Tomasello v. Greenzweig

Tomasello v. Greenzweig

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

The claims in the instant lawsuit arise out of the disposition of a prior legal action that Plaintiff Patricia Tomasello filed in a state court in Virginia in 2016. (See Compl., ECF No. 1, at 1-2.) In that prior lawsuit (hereinafter referred to as the "2016 Lawsuit"), Tomasello was represented by attorney Martin McMahon. (See Compl. ¶¶ 1, 2.) The state court dismissed Tomasello's case, and shortly thereafter, Tomasello and McMahon (collectively, "Plaintiffs") filed the instant tort action against three individuals who had been involved with the state-court litigation, seeking damages for, in essence, an alleged unlawful conspiracy to have the 2016 Lawsuit dismissed. [*2]  (See id. ¶¶ 15-17.)

Before this Court at present are two motions to dismiss that Defendants Jamie Greenzweig, Michael Reilly, and Hasina Lewis have filed with respect to this matter. (See Defs. Greenzweig and Reilly's Mem. in Support of Mot. to Dismiss ("Defs. Greenzweig & Reilly's Mem."), ECF No. 4-1; Def. Lewis's Mem. in Support of Mot. to Dismiss ("Def. Lewis's Mem."), ECF No. 10.) In addition to asserting that Plaintiffs' complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted (see Defs. Greenzweig & Reilly's Mem. at 25-43; Def. Lewis's Mem. at 12-17), Defendants argue that this Court lacks both subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' claims (see Defs. Greenzweig & Reilly's Mem. at 23-25; Def. Lewis's Mem. at 9-10), and personal jurisdiction over Greenzweig and Reilly (see Defs. Greenzweig & Reilly's Mem. at 12-20).¹ Defendants further maintain that Plaintiffs have selected the wrong venue for this litigation. (See Defs. Greenzweig & Reilly's Mem. at 21-23; Def. Lewis's Mem. at 10-12).

For the reasons explained below, this Court agrees that venue is improper in the District of Columbia, and the Court further concludes that transferring this case to the United States [*3]  District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ("EDVA") is warranted, in lieu of outright dismissal. Consequently, the Defendants' motions to dismiss will be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART, and the instant case will be TRANSFERRED forthwith to the EDVA. A separate Order consistent with this Memorandum Opinion will follow.

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