Berman v. Crook

293 F. Supp. 3d 48
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedFebruary 2, 2018
DocketCase No: 16–cv–2153–RCL
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 293 F. Supp. 3d 48 (Berman v. Crook) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Berman v. Crook, 293 F. Supp. 3d 48 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

In support of his claims, Mr. Berman argues that Ms. Morris knew, prior to launching the criminal investigation, that a document existed that refuted her theory of criminal misconduct, but she never disclosed the document to the grand jury. He further states that the search warrant affidavit signed by Mr. Crook contained false allegations, and absent those false allegations, the affidavit could not support a finding of probable cause. Turning to the 2003 civil case, Mr. Berman states that Ms. Rabinowitz used materials gained from the illegal search to support the government's case and notes that despite the expiration of the seal, the search warrant materials remained under seal. Then Ms. Rabinowitz filed a motion to obtain a copy of the grand jury materials, including the search warrant affidavit, failing to disclose that the investigation was closed without seeking an indictment. Mr. Berman claims that Ms. Rabinowitz and Ms. Morris conspired to transfer the records-which were the property of the district court-with the intent to deny Mr. Berman access.

Mr. Berman further posits that in 2008, Ms. Morris filed a motion with a different magistrate judge to unseal the affidavit and did not include a certificate of service so that Mr. Berman would not be aware of the filing. Mr. Berman asserts that it was not until mid-2013-after he had filed a motion to unseal the affidavit-that the government revealed that Ms. Morris had closed the grand jury investigation without seeking indictment and that it intentionally withheld the search warrant affidavit from civil pre-trial discovery by alleging that it contained grand jury material, and that due to age, the record was likely destroyed. In November 2013, the magistrate judge determined that there were no grand jury materials in the search warrant affidavit and ordered that it be unsealed. In addition, Mr. Berman argues that Mr. Finkelstein intentionally, and without authorization, distributed grand jury documents to individuals not authorized to view them and that he introduced the fruits of the illegal search and lied to the district *53court regarding false statements in the affidavit.

On May 17, 2017, the defendants moved to dismiss all of Mr. Berman's claims alleged in his Amended Complaint.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Rule 12(b)(6) Standard

To survive a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), "a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). When considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the court construes the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. A claim is facially plausible when "the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). While the factual allegations in the complaint need not be "detailed," the Federal Rules require more than "an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation." Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). The Court need not accept as true "a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation," nor an inference unsupported by the facts set forth in the complaint. Trudeau v. Fed. Trade Comm'n, 456 F.3d 178, 193 (D.C.Cir. 2006) (quoting Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986) (internal quotation marks omitted)). The facts alleged in the complaint "must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. "In determining whether a complaint states a claim, the court may consider the facts alleged in the complaint, documents attached thereto or incorporated therein, and matters of which it may take judicial notice." Stewart v. Nat'l Educ. Ass'n, 471 F.3d 169, 173 (D.C. Cir. 2006).

B. Rule 12(b)(2) Standard

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2), a defendant may move to dismiss a suit if the court lacks personal jurisdiction over it. The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing personal jurisdiction. See FC Inv. Grp. v. IFX Mkts., Ltd., 529 F.3d 1087

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Bluebook (online)
293 F. Supp. 3d 48, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berman-v-crook-cadc-2018.