A Straightforward “No” To Larry Klayman

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found no basis to assert jurisdiction over defendants sued by Larry Klayman and his client over statements made concerning the so-called Ground Zero Mosque controversy.

The question in this case is whether the United States District Court for the District of Columbia properly exercised personal jurisdiction over the Defendant, Adam Bailey, when (i) the Plaintiffs, Larry Klayman and Vincent Forras, are not District of Columbia residents; (ii) Defendant Bailey never set foot in the District in the two decades prior to the lawsuit; (iii) the lawsuit arises from allegedly defamatory statements Bailey made in a New York state court filing that (iv) were later published by a New York reporter (v) in a New York paper, and (vi) the statements concern Klayman’s and Forras’s roles in New York litigation concerning (vii) a controversial construction project in New York City.

The answer to that question is a straightforward “no.” There is no personal jurisdiction in this case over Bailey in the District of Columbia.

The District Court had erroneously dismissed on other grounds

Under controlling circuit precedent, the complaint makes no plausible allegation of personal jurisdiction over Bailey, and the district court should have promptly dismissed the case on that basis. However, because the district court dismissed the case, we can affirm the district court’s judgment on the alternative ground that it lacked jurisdiction, see FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(2).

(Mike Frisch)