CHARLES RONALD NORGLE, District Judge.
Pro se Plaintiff Gerald Dix ("Plaintiff") brings this action against thirteen separate defendants, including Edelman Financial Services, LLC ("Edelman") and its alleged agents, Jane Doe #1 ("Doe #1") and Jane Doe #2 ("Doe #2"). The Court, sua sponte, struck Plaintiff's original Complaint, finding that it was "replete with redundant, impertinent, and scandalous allegations." October 3, 2017 Order, Dkt. 12. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed his First Amended Complaint ("FAC"), totaling forty-four pages
Plaintiff's FAC asserts the following claims against Edelman and its alleged agents: Count V, Conspiracy to Defraud; Count VI, Fraudulent Misrepresentation; Count VIII. Conversion and Trespass to Chattels; Count X, Negligence; Count XVII, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; and Count XVIII. Vicarious Liability. Before the Court is Edelman's motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 9(b) and 12(b)(6). For the reasons that follow, the motion is granted.
Plaintiff's FAC revolves around what he views as a "wrongful eviction" from a residence in Lisle, Illinois, owned by Defendant Theresa Miller ("Miller"). According to Plaintiff, he was engaged in a "platonic relationship" with Miller. He also claims Miller was his landlord. FAC ¶¶ 21, 26. As previously noted by the Court in its October 3, 2017 Order, Plaintiff's case "smacks of a domestic dispute," given that all of his claims are related in some way to his relationship with Miller.
The FAC asserts that after Miller lost her job in May 2017, she met with an Edelman financial advisor, Doe #1, in order to withdraw funds from her investment portfolio. Plaintiff asserts that Doe #1 refused to release funds from Miller's portfolio, and instead advised Miller to "steal financial funds from the Plaintiff' and "convince the Plaintiff that he should obtain full-time employment" in order to replace her lost income.
Under Rule 9(b), a plaintiff alleging fraud "must state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud." Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b). The complaint must allege "the `who, what, when, where, and how' of the fraud—`the first paragraph of any newspaper story.'"
"Although a party need not plead `detailed factual allegations' to survive a [Rule 12(b)(6)] motion to dismiss, mere `labels and conclusions' or `a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.'"
Edelman first argues that the FAC should be dismissed because it essentially recites the same allegations as the original Complaint that the Court struck in its October 3, 2017 Order. Under Rule 12(f). "the court may strike from a pleading any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter." Edelman is correct that Plaintiff has failed to comply with the Court's October 3, 2017 Order. Despite Plaintiff's amendments, the FAC is still replete with redundant, immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous allegations. Perhaps the most egregious example is Plaintiff's use of nearly an entire page of the FAC to dispute the Seventh Circuit Order in Case No. 14-3015, wherein the Seventh Circuit warned Plaintiff that further frivolous appeals may result in sanctions. Plaintiff's blatant refusal to comply with the Court's October 3, 2017 Order is sufficient alone to dismiss his claims against Edelman with prejudice.
Next, Edelman argues that Plaintiff's allegations of fraud fail to satisfy the heightened pleading standards under Rule 9(b). In Count V, Plaintiff asserts that Miller, Edelman, and Doe #1 "conspired together to defraud financial funds from. . . Plaintiff." FAC 234. Under Illinois law, "[t]he elements of a cause of action for conspiracy to defraud are: (1) a conspiracy; (2) an overt act of fraud in furtherance of the conspiracy; and (3) damages to the plaintiff as a result of the fraud."
Here, despite the voluminous nature of the FAC, Plaintiff fails to set forth with particularity the facts and circumstances constituting the claimed conspiracy to defraud. Although the FAC claims Plaintiff has in depth knowledge of certain investment advice given to Miller by Doe #1, the FAC fails to provide any significant details regarding the identity of Doe #1. Further, Plaintiff's conclusory allegation that that Miller, Edelman, and Doe #1 conspired together to defraud him is inconsistent with numerous other allegations in the FAC. Most notably, Plaintiff asserts that Doe #1 instructed Miller to convince Plaintiff to obtain full-time employment to replace Miller's lost income and that Doe #1 advised Miller to force Plaintiff to finance her while she was unemployed. Put differently, the FAC attempts to contort Doe #1's alleged advise to Miller into an agreement to defraud Plaintiff. In short. Plaintiff's sparse, conclusory, and inconsistent allegations are insufficient to support a plausible claim for conspiracy to defraud, let alone state the claim with requisite particularity.
