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Date: 21 Nov 2007 15:06:44
From: samsloan
Subject: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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PROSKAUER ROSE LLP A NEW YORK LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIP vin M. Goldstein, Managing Resident Partner One Newark Center Newark, NJ 07102-5211 Telephone 973.274.3200 or 212.736.8185 Fax 973.274.3299 BOCA BATON BOSTON LONDON LOS ANGELES NEW ORLEANS NEW YORK PARIS SAO PAULO WASHINGTON Jeremy M. Brown Senior Counsel Direct Dial 973.274.3205 [email protected] November 19, 2007 By Facsimile (with permission) and Regular Mail The Honorable Denny Chin, U.S.D.J. United States District Court, Southern District of New York United States Courthouse 500 Pearl Street, Room 1020 New York, New York 10007 Re: Sloan v. Truong, et al. Civil Action No.: 07 CV 8537 (DC) Dear Judge Chin: This law firm is counsel to defendants The United States Chess Federation, Hoainhan Truong, Zsuzsanna Polger, Joel Charming, William Goichberg, Bill Hall, Randall Hough, Randy Bauer and Jim Berry (collectively "Defendants")1 in the above-referenced matter. Defendants submit this letter pursuant to Your Honor's Individual Practice Rule 2A and respectfully request the scheduling of a pre- motion conference to address an anticipated motion to dismiss plaintiff Sam Sloan's (pro se) Complaint. Defendants seek permission to file a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(2) because there is no basis for subject matter and personal jurisdiction. Specifically, Plaintiff has failed to: (i) establish complete diversity between the parties in order to maintain jurisdiction in this Court; (ii) articulate a federal question sufficient to sustain jurisdiction; and (iii) personal jurisdiction is improper because Plaintiff cannot establish sufficient contacts between the Defendants and the :forum state. Under 28 U.S.C. =A7 1332(a), this Court has original subject matter jurisdiction over all claims where the action is between "citizens of a State and citizens or subjects of a foreign state." See Caterpillar Inc. v. Lewis, 519 U.S. 61, 67-68 (1996); Gushing v. Moore, 970 F.2d 1103, 1106 (2d Cir. 1992). Both Plaintiff and individual defendant William Goichberg ("Goichberg) are citizens of the State of New York. Defendant Goichberg resides in Salisbury Mills, New York. 1 Defendant Herbert Rodney Vaughn was not served with the Complaint and defendants Gregory Alexander and Grant Perks were served improperly. While this firm represents Messrs. Vaughn, Alexander and Perks, they are not appearing in this matter (although the grounds for dismissal would be identical to the anticipated motion). 2 Defendant Goichberg will submit an affidavit stating that he is a New York State resident. PROSKAUER ROSE LLP The Honorable Denny Chin, U.S.D.J. November 19, 2007 Page 2 Accordingly, the Court does not have diversity jurisdiction over this action and Plaintiff's Complaint must be dismissed. Under 28 U.S.C. =A7 1331, federal courts have original jurisdiction over cases "arising under" federal law. The only federal statute specifically identified by Plaintiff in his Complaint is the Communications Decency Act ("CDA"), 47 U.S.C. =A7 223(h)(1) (Compl. =B6 3.) However, the CDA is a criminal statute, which does not provide federal jurisdiction over a civil lawsuit for money damages. See Moore v. New York City Bd. of Educ., No. 01 Civ. 0908 (RWS), 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9955, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. July 18, 2001). Plaintiff also references that jurisdiction is based on "election fraud." (Compl. =B6 2.) Election fraud is generally prohibited under the Federal Election Campaign Act ("FECA"), 2 U.S.C. =A7 431, et seq., and the Voting Rights Act ("VRA"), 42 U.S.C. =A7 1973, et seq. Neither act permits an individual to bring a civil lawsuit in federal court. Furthermore, Plaintiff alleges that federal jurisdiction is based on "the constitution and laws of the United States" (Compl. 112). However, this is insufficient to sustain a Complaint. See Sip fle v. Cortland Country Club, Inc., No. 5:04- CV-565 (NAM/GHL), 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27625, at *2, 5 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 4, 2005). Accordingly, Plaintiff has failed to present a federal question and this Court should dismiss his Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Lastly, there is no personal jurisdiction because Plaintiff cannot establish sufficient contacts between the Defendants and the forum state. Plaintiff's allegations that certain defendants posted allegedly defamatory statements about him on chess web-sites, thereby preventing him from winning election to the Executive Board of The U.S. Chess Federation (Compl. =B6n 3-9), are insufficient as a matter of law to establish personal jurisdiction over any of the defendants in New York.3 Allegedly defamatory postings on web-sites, which may be read by individuals in New York, are not sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant. See Best Van Lines, Inc. v. Walker, 490 F.3d 239, 250-51 (2d Cir. 2007) (finding that posting defamatory material on a web-site accessible in New York was not sufficient to constitute "transacting business" in New York). Accordingly, there is no personal jurisdiction over defendants and this matter should be dismissed. Respectfully submitted, 3 This argument does not apply to defendant Goichberg, who is a New York State resident. Jeremy C.Brown cc: Sam Sloan (pro se) (via regular mail) Anthony M. Handler, Esq. (via regular mail) Patrick M. O'Brien, Esq. (via regular mail) Scot M. Graydon, Esq. (via regular mail) http://www.samsloan.com/proskauer.pdf
