Eichenwald v. Rivello

318 F. Supp. 3d 766
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedMay 31, 2018
DocketCIVIL NO. JKB–17–1124
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 318 F. Supp. 3d 766 (Eichenwald v. Rivello) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eichenwald v. Rivello, 318 F. Supp. 3d 766 (D. Md. 2018).

Opinion

James K. Bredar, Chief Judge

Plaintiff Kurt Eichenwald brought this action against Defendant John Rivello over a year ago, on April 24, 2017. (Corrected Compl., ECF No. 2.). Defendant is facing criminal charges related to the same incident underlying this civil case, and therefore this case was stayed on August 28, 2017. (See Paperless Order, ECF No. 20.)

*769On March 6, 2018, the Court partially lifted the stay and ordered Defendant to respond to Plaintiff's complaint by March 21, 2018. (Order to Partially Lift Stay, ECF No. 24.) Defendant responded by answering Counts II and III of Plaintiff's complaint (Ans., ECF No. 25), and moving to dismiss Counts I and IV (Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 26). Plaintiff has responded to Defendant's motion (ECF No. 27) and Defendant has replied (ECF No. 30). Therefore, Defendant's motion to dismiss is fully briefed and ripe for review. There is no need to hold a hearing to resolve the matter. See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2016). Defendant's characterization of Texas law regarding civil battery is incorrect, and the Court will not foreclose Plaintiff's attempt to try his fourth count in a different court or at a later time. Accordingly, the Court will grant in part and deny in part Defendant's motion to dismiss, and dismiss Count IV of Plaintiff's complaint without prejudice.

I. Background1

Plaintiff is a journalist and author currently living in Texas. (Corrected Compl. ¶¶ 2-4.) Plaintiff's work is well known. He writes for Newsweek and Vanity Fair. (Id. ¶ 3.) He worked for years at the New York Times, has authored four books, and has won several awards including the George Polk Award (twice). (Id. ¶¶ 3-4.) He is an active Twitter user, having posted over 50,000 tweets. (Id. ¶ 14.)

Plaintiff also has epilepsy. (Corrected Compl. ¶ 5.) He was diagnosed at age 18, and "suffered from frequent seizures as a young adult." (Id. ) Medication has helped reduce the number of seizures, but he continues to experience them. (See id. ¶¶ 5, 8.) Plaintiff has been public about his condition in the past and in 2016 wrote an article, published in Newsweek, titled "Sean Hannity: Apologize to Those with Epilepsy, or Burn in Hell." (Id. ¶¶ 7-8.)

During the 2016 election, Plaintiff was often critical of then-candidate Donald J. Trump, and expressed those views in his writing and on his Twitter account. (Corrected Compl. ¶¶ 15-16.) Plaintiff "received numerous threats and messages over the Internet" as a result of his public criticism, and wrote about the online abuse for Newsweek in October 2016. (Id. ¶ 17; see Kurt Eichenwald, How Donald Trump Supporters Attack Journalists , Newsweek, ECF No. 1-7 (hereinafter "October 2016 Article").) In that article, Plaintiff wrote about one instance of online harassment in particular. Plaintiff "received a tweet from someone with the twitter handle 'Mike's Deplorable AF.' " (October 2016 Article at 2.) In that tweet "Mike made mention of [Plaintiff's] seizures and included a small video.... The video was some sort of strobe light, with flashing circles and images ... flying toward the screen." (Id. ) The video was "epileptogenic," meaning it "triggers seizures." (Id. ) Plaintiff did not suffer a seizure upon opening this video, however, because he quickly dropped the device. (Id. )

Two months later, on December 15, 2016, a Twitter user with the handle @jew_goldstein, replied to one of Plaintiff's tweets. (Corrected Compl. ¶ 33.) When Plaintiff "clicked on the notification button on twitter," the replies to his tweet "immediately loaded," including the reply from @jew_goldstein. (Id. ¶ 43.) The tweet included (and immediately displayed) a Graphic Interchange Format ("GIF") that contained "an animated strobe image flashing at a rapid speed." (Id. ¶ 35.) In addition to the flashing images, the GIF contained the message "YOU DESERVE A SEIZURE FOR YOUR POSTS." (See *770Strobe GIF, Compl. ¶ 41.) Upon seeing the rapidly flashing GIF, "Plaintiff suffered a severe seizure." (Id. ¶ 45.)

For reasons that will become clear, it is necessary to briefly discuss the physical reactions that led to Plaintiff's seizure. Light comes in rays, or waves, comprised in part by photons. (Corrected Compl. ¶ 24.) These waves sometimes reflect off objects and "strike a person's cornea," which "focuses the light wave." (Id. ¶ 25.) The eye focuses the wave onto its retina, which through a process of "visual phototransduction," converts the light wave into electrical impulses. (Id. ¶¶ 27-28.) That is, photons hit the retina and are converted into electrical signals. (Id. ¶¶ 28-29.) These electrical signals are then transmitted by the optic nerve to the visual cortex. (Id. ¶ 30.) Such electrical signals from strobing images "can trigger seizures in certain individuals with epilepsy." (Id. ¶ 20.) So, Defendant intentionally caused photons to hit Plaintiff's retina, causing Plaintiff to suffer a seizure.

Plaintiff's wife witnessed the seizure and, after caring for Plaintiff, called the police. (Id. ¶¶ 50-51.) According to information obtained as a result of the criminal investigation, Defendant, who lives in Maryland, operated the @jew_goldstein account. (Id. ¶ 54.) Defendant discussed with others his intent to harm Plaintiff by causing a seizure. (See id. ¶¶ 57-61.) Defendant was arrested on March 17, 2017, and three days later a grand jury indicted him for the offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. (¶¶ 55, 65; see Indictment, ECF No. 1-15.)

Plaintiff continued to suffer as a result of the December 15 seizure. He experienced another seizure in his sleep, and he had to take increased medication, which left him sedated and disabled during the holidays. (Corrected Compl. ¶¶ 68-70.) He "required assistance from his family to perform routine tasks," and was "embarrassed, humiliated, and deeply upset," as a result of this incident. (Id. ¶¶ 70-71.)

With the criminal case against Defendant still pending, Plaintiff filed a civil case against Defendant in this Court on April 24, 2017. Plaintiff brought four claims: (I) battery, (II) assault, (III) intentional infliction of emotional distress, and (IV) "purposeful infliction of bodily harm/prima facie tort under Texas law." (Corrected Compl. ¶¶ 74-88.) The civil case was stayed pending resolution of the criminal case, but in an earlier order the Court partially lifted that stay and ordered Defendant to respond to Plaintiff's corrected complaint by March 21, 2018. Defendant responded on that date, answering Counts II and III, and moving to dismiss Counts I and IV. Defendant's motion to dismiss is fully briefed and ripe, and the Court will turn now to its disposition.

II. Standard

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

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Bluebook (online)
318 F. Supp. 3d 766, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eichenwald-v-rivello-mdd-2018.