In Count VI, Plaintiff attempts to set forth a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation alleging that Doe #1 represented Doe #2 as a professional mover and that Doe #2 represented herself as a professional mover, when it was known that Doe #2 was not a professional mover. Under Illinois law, the elements for a cause of action for fraudulent misrepresentation are: "(1) a false statement of material fact; (2) known or believed to be false by the person making it; (3) an intent to induce the plaintiff to act: (4) action by the plaintiff in justifiable reliance on the truth of the statement; and (5) damage to the plaintiff resulting from such reliance."
Here, similar to the Court's analysis above, Plaintiff fails to allege with particularity the identity of Doe #2. The FAC claims that Plaintiff was present when Doe #2 came to Miller's home in Lisle on August 22, 2017. However, the FAC contains no details regarding the identity of Doe #2 other than the scandalous allegation that she was a "lazy elderly woman." FAC ¶ 88. Further, the FAC states that Doe #1 recommended Doe #2 as a professional mover to Miller, not to Plaintiff. But the FAC is silent as to how Doe #1 intended to induce Plaintiff into hiring Doe #2 or how Plaintiff came to rely on the recommendation made to Miller alone, Rather, the FAC asserts in conclusory fashion that "Plaintiff and Miller relied on Doe #2 as a professional mover."
Count VII of the FAC asserts claims for conversion and trespass to chattels. Plaintiff contends that Doe #2, along with Miller, destroyed and stole Plaintiff's personal property, while Lisle Police Officers Rob Sommer ("Sommer") and Sean McKay ("McKay") restrained Plaintiff outside of Miller's Lisle home during what he refers to as a "wrongful eviction." Edelman argues that to the extent Plaintiff seeks relief against Edelman in Count VIII—Plaintiff does not specifically refer to Edelman in Count VIII—he fails to adequately allege that Doe #2 was Edelman's agent. The Court agrees.
The FAC fails to even plausibly suggest Edelman exercised control over Doe #2.
Plaintiff also fails to properly allege the requisite elements for his claims of trespass to chattels and conversion. Under Illinois law, the common law tort of trespass to chattel "provides redress for unauthorized use of or intermeddling with another's physical property."
Here, the FAC asserts that Doe #2 was authorized by officers Sommer and McKay to remove Plaintiff's personal property from Millers home, and that Plaintiff was not permitted to enter the home. FAC ¶ 122. Thus, the FAC concedes that Doe #2's actions were authorized and that Plaintiff did not have the right to immediate possession of his personal property. Accordingly. Plaintiff's claims against Edelman for trespass to chattels and conversion are dismissed.
In Count X, Plaintiff asserts a claim for negligence against Edelman and Doe #1 for their purported breach of an "implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing," arising from Doe #1's advice to Miller that she should take funds from Plaintiff rather than withdraw funds from her investment portfolio. FAC ¶ 269. According to Plaintiff, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing was part of an oral contract he formed with Miller governing their landlord-tenant relationship. FAC ¶ 42. Edelman argues that Count X should be dismissed because Plaintiff fails to properly allege that Edelman owed Plaintiff a legal duty. The Court agrees. Under Illinois law, a claim of negligence requires the Plaintiff to allege: "(I) the existence of a duty of care owed to the plaintiff by the defendant; (2) a breach of that duty, and (3) an injury proximately caused by that breach."
Here, the FAC claims that the oral contract was between Plaintiff and Miller alone. Thus, even if such a contract existed, it would not give rise to a duty owed by Edelman to Plaintiff.
In Count XVII. Plaintiff asserts a claim for intentional infliction of emotion distress against all Defendants. Under Illinois law, order to state a cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress, a party must allege facts which establish that: (1) the defendant's conduct was extreme and outrageous; (2) the defendant either intended that his conduct should inflict severe emotional distress, or knew that there was a high probability that his conduct would cause severe emotional distress; (3) the defendant's conduct in fact caused severe emotional distress."
Here, Plaintiff fails to allege that Edelman engaged in any "extreme and outrageous" conduct.
In Count XVIII, Plaintiff asserts a claim for vicarious liability against Edelman, based on Doe #1's purported conduct as an agent of Edelman. However, under Illinois law, "vicarious liability is not itself a claim or cause of action."
For the foregoing reasons, Edelman's motion to dismiss is granted. Counts V, VI. VIII, X, XVII, and XVIII of Plaintiff's FAC are dismissed with prejudice to the extent that these counts assert claims against Edelman. Doe #1, and/or Doe #2.
IT IS SO ORDERED.