Case 2:18-cv-00460-RWS-RSP Document 67 Filed 05/28/19 Page 1 of 29 PageID #: 1410 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS MARSHALL DIVISION DAVID LOUIS WHITEHEAD, Plaintiff, Case No. 2:18-cv-00460-RWS-RSP v. NETFLIX, INC., ET AL., Defendants. DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS AND SUPPORTING BRIEF Case 2:18-cv-00460-RWS-RSP Document 67 Filed 05/28/19 Page 2 of 29 PageID #: 1411 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES.................................................................................................... 3 FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND STATEMENT OF THE CASE ............................................ 4 ARGUMENT .................................................................................................................................. 7 I. The Amended Complaint Should Be Dismissed Under Federal Rule Of Civil Procedure 12(B)(1) For Lack Of Subject Matter Jurisdiction ............................................................... 7 II. Plaintiff’s Claims Should Be Dismissed Because They Are Duplicative And Barred By Res Judicata .......................................................................................................................... 9 A. Claims Against Netflix Are Duplicative And Barred By Res Judicata. ........................... 9 B. Claims Against Viacom Are Barred By Res Judicata. ................................................... 11 III. Plaintiff’s Claims Fail To Properly State A Claim Or Meet The Requisite Pleading Requirements And Should Be Dismissed Under 12(B)(6). ............................................... 12 A. Plaintiff Fails To Allege A Cause Of Action For Copyright Infringement (Counts I, III, IV, V(1), V(2), VI, And VII). ........................................................................................ 14 B. Plaintiff Fails To Allege A Cause Of Action For Fraud (Counts II, V(1), V(2)) .......... 17 C. Plaintiff Fails To Allege A Cause Of Action For Bad Faith Dealings In Count III ....... 18 D. Plaintiff Fails To Allege A Cause Of Action For Breach Of Contract And Tortious Interference With Potential Contracts (Count VI And X) ............................................. 18 E. Plaintiff Fails To Allege A Cause Of Action For Anti-Trust Violations In Count VIII 19 F. Plaintiff Fails To Allege A Cause Of Action For Violations Of Civil Rights (Due Process) Pertaining To Potential Contracts (5th And 14th Amendment Violations) In Count IX......................................................................................................................... 19 G. Plaintiff Fails To Allege A Cause Of Action For Negligence In Count XI ................... 20 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 20 i Case 2:18-cv-00460-RWS-RSP Document 67 Filed 05/28/19 Page 3 of 29 PageID #: 1412 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page(s) Cases Apani Sw., Inc. v. Coca-Cola Enters., Inc., 300 F.3d 620 (5th Cir. 2002) ...................................................................................................19 Apple v. Glenn, 183 F.3d 477 (6th Cir. 1999) .....................................................................................................8 Armour v. Knowles, 12 F.3d 147 (5th Cir. 2007) ...............................................................................................14, 15 Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) ...........................................................................................................13, 20 Bell v. Hood, 327 U.S. 678 (1946) ...................................................................................................................7 Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) .................................................................................................................12 Benchmark Elecs., Inc. v. J.M. Huber Corp., 343 F.3d 719 (5th Cir. 2003) .............................................................................................12, 16 Cambridge Toxicology Group, Inc. v. Exnicios, 495 F.3d 169 (5th Cir. 2007) .....................................................................................................9 Collins v. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, 224 F.3d 496 (5th Cir. 2000) ........................................................................................15, 16, 20 Cronus Offshore, Inc. v. Kerr McGee Oil & Gas Corp., 369 F. Supp. 2d 848 (E.D. Tex. 2004) .....................................................................................19 Crowley Cutlery Co. v. United States, 849 F.2d 273 (7th Cir. 1988) .....................................................................................................8 Cuvillier v. Taylor, 503 F.3d 397 (5th Cir. 2007) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556-57) ....................................11 Daboub v. Gibbons, 42 F.3d 285 (5th Cir.1995) ......................................................................................................14 Dragoslavic v. Ace Hardware Corp., 274 F. Supp. 3d 582 (E.D. Tex. 2017) .....................................................................................17 ii Case 2:18-cv-00460-RWS-RSP Document 67 Filed 05/28/19 Page 4 of 29 PageID #: 1413 Firefighters’ Ret. Sys. v. Grant Thornton, L.L.P., 894 F.3d 665 (5th Cir. 2018) ...................................................................................................13 Fitzgerald v. First East Seventh Street Tenants Corp., 221 F.3d 362 (2d Cir. 2000).......................................................................................................8 Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, ––– U.S. ––––, 139 S.Ct. 881, 203 L.Ed.2d 147 (2019) .......................................................................................................................15 General Universal Sys., Inc. v. Lee, 379 F.3d 131 (5th Cir. 2004) ...................................................................................................14 Greater Houston Transp. Co. v. Phillips, 801 S.W.2d 523 (Tex. 1990) ....................................................................................................20 Hagans v. Lavine, 415 U.S. 528 (1974) ...............................................................................................................1, 7 Hux v. S. Methodist Univ., 819 F.3d 776 (5th Cir. 2016) ...................................................................................................18 In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., 495 F.3d 191 (5th Cir. 2007)) ............................................................................................13, 15 Keeler v. City of Newport News, No. 2:12CV325, 2013 WL 12155728 (E.D. Va. Feb. 19, 2013) ...............................................9 Lone Star Fund V (U.S.), L.P. v. Barclays Bank PLC, 594 F.3d 383 (5th Cir. 2010) .......................................................................................12, 13, 16 Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., 457 U.S. 922 (1982) .................................................................................................................20 Meador v. Oryx Energy Co., 87 F. Supp. 2d 658 (E.D. Tex. 2000) .......................................................................................11 O’Connor v. United States, 159 F.R.D. 22 (D.Md.1994) .......................................................................................................9 Randolph v. Dimension Films, 630 F. Supp. 2d 741 (S.D. Tex. 2009), aff’d, 381 F.App’x 449 (5th Cir. 2010) .....................16 Ratcliff v. Texas, No. 9:15-CV-106, 2017 WL 9325347 (E.D. Tex. Feb. 13, 2017) .............................................1 iii Case 2:18-cv-00460-RWS-RSP Document 67 Filed 05/28/19 Page 5 of 29 PageID #: 1414 Rosner v. Fader, CIV.A RDB-09-1923, 2009 WL 2358358 (D. Md. July 29, 2009) aff’d, 333 F. App’x 719 (4th Cir. 2009) ............................................................................................................................8 SHS Inv. v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 798 F.Supp.2d 811 (S.D. Tex. 2011) .......................................................................................17 Taylor v. Books A Million, Inc., 296 F.3d 376, 378 (5th Cir.2002) .............................................12 Travis v. City of Mesquite, 830 S.W.2d 94 (Tex. 1992) ......................................................................................................12 United States ex rel. Long v. GSDMIdea City, L.L.C., 798 F.3d 265, 274 & n.7 (5th Cir. 2015) .................................................................................11 Van Duzer v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 582 Fed.Appx. 279 (5th Cir. 2014) ..........................................................................................11 W. Invs., Inc. v. Urena, 162 S.W.3d 547 (Tex. 2005) ....................................................................................................20 Whitehead v. CBS/Viacom, Inc., 315 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2004) ..............................................................................................6 Whitehead v. Columbia Pictures, No. 98–1882, 2000 WL 33582458 (D.D.C. June 14, 2000) ......................................................6 Whitehead v. Deutsch, No. 96–420 (D.D.C. Mar. 31, 1997) ..........................................................................................6 Whitehead v. Dreamworks LLC, No.