Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Network, Inc. v. Gaubatz

31 F. Supp. 3d 237, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40581, 2014 WL 1289467
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedMarch 27, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 2009-2030
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 31 F. Supp. 3d 237 (Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Network, Inc. v. Gaubatz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Network, Inc. v. Gaubatz, 31 F. Supp. 3d 237, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40581, 2014 WL 1289467 (D.D.C. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, United States District Judge

Plaintiffs Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Network, Inc. (“CAIR-AN”) and CAIR-Foundation, Inc. (“CAIR-F”) bring this action against Chris Gaubatz, his father Paul David Gau-batz (“David Gaubatz”), the Center for Security Policy, Inc. (“CSP”) and three of its employees, Christine Brim, Adam Sav-it, and Sarah Pavlis, the Society of Americans for National Existence (“SANE”), and David Yerushalmi. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants conceived and carried out a scheme to place Chris Gaubatz in an internship with Plaintiffs under an assumed identity, which allowed him to remove and copy thousands of Plaintiffs’ internal documents and to record private conversations involving Plaintiffs’ employees without consent or authorization. In this action, Plaintiffs seek relief under thé Federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2522, the District of Columbia analog (the “D.C. Wiretap Act”), D.C. Code §§ 23-541-23-556, the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701-2712, and the common law of the District of Columbia. 1 Presently before the Court are Defendants’ [154] Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiff CAIR-F’s [156] Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. Upon consideration of the parties’ submissions, 2 the applicable *243 authorities, and the entire record, the Court shall DENY Plaintiff CAIR-F’s [156] Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, and GRANT IN PART and DENY IN PART Defendants’ [154] Motion for Summary Judgment. With respect to Plaintiffs’ Wiretap Act claims (Count I), the Defendants’ motion is GRANTED as to: (1) claims by Plaintiff CAIR-AN; (2) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s claims for use and disclosure liability against Defendants Savit, Pavlis, SANE, and Yerushalmi; (3) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s claims for procurement liability against Defendants Savit and Pavlis; (4) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s claims for conspiring and aiding and abetting liability against all Defendants; and (5) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s respondeat superior claims against Defendants Savit, Pavlis, and SANE. With respect to Count I, Defendants’ motion is DENIED as to: (1) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s claims against Chris Gaubatz; (2) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s claims for use and disclosure liability against Defendants David Gaubatz, CSP, and Brim; (3) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s claims for procurement liability against Defendants David Gaubatz, CSP, Brim, SANE, and Yerush-almi; and (4) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s respon-deat superior claims against Defendants David Gaubatz, CSP, Brim, and Yerushal-mi. With respect to Plaintiffs’ Stored Communications Act claims (Count II), Defendants’ motion is GRANTED as to: (1) claims by Plaintiff CAIR-AN; (2) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s claims for conspiring and aiding and abetting liability against all Defendants; (3) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s re-spondeat superior claims against Defendants Savit, Pavlis, and SANE. With respect to Count II, Defendants’ motion is DENIED as to: (1) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s claims against Chris Gaubatz; and (2) Plaintiff CAIR-F’s respondeat superior claims against Defendants David Gaubatz, CSP, Brim, and Yerushalmi. Defendants’ motion is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiffs’ claims for breach of contract (Count V) and tortious interference with contract (Count VI). Defendants’ motion is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as to all of Plaintiffs’ remaining claims. The parties shall submit additional briefing as to these claims as set out in this Opinion and the accompanying Order.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Plaintiff Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Network, Inc. (“CAIR-AN”) is a self-described Muslim advocacy group with a mission that includes enhancing the understanding of Islam and promoting a positive image of Muslims in .the United States. TAC ¶ 10. Plaintiff Council on American-Islamic Relations Foundation (“CAIR-F”) is an organization related to CAIR-AN that was created on February 15, 2005. Defs.’ Facts ¶ 10. Although Plaintiff CAIR-AN was initially named Council on American-Islamic Relations, Inc., id. ¶ 6, CAIR-AN has used the name CAIR as its de facto public name since its’ founding. Id. “CAIR” is not a registered trade name or otherwise legal d/b/a in the District of Columbia. Id. ¶ 7. On June 15, 2007, CAIR-AN officially changed its name from Council on American-Islamic Relations, Inc. to its current name Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Network, Inc. Id. ¶ 8. CAIR-AN owns the real property at 453 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, the location of Plaintiffs’ offices at issue in this suit. Id. ¶ 11. As best as the Court can understand, CAIR-F occupies the offices as a tenant by virtue of an unwritten agreement. Id. ¶ 12. 3

*244 Defendant Center for Security Policy, Inc. (“CSP”) is an IRC § 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Washington, D.C. based think tank founded in 1988 by Frank Gaffney. Id. ¶ 1. Defendant Christine Brim is currently the chief operating officer of CSP. Pis.’ Facts ¶ 3. CSP believes CAIR (the public term apparently used to refer to CAIR-AN and CAIR-F) to be a Muslim Brotherhood front group operating in the United States. Id. ¶ 6. CSP often focuses its efforts on CAIR because it regards CAIR as an organization that is “hostile to American security interests.” Id. ¶ 7.

In late 2007 and early 2008, Defendant CSP initiated a documentary film project, referred to by Defendants as the “CAIR Documentary Film Project.” Defs.’ Facts ¶29. Defendants describe the film as a study of Islamism and organizations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States, with a particular emphasis on Plaintiffs. Id. ¶¶ 29, 31. The parties agree that the purpose of the documentary was in part to portray CSP’s beliefs about CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood in America. Pis.’ Facts ¶ 15. CSP gave the project a working title of “CAIR Film Project” and Gaffney described the project as “an effort to make a film about the Council on American-Islamic Relations.” Id. ¶ 17; Pis.’ Ex. 7 (Gaffney Dep.) at 106:12-16.

In order to produce this documentary, CSP and non-party Manifold Productions created Publius Productions, LLC, an entity in which both companies had a 50 percent ownership interest. Defs.’ Facts ¶ 38. Defendants state that pursuant to this agreement, Manifold would act as the producer of the documentary and CSP would act primarily as its financier. Id. Internally, Publius referred to the CAIR Documentary Film Project as a “film proposal” called “Islam and America.” /<£¶ 40.

Defendants state that CSP conceived of and proposed the film as a series of interviews with individuals in the national security field relating to the relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR-AN.. IdA 30.

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31 F. Supp. 3d 237, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40581, 2014 WL 1289467, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/council-on-american-islamic-relations-action-network-inc-v-gaubatz-dcd-2014.