La'Tiejira v. Facebook, Inc.

272 F. Supp. 3d 981
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedAugust 7, 2017
DocketCiv. A. H-16-2574
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 272 F. Supp. 3d 981 (La'Tiejira v. Facebook, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
La'Tiejira v. Facebook, Inc., 272 F. Supp. 3d 981 (S.D. Tex. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER OF.DISMISSAL

. MELINDA HARMON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Pending before the Court in the above referenced case, grounded in diversity ju[984]*984risdiction, alleging defamation/libel, breach of implied contract based on Facebook Inc.’s bullying policy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and seeking to hold the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”) unconstitutional as applied, is inter alia Facebook, Inc.’s (“Facebook’s”) and Mark Zuckerberg’s (“Zucker-berg’s”)(collectively, “the Facebook Defendants’ ”) motion to dismiss Plaintiff Paree La’Tiejira’s (“Plaintiffs” or “La’Tiejira’s”) First Amended Complaint under § 27.003 of the Texas Citizens Participation Act (“TCPA”) (instrument # 32). Section 27.003 (“Motion to Dismiss”) provides,

(a) If a legal action is based on, relates to, or is in response to a party’s exercise of the right of free speech, right to petition, or right of association, that party may file a motion to dismiss the legal action.
(b) A motion to dismiss a legal action under this section must be filed not later than the 60th day after the date of service of the legal action. The court may extend the time to file a motion under this section on a showing of good cause.
(c) Except as provided by Section 27.006(b), on the filing of a motion under this section, all discovery in the legal action is suspended until the court has ruled on the motion to dismiss.

A hearing was held on the motion on August 2, 2017. After careful review of the record and the applicable law, the Court concludes that the Facebook Defendants have correctly interpreted the law and applied it to the facts here, demonstrating that their motion to dismiss all of La’Tie-jira’s claims against them under the TCPA and the CDA should be granted with prejudice for the reasons stated below.

The First Amended Complaint (#27) asserts that Plaintiff is a resident of Houston, Texas; Facebook is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Menlo Park, California; and Zucker-berg is a resident of California and co-founder and CEO of Facebook. These facts are not contested. Because in nearly eleventh months’ time Plaintiff was never able to identify or find the location of Defendants Kyle Anders, A, B, and C to serve them, and thus never able to establish subject matter or personal jurisdiction over them, after substantial notice the Court recently dismissed the claims against them (# 51).1

Applicable Law

The TCPA

Defendants have requested that the Court address the TCPA motion first (# 32 at p.2; # 33 at p.l.).

Sections 27.001-27.011 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code Ann. (West 2011), constitute the TCPA, which “is an anti-SLAPP statute 2 that allows a motion “designed to protect the defendant from having to litigate meritless [985]*985eases aimed at chilling First Amendment expression.” NCDR, LLC v. Mauze & Bagby, PLLC, 745 F.3d 742, 751 (5th Cir. 2014), citing Tex, Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.003(a). The TCPA “protects citizens who petition or speak on matters of public concern from retaliatory lawsuits that seek to intimidate or silence them.” Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 27.001-.011. The protection consists of the availability of a special motion for an expedited consideration of any suit that appears to stifle the defendant’s communication on a matter of public concern.” In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d 579, 584, 586 (Tex. 2015). Usually the motion “must be filed within sixty days after the service of the legal action, although the TCPA provides that a court can extend the filing deadline on a showing of good cause.” NCDR, 745 F.3d at 746, citing § 27.003(b). Its “purpose is to identify and summarily dispose of lawsuits designed only to chill First Amendment rights, not to dismiss meritorious lawsuits.” Id. at 589, citing § 27.0023 (balancing “the constitutional rights of persons to petition, speak freely, and otherwise participate in'government to'the maximum extent permitted by law” against “the right of a person to file meritorious lawsuits for demonstrable injury.”). In addition, the statute also requires a “prima facie case,” which traditionally means' the “minimum quantum of evidence necessary to support a rational inference that the allegation of fact is true.” Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d at 590, citing In re E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 136 S.W.3d 218, 223 (Tex. 2004). See also Serafine v. Blunt, 466 S.W.3d 352, 358 (Tex. App.-Austin June 26, 2015)(“Prima facie evidence is evidence that, until its effect is overcome by other evidence, will suffice as proof of a fact in issue. In other words, a prima facie case is one that will entitle a party .to recover if no evidence to the contrary is offered by the opposition party.”)(citing Rehak Creative Services, Inc. v. Witt, 404 S.W.3d 716, 726 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, petition denied)). Although the TCPA is a state law, it applies to Texas law claims in a federal court sitting in diversity. NDCR, 745 F.3d at 752-53; Brown v. Wimberly, 477 Fed.Appx. 214, 216 (5th Cir. 2012).

Section 27.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code describes the triggering motion to dismiss,

(a) If a legal action is based on, relates to, or is in response to a party’s exercise of the right of free speech, right to petition, or right of association, that party may file a motion to dismiss the legal action.
(b) a motion to dismiss a legal action under this section must be filed not later than the 60th day after the date of service of the legal action. The court may extend the time to file a motion under this section on a showing of good cause.
(c) Except a provided by Section 27.006(b) on the filing of a motion under this section, all discovery in the legal action system is suspended until the court has ruled on the motion to dismiss.

Section 27.006, entitled “Evidence,” provides

(a) In determining whether a legal action should be dismissed under this chapter, the court shall consider the [986]*986pleadings and supporting and opposing affidavits stating the fact on which the liability or defense is based.
(b) On a motion by a party or on the court’s own motion and on a showing of good cause, the court may allow specified and limited discovery relevant to the motion.

By filing such a motion to dismiss under the TCPA, a defendant, who believes that the plaintiffs lawsuit is a response to the defendant’s legal' exercise of his First Amendment rights, commences á two-step process. Id. at 586.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
272 F. Supp. 3d 981, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/latiejira-v-facebook-inc-txsd-2017.