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Date: 23 Nov 2007 13:11:29
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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I ask that the readers of this forum not bother or in any way harass the attorney who is representing the USCF in this suit. He is not our enemy and he could be our best friend. Somebody needs to start telling the members of the Executive Board of the USCF that they need to start obeying the law for a change. Perhaps the attorney will do this. A little appreciated fact is that the USCF does not have an attorney that they consult with on a regular basis. When I was on the board, at every meeting I brought up the fact that many of the things the board is doing are of questionable legality and we need the advice of counsel. Every time, the board said that it did not want to spend the money. In particular, I asked that counsel be retained to determine our legal rights regarding the Crossville Property. At one point, Joel Channing as VP of Finance said that he would agree that the office seek the advice of counsel with a spending limit of $500. (Five Hundred Dollars). However, a few minutes later Mr. Channing changed his mind and decided that $500 was too much to spend. The lawyer now representing the USCF in Sloan vs. Truong is apparently being paid by the insurance company with a $10,000 deductible. I am hoping that once he finds out how unimaginably bad things really are at the USCF, he will tell them to straighten out. Otherwise the USCF and its members, meaning us, are ultimately responsible. Sam Sloan
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Date: 22 Nov 2007 12:50:06
From:
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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On Nov 21, 6:17 pm, "B. Lafferty" <[email protected] > wrote: > I find it interesting the PR is representing both the USCF and Mr. Truong. > While Mr. Truong is a board member who would normally be represented by the > USCF's insurance carrier, in this instance the allegations of wrongdoing go > beyond the scope of his duties as a board member creating potential > liability for the USCF. I'm not at all certain PR can represent both of them > in this litigation. I would think this issue will be raised at some point in > the proceedings. Judge Brian and Sam, I just left MR. Brown a voice message, the attorney for both the USCF and Paul Troung. I am preparing an ethical complaint if he continues to represent Mr. Troung and the USCF. I will not allow this attorney to continue to allow Mr. Troung to contine making these death threats and represent the USCF, while the USCF has a claim against MR. Troung. This position is unethical, and I will complain to the judge. Thank you for pointing this out, Sam Sloan, cus Roberts
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Date: 21 Nov 2007 21:32:18
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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On Nov 21, 9:45 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote: > On Nov 21, 8:55 pm, help bot <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > On Nov 21, 7:03 pm, samsloan <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > This law firm is counsel to defendants The United States Chess > > > > > Federation, Hoainhan Truong, Zsuzsanna Polger, > > > > > Zsuzanna Polger? > > > > Zsuzsanna is her actual legal name. > > > > Zsuzsa is a diminutive form of Zsuzsanna. > > > Thanks -- I never would have figured that out by myself. > > > Um... "Polger"? > > > > Susan is just a nickname Zsuzsanna Polger adopted when she immigrated > > > to America. > > > Thanks again; it's amazing the things one can learn > > from much ster people, like Mr. Sloan! Until now, > > I suffered from the delusion that all "Susans" everywhere > > used American English, and spelled their names the > > same no matter where they lived or what language they > > spoke. Silly me. > > > > I learned all this during the months I stayed in Zsuzsanna's apartment > > > in Budapest in 1986. > > > Really? Ms. Pogar had her own apartment in Budapest? > > How ever did she manage to pay the rent? Wait -- don't > > tell me... by giving chess lessons? > > > -- help bot > > That was under Communist rule and rent was usually cheap, like five > dollars a month. > > The disadvantage was you had to wait for years on a waiting list. You > could not just pick out an apartment and move in. > > The exact apartment where I stayed and played chess with Zsuzsanna and > her sisters, Sofia and Judit, in seen on the video, "My Brilliant > Brain - Make Me a Genius" > > http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6378985927858479238&q=Susan+... > > You can see the exact apartment and the exact room at 26:01 minutes > into the video. > > Sam Sloan Please note that in this video, Susan Polgar is called "The First Woman Grandmaster" and Paul Truong is called "A Former US Champion". At least Susan Polgar is a grandmaster, although not the first. Nona Gaprindashvili was the first. Since when did Paul Truong ever win the US Championship? Sam Sloan
