draw a plausible causal link between Defendants' actions and Plaintiff's only legally cognizable injury in fact. As some of the Defendants argue, Mr. Sweigert's "Complaint is devoid of allegations that Plaintiff donated — or took any other actions — in reliance on anything that Defendants said or did," and it fails to "isolate a single, identifiable act by any Defendant that breached the asserted duty owed to him or the asserted class members," even assuming there exists a fiduciary relationship. Def. DNC's Mem. 14-15. Accordingly, Plaintiff fails to demonstrate causation required to support standing.
To establish causation, a plaintiff must show that it is plausible that defendants proximately caused plaintiff's injury in fact. See Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 545-46, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (the Court's "[a]sking for plausible grounds ... simply calls for enough fact to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of illegal agreement."); Arpaio v. Obama, 797 F.3d 11, 19 (D.C. Cir. 2015) (citing Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130). That is, there must be "a causal connection between the injury and the conduct
According to Plaintiff's complaint, he donated $30 to Bernie Sanders's individual presidential campaign — not to the DNC or to any other Defendant in this matter — through ActBlue, a fundraising non-profit. Compl. ¶ 2. ActBlue appears to operate independently of the DNC. See Compl. ¶¶ 2, 20.
However, because Mr. Sweigert made his alleged donation through ActBlue to the Bernie Sanders campaign, any loss that he may have suffered is not traceable to any Defendants. See Abulliawa v. U.S. Dep't of Treas., 239 F.Supp.3d 24, 33-35 (D.D.C. 2017). Even taking as true the claim that the DNC diverted donations intended for the Sanders campaign to the Clinton campaign, Plaintiff has not alleged that his donation went to the DNC and was diverted. To establish causation, the "connection between the injury and the conduct complained of must be attributable to the defendant, and not the result of the independent action of some third party not before the court." Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Accordingly, the Court finds that Mr. Sweigert has failed to establish a causal link between his alleged injury and Defendants' conduct, and, thus, he lacks standing to bring this suit.
Finally, Plaintiff enumerates a number of forms of relief that he claims would address his purported injuries in fact. See Compl. ¶¶ 66-70. First, Mr. Sweigert seeks a judicially-mandated enjoinment of the aforementioned "spy ring activity in the U.S. House of Representatives." Id. ¶ 66. Second, Mr. Sweigert seeks declaratory and injunctive relief with regard to Defendant DNC's alleged violation of its own Charter and/or Bylaws. Id. ¶ 67. Third, Plaintiff requests compensatory damages in the amount of $300 million, and fourth, punitive damages in the amount of $600 million. Id. ¶ 69-70. This Court concludes that Plaintiff's one legally cognizable injury in fact — his alleged loss of a $30 donation to the Bernie Sanders campaign — is not redressable by the relief sought.
The third requirement for a plaintiff to demonstrate standing is redressability: a plaintiff's relief sought must actually remedy the plaintiff's injury. See, e.g., Clapper, 568 U.S. at 414, 133 S.Ct. 1138 (holding that it must be likely, not merely speculative, that injury will be redressed by a favorable decision); see also Lyons, 461 U.S. at 105, 103 S.Ct. 1660 (each individual claim must be redressable by the relief sought). Whereas causation focuses "on
Mr. Sweigert first requests injunctions related to all of the activity involved in the alleged conspiracy; this remedy, however, does not redress the $30 that Plaintiff allegedly expended when donating to Bernie Sanders's campaign. Lyons, 461 U.S. at 105, 103 S.Ct. 1660; see also Doe v. Rumsfeld, 683 F.3d 390 (D.C. Cir. 2012). Plaintiff further seeks an order enjoining the alleged "spy ring" activity;
Finally, pursuant to Rule 12(h)(3), which provides that "if the court determines at
For the foregoing reasons, defendants' motions to dismiss (ECF Nos. 20, 21, 23, 24, 33, 50) are
Moreover, Plaintiff fails to adequately allege, much less show to be plausible, a claim for breach of fiduciary duty. Mr. Sweigert has not established the existence of a fiduciary relationship between himself and any of the named Defendants, has not shown that Defendants breached any such relationship, and has not demonstrated that such a breach proximately caused Plaintiff's injuries. See, e.g., Armenian Genocide Museum & Memorial, Inc. v. Cafesjian Family Found., Inc., 595 F.Supp.2d 110, 116 (D.D.C. 2009); see also Davis v. United States, 495 U.S. 472, 479, 110 S.Ct. 2014, 109 L.Ed.2d 457 (1990) (holding that there exists "no legally enforceable relationship between the recipient of the donated funds and the qualified donee"); Magee v. Am. Inst. of Certified Pub. Accountants, 245 F.Supp.3d 106, 116 (D.D.C. 2017) (professional membership organizations owe no fiduciary duty to their members).