Alemayehu v. Abere

315 F. Supp. 3d 212
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Alemayehu v. Abere. Read the opinion of the Court — 298 F. Supp. 3d 157
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit·Decided May 23, 2018·No. Civil Action No.: 16–0596 (RC)·Published

Opinion

RUDOLPH CONTRERAS, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

This Memorandum Opinion addresses whether Federal Rule 19 requires that certain parties be joined to this lawsuit before it may continue, and it evaluates Plaintiff's two remaining summary judgment arguments. The lawsuit arose from a dispute between Plaintiff Neway Alemayehu and Defendants Belay Abere, Bekalu Bayabile, and Iyossias Tilahun regarding their involvement in a Washington, D.C. restaurant venture. During a recent round of briefing, the Court became aware that two of Mr. Abere's counterclaims implicate the contractual rights of two non-parties. Concerned that Rule 19 may require that the non-parties be joined so that they may protect their interests, the Court directed the parties to provide supplemental briefing on the issue. Having reviewed the briefing, the Court concludes that Rule 19 does not require the non-parties to be joined, and it grants in part and denies Mr. Alemayehu's two summary judgment arguments implicated by the Rule 19 issue.

II. BACKGROUND

In March 2016, Mr. Alemayehu filed the complaint initiating this lawsuit. See generally Compl., ECF No. 1. Mr. Abere, in turn, filed a counterclaim against Mr. Alemayehu, triggering the briefing that precipitated the Rule 19 issue. See generally Countercl., ECF No. 4. In his counterclaim, *214Mr. Abere asserts breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract claims premised in part on the allegation that Mr. Alemayehu forged Mr. Abere's signature on a settlement agreement (the "Agreement") with Mr. Abere's sub-tenant, Wilson Concepts, LLC and its proprietor, Garnell Wilson (collectively, the "Wilson Parties"). Countercl. ¶ 30-31. The Agreement allegedly released Mr. Abere's claims against the Wilson Parties arising from the sub-lease. Id.

Mr. Alemayehu argues that he should be granted summary judgment on these claims because his alleged forgery could not have harmed Mr. Abere. Pl.'s Mot. Dismiss Alt. Summ. J. ("Pl.'s Mot. Summ. J.") at 8-11, ECF No. 26. According to Mr. Alemayehu, the Agreement was conditioned on Mr. Wilson transferring a liquor license from Wilson Concepts to an LLC created by Mr. Abere, Belayabere Enterprises LLC, and that transfer never occurred. Id. Because a necessary condition of the Agreement was not met, Mr. Alemayehu argues, it never became operative and it did not release Mr. Abere's claims. Id. In other words, Mr. Alemayehu's defense to these particular counterclaims hinges on whether an agreement between Mr. Abere, a party, and the Wilson Parties, non-parties, was fully executed.

In a prior Memorandum Opinion, the Court recognized the tension created by interpreting an agreement to which a non-party is a signatory. It noted that "the argument advanced by Mr. Alemayehu concerns the enforceability of the Settlement Agreement with Wilson Concepts and Mr. Wilson ... Yet, those contractual rights are being considered without their participation." Alemayehu v. Abere , No. 16-0596, 298 F.Supp.3d 157, 173, 2018 WL 1129661, at *11 (D.D.C. Feb. 26, 2018). Discharging its "independent duty to raise a Rule 19(a) issue sua sponte ," it declined to address Mr. Alemayehu's summary judgment arguments related to the Agreement and it ordered the parties to provide supplemental briefing explaining whether Rule 19 mandates joinder of the Wilson Parties to this lawsuit. Id. at 172-73, 2018 WL 1129661, at *10 (quoting Cook v. FDA , 733 F.3d 1, 6 (D.C. Cir. 2013) (internal quotation and alteration omitted) ). Having received the parties' supplemental briefing, the Court takes up the issue.

III. ANALYSIS

1. Rule 19

The Court holds that Rule 19 does not require the Wilson Parties to be joined to the litigation. Rule 19 has three provisions that trigger mandatory joinder of a party, but the only relevant provision here requires that "[a] person ... must be joined as a party if ... that person claims an interest relating to the subject of the action and is so situated that disposing of the action in the person's absence may, as a practical matter impair or impede the person's ability to protect the interest." Fed. R. Civ. P. 19(a)(1)(B)(i).1 It is intended to "promote[ ] fair treatment of nonparties in certain circumstances where their interests, and particularly their due process rights, are at risk from litigation between others." Nanko Shipping, USA v. Alcoa, Inc. , 850 F.3d 461, 464 (D.C. Cir. 2017). If a required party cannot be joined, the Court must examine the factors in Rule 19(b) to "determine whether in equity and good conscience, the action should proceed among the parties before it, or should be dismissed, the absent person being regarded *215as indispensable." Fed. R. Civ. P. 19(b) ; see Cherokee Nation of Okla. v. Babbitt , 117 F.3d 1489, 1495-96 (D.C. Cir. 1997). Here, the Court need not proceed to the second step of the Rule 19 analysis because the Wilson Parties are not required parties.

The parties' sparse briefing on this issue focuses on whether the Court's interpretation of the Agreement would have preclusive effect in subsequent litigation between Mr. Abere and the Wilson Parties. Mr. Alemayehu argues that Rule 19 does not require joinder because "even if [Mr. Alemayehu's] actions were unauthorized and this Court is called upon to determine whether the settlement agreement ever took effect, any such determination would not be binding on the Wilson Parties." Pl.'s Mem. P. & A. Regarding Joinder ¶ 11, ECF No. 40. Thus, the Wilson Parties "would not be prejudiced and their interests would not be put at risk by any determination in this case that the Agreement never took effect." Id. ¶ 12. In response, Mr. Abere argues that the "doctrine of collateral estoppel and its potential application are not relevant to the analysis of whether [the Wilson Parties] should be joined as necessary parties." Def.'s Resp. Pl.'s Mem. P. & A. Regarding Joinder ¶ 3, ECF No. 44 (citing Janney Montgomery Scott, Inc. v. Shepard Niles, Inc. , 11 F.3d 399, 409 (3d Cir.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Alemayehu v. Abere, 315 F. Supp. 3d 212 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

315 F. Supp. 3d 212 (Alemayehu v. Abere) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Provident Tradesmens Bank & Trust Co. v. Patterson
390 U.S. 102 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Scott v. Harris
550 U.S. 372 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Cook v. Food & Drug Administration
733 F.3d 1 (D.C. Circuit, 2013)
Huber v. Taylor
532 F.3d 237 (Third Circuit, 2008)
Beckman v. Farmer
579 A.2d 618 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1990)
Dorsey v. American Express Co.
680 F. Supp. 2d 250 (District of Columbia, 2010)
In Re Subpoena Issued to Commodity Futures Trading Commission
370 F. Supp. 2d 201 (District of Columbia, 2005)
Daniel Logan v. LaSalle Bank National Association
80 A.3d 1014 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 2013)
Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Network, Inc. v. Gaubatz
82 F. Supp. 3d 344 (District of Columbia, 2015)
Saddler v. Amec Foster Wheeler Environment and Infrastructure, Inc.
253 F. Supp. 3d 210 (District of Columbia, 2017)
Wright v. Howard University
60 A.3d 749 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 2013)
Alemayehu v. Abere
298 F. Supp. 3d 157 (D.C. Circuit, 2018)
Nanko Shipping, USA v. Alcoa, Inc.
850 F.3d 461 (District of Columbia, 2017)
Alston v. Flagstar Bank, FSB
609 F. App'x 2 (D.C. Circuit, 2015)