Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Inc.

628 F. Supp. 2d 112, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54026, 2009 WL 1797867
District Court, District of Columbia·Decided June 25, 2009·No. Civil Action 06-670 (CKK)·Published·Cited by 18 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

Plaintiff Larry Klayman brought this action against Defendants — Judicial Watch, Inc. (hereinafter “JW” or the “organization”), a non-profit public interest government watchdog organization; Thomas J. Fitton, President of JW; Paul J. Orfanedes, Secretary and a Director of JW; and Christopher J. Farrell, a Director of JW (“Individual Defendants,” together with JW, “Defendants”) — alleging a variety of claims, including, inter alia, breach of contract, violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A) and (B), and defamation. Presently before the Court are a number of motions, including: (1) Klayman’s motion for partial summary judgment as to Count Six of his Second *118 Amended Complaint; (2) JW’s motion for partial summary judgment as to Counts Four, Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine of the Second Amended Complaint; (3) Fitton’s motion for partial summary judgment as to Counts Four, Six, and Nine of the Second Amended Complaint; (4) Orfanedes’ motion for partial summary judgment as to Counts Four, Six, and Nine of the Second Amended Complaint; (5) Farrell’s motion for partial summary judgment as to Counts Four, Six, and Nine of the Second Amended Complaint; and (6) JW’s motion for partial summary judgment as to Counts One, Two, Three and Ten of its Amended Counterclaim.

Upon a searching consideration of the filings currently before the Court on these motions, the attached exhibits, and the relevant statutes and case law, with respect to Klayman’s Second Amended Complaint, the Court shall: (1) grant Defendants’ motions for summary judgment as to Count Four; (2) deny Klayman’s partial motion for summary judgment as to Count Six and shall grant Defendants’ cross-motions for partial summary judgment as to Count Six; (3) deny-in-part and grant-in-part JW’s motion for partial summary judgment as to Counts Seven and Eight; and (4) grant Defendants’ motions for partial summary judgment as to Count Nine. With respect to the Amended Counterclaim, the Court shall: (1) grant JW’s motion for partial summary judgment as to Count One as to liability, but hold in abeyance as to damages; and (2) deny JW’s motion for partial summary judgment as to Counts Two, Three and Four.

In light of the Court’s decision herein, the following claims and counterclaims remain at issue. First, as to Klayman’s Second Amended Complaint, the following allegations of breach of contract asserted in Counts Seven and Eight remain viable as to JW: (1) JW’s alleged failure to make a good faith effort to remove Klayman as guarantor of the building’s lease; (2) JW’s failure to pay health insurance for Klayman’s children; (3) JW’s filing a motion to strike Klayman’s appearance in Florida litigation; (4) JW’s failure to provide Klayman with access to documents regarding Mr. Paul; and (5) JW’s alleged disparagement of Klayman and misrepresentations of the reasons for his departure from the organization. Second, with respect to JW and Fitton’s Amended Counterclaim, Count One remains at issue as to damages only and Counts Two through Eleven remain at issue in their entirety.

I: BACKGROUND

A Factual Background

The Court shall assume familiarity with the its January 17, 2007 and April 3, 2007 Memorandum Opinions, which each set forth in detail the factual background of this case. See Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Inc., Civil Action No. 06-670, 2007 WL 140978 (D.D.C. Jan. 17, 2007) (hereinafter “1/17/09 Klayman”)-, Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Civil Action No. 06-670, 2007 WL 1034937 (D.D.C. Apr. 3, 2007) (“1/3/07 Klayman ”). The Court shall therefore only briefly address herein such facts as are necessary for resolution of the motions currently before the Court. Moreover, given the numerous issues raised by the parties, most of which implicate a discrete set of facts, the Court at this point provides only a short introduction to the facts of this case, with a more detailed discussion to follow below as is necessary for evaluation of a particular claim.

As previously established, Defendant Judicial Watch, Inc. (“JW” or the “organization”) is a 501(c)(3) organization formed under the laws of the District of Columbia and headquartered in the District of Columbia. 4/3 /07 Klayman, 2007 WL *119 1034937, at *2. Defendant Fitton is President of Judicial Watch, Defendant Orfanedes is the Secretary and a Director of Judicial Watch, and Defendant Farrell is a Director of Judicial Watch (together, “Individual Defendants”) (collectively with “JW,” “Defendants”). Id. Plaintiff Larry Klayman (“Klayman”) is the self-described founder and former Chairman, General Counsel and Treasurer of Judicial Watch, who resides in and practices law in the State of Florida. Id. From 1998 to 2003, Klayman was Chairman, General Counsel and Treasurer of JW, as well as an employee and member of the organization’s Board of Directors. Defs.’ Stmt. ¶ 1. On September 19, 2003, Klayman entered into a detailed Severance Agreement, signed by Klayman and Fitton, on behalf of JW, and attested to by Orfanedes, as Corporate Secretary of Judicial Watch. 4/3/07 Klayman, 2007 WL 1034937, at *2; Defs.’ Stmt. ¶¶ 3-11 & Ex. A (9/19/03 Severance Agreement). 1 Klayman signed the Severance Agreement both as an individual and in his capacity as President of his law firm, Klayman & Associates, P.C. (“K & A”). Defs.’ Stmt. ¶ 6; see also Severance Agreement at p. 12. The parties negotiated the terms of the Severance Agreement over the course of several months prior to its execution. 4/3/07 Klayman, 2007 WL 1034937, at *2; Defs.’ Stmt. ¶¶ 3-9. Throughout the course of those negotiations, Klayman was himself a licensed attorney, and was represented by attorneys from two different law firms. 4/3/07 Klayman, 2007 WL 1034937, at *2; Defs.’ Stmt. ¶¶ 7-9.

B. Procedural Background

On April 12, 2006, Klayman filed the instant lawsuit. Shortly thereafter, Klayman filed his Second Amended Complaint, in which he alleges six causes of action against various combinations of Defendants, relating to his separation from JW. See Second Amended Complaint, Docket No. [12], (hereinafter, “SAC”). 2 By a Memorandum Opinion and Order dated January 17, 2007, the Court dismissed Count Nine of the SAC, which alleges a claim of defamation, insofar as it relates to allegedly defamatory statements made in JW’s Form 990 tax returns and allegedly doctored press quotations posted on JW’s website. See 1/17/07 Klayman, 2007 WL 140978, at *1. On April 3, 2007, the Court dismissed Count Five of the SAC, which alleged violation of Florida state law, see Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Civ. Action No. 06-670, 2007 WL 1034936, *1 (E).D.C. Apr. 3, 2007), and granted Defendants summary judgment as to parts of: (1)

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Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Inc., 628 F. Supp. 2d 112, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54026, 2009 WL 1797867 (D.D.C. 2009).

628 F. Supp. 2d 112 (Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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