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Date: 21 Nov 2007 21:03:04
From: help bot
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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On Nov 21, 9:45 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote: > That was under Communist rule and rent was usually cheap, like five > dollars a month. You must mean /rupees/; the Commies used rupees, /yuan/, and /pesos/, not /dollars/. Only fools would trust a currency now backed by nothing more than empty promises, instead of gold or silver. When I suggested they adopt their own currency -- the /ruble/, after Barney Rubble of Flintstones fame -- they looked at me like I was /loonie/. /k/ my words, five dollars a month may sound cheap now, but back then it was more than many peons earned in a week. > The disadvantage was you had to wait for years on a waiting list. You > could not just pick out an apartment and move in. You idiot! You were supposed to offer a bribe to get closer to the top of the list. Do you really think people can wait for years, living on the street through the scorching Russian winters? That's the whole point of such waiting lists; they are merely tools by which the powerful suck money from the poor, who don't really need it anyway, since so many of them die from diseases and malnutrition. > The exact apartment where I stayed and played chess with Zsuzsanna and > her sisters, Sofia and Judit, in seen on the video, "My Brilliant > Brain - Make Me a Genius" Well, not every experiment can be expected to be a huge success on the very first try. Perhaps another attempt could be made, this time using a brain ked "normal"? I'll send I-gor to fetch it. -- help bot
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Date: 21 Nov 2007 18:45:27
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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On Nov 21, 8:55 pm, help bot <[email protected] > wrote: > On Nov 21, 7:03 pm, samsloan <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > This law firm is counsel to defendants The United States Chess > > > > Federation, Hoainhan Truong, Zsuzsanna Polger, > > > > Zsuzanna Polger? > > > Zsuzsanna is her actual legal name. > > > Zsuzsa is a diminutive form of Zsuzsanna. > > Thanks -- I never would have figured that out by myself. > > Um... "Polger"? > > > Susan is just a nickname Zsuzsanna Polger adopted when she immigrated > > to America. > > Thanks again; it's amazing the things one can learn > from much ster people, like Mr. Sloan! Until now, > I suffered from the delusion that all "Susans" everywhere > used American English, and spelled their names the > same no matter where they lived or what language they > spoke. Silly me. > > > I learned all this during the months I stayed in Zsuzsanna's apartment > > in Budapest in 1986. > > Really? Ms. Pogar had her own apartment in Budapest? > How ever did she manage to pay the rent? Wait -- don't > tell me... by giving chess lessons? > > -- help bot That was under Communist rule and rent was usually cheap, like five dollars a month. The disadvantage was you had to wait for years on a waiting list. You could not just pick out an apartment and move in. The exact apartment where I stayed and played chess with Zsuzsanna and her sisters, Sofia and Judit, in seen on the video, "My Brilliant Brain - Make Me a Genius" http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6378985927858479238&q=Susan+Polgar You can see the exact apartment and the exact room at 26:01 minutes into the video. Sam Sloan
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Date: 21 Nov 2007 18:27:30
From: artichoke
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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On Nov 21, 7:17 pm, "B. Lafferty" <[email protected] > wrote: > I find it interesting the PR is representing both the USCF and Mr. Truong. > While Mr. Truong is a board member who would normally be represented by the > USCF's insurance carrier, in this instance the allegations of wrongdoing go > beyond the scope of his duties as a board member creating potential > liability for the USCF. I'm not at all certain PR can represent both of them > in this litigation. I would think this issue will be raised at some point in > the proceedings. They're representing everyone except for TTU, it seems. I'm not sure I understand this liability issue, but if it exists with respect to Truong, doesn't it also apply with respect to Alexander, Vaughn and Perks?
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Date: 21 Nov 2007 17:55:05
From: help bot
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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On Nov 21, 7:03 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote: > > > This law firm is counsel to defendants The United States Chess > > > Federