Miller v. Gizmodo Media Grp., LLC

383 F. Supp. 3d 1365
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedApril 17, 2019
DocketCASE NO. 18-24227-CIV-ALTONAGA/Goodman
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 383 F. Supp. 3d 1365 (Miller v. Gizmodo Media Grp., LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Gizmodo Media Grp., LLC, 383 F. Supp. 3d 1365 (S.D. Fla. 2019).

Opinion

CECILIA M. ALTONAGA, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS CAUSE came before the Court on Defendant, William Menaker's Renewed Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal *1368Jurisdiction and Failure to State a Claim [ECF No. 70]. Plaintiff, Jason Miller, filed a Response [ECF No. 72], to which Defendant filed a Reply [ECF No. 82]. The Court has carefully considered the First Amended Complaint [ECF No. 5], the parties' written submissions, the record, and applicable law. For the following reasons, the Motion is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

This case arises over an allegedly defamatory statement published in an article on a news website, Splinter , then circulated by other media outlets, and then posted on Twitter. While the First Amended Complaint details the alleged defamation, only the allegations relevant to the issue of personal jurisdiction are outlined below.

A. Plaintiff's Allegations

Plaintiff is a communications strategist and political manager who served as Senior Communications Advisor on President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. (See Am. Compl. ¶ 37). In February 2017, Plaintiff joined Teneo Strategy, a company that advises Fortune 500 CEOs on crisis communications and media relations. (See id. ¶ 38). In March 2017, Plaintiff also began working as a political commentator for CNN, often appearing on national television advocating for and defending the Trump Administration. (See id. ). He resides in Virginia. (See id. ¶ 18).

Defendant Katherine Krueger is the Managing Editor of a news website, Splinter , and an outspoken critic of the Trump Administration. (See id. ¶ 95). She resides in New York. (See id. ¶ 30). Defendant Gizmodo Media Group, LLC's sole member is Univision Interactive Media, Inc. ("Fusion"), a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in New York. (See id. ¶ 19). Fusion operates a network of national and local online and mobile websites, including Splinter , from offices in New York. (See id. ¶¶ 20-24). Defendant William Menaker, a close friend of Krueger's, is a freelance writer, contributor for the Huffington Post , and host of a podcast known for its commentary on the 2016 election. (See id. ¶¶ 116-117). Menaker also resides in New York. (See id. ¶ 31).

The background of this case begins in 2016, when Plaintiff allegedly had an affair with Arlene Delgado, who served with Plaintiff on the 2016 campaign. (See id. ¶¶ 37, 40). The alleged affair resulted in Deglado's pregnancy. (See id. ¶ 37). Delgado lives in Miami, Florida. (See id. ¶ 32).

In July 2017, Plaintiff filed a petition in Miami-Dade Family Circuit Court to ensure he would be part of his and Delgado's son's life. (See id. ¶ 41). The proceedings in Family Court turned hostile. (See id. ¶¶ 10, 42-50). In March 2018, Delgado filed a motion in Family Court to compel Plaintiff to a psychological evaluation. (See id. ; Family Court Case Docket [ECF No. 5-9] 13-14). On September 14, 2018, Delgado filed a Supplement to that motion, in which she accused Plaintiff of surreptitiously giving a woman an "abortion pill" - inducing an abortion without the woman's consent years earlier. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 2, 52, 88, 97-98, 162). From the time it was filed, the Supplement was sealed. (See id. ¶ 91).

On September 21, 2018, Krueger published a news report on Splinter exposing the story recounted in the Supplement. (See id. ¶¶ 12, 96-98; see also Splinter Article [ECF No. 5-3] ). The article, titled "Court Docs Allege Ex-Trump Staffer Drugged Woman He Got Pregnant with 'Abortion Pill,' " included a link to the sealed Supplement. (Am. Compl. ¶ 96). After the Splinter report was published, widespread coverage of the story by other media outlets began. (See id. ¶ 104). The coverage prompted Fox News Sunday to cancel Plaintiff's scheduled appearance for the following Sunday, September 23, 2018 (see id. ), and by the end of the weekend, *1369Plaintiff had lost his job at CNN (see id. ¶¶ 109-111).

On October 15, 2018, Plaintiff filed his initial Complaint [ECF No. 1] against Krueger and Splinter 's corporate parent, Gizmodo. (See generally Compl.). Plaintiff stated claims for defamation per se (Count I), tortious interference with advantageous business relationships (Count II), intentional infliction of emotional distress (Count III), invasion of privacy (Count IV), and civil conspiracy (Count V). (See id. ¶¶ 127-173). He sought damages exceeding $ 100,000,000.00. (See id. ¶ 17).

The next day, Menaker posted on Twitter: "Rat-faced baby-killer and Trump PR homunculus, Jason Miller, is suing my girlfriend for $ 100 million, cool!" (Am. Compl. ¶ 120). Menaker's Twitter post linked to an article in the New York Post 's celebrity news and gossip site Page Six about this case, titled "Jason Miller files $ 100M defamation suit against Gizmodo Media Group." (Id. ).

On October 18, 2018, Plaintiff filed the operative First Amended Complaint, alleging the same claims against Defendants Krueger and Gizmodo as in the original Complaint, and adding a defamation per se claim against Menaker (Count VI) for calling Plaintiff a "baby killer" in his October 16, 2018 Tweet. (Id. ¶¶ 207-216). Plaintiff alleges significant damages "to his reputation, humiliation, embarrassment, mental suffering, shame, emotional distress and other harms...." (Id. ¶ 213 (alteration added)).

B. Motion to Dismiss

Following jurisdictional discovery, Menaker filed the present Motion, seeking dismissal of the First Amended Complaint based on lack of personal jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim for relief.1 (See generally Mot.; Joint Status Report Regarding Jurisdictional Discovery [ECF No. 67] ). Along with their briefing, the parties supply additional facts uncovered through jurisdictional discovery for the Court's consideration.

Menaker submits his declaration emphasizing his lack of contacts with Florida. (See Declaration of William Menaker [ECF No. 70-1] ("Menaker Decl.")). In his Declaration, Menaker states he lives in Brooklyn, New York and has never lived in Florida. (See id. ¶¶ 3-4). He does not own any property or have bank accounts in Florida, has never paid taxes or registered to vote in Florida, does not have direct investments in any Florida business, and has never been employed by a Florida business or resident. (See id. ¶¶ 5-11). Menaker also attests that to the best of his recollection, he has only visited Florida four times - twice on family vacations to Disney World and twice on family vacations to Key West. (See id. ¶ 13). Plaintiff's most recent visit to Florida was over 10 years ago. (See id. ). In addition, and perhaps most significantly, Menaker states he did not call anyone in Florida or otherwise communicate with any Florida sources in connection with the Twitter post. (See id. ¶ 12).

Plaintiff provides his own declaration, in which he states although he resides in Virginia, he previously resided in Florida. (See

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383 F. Supp. 3d 1365, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-gizmodo-media-grp-llc-flsd-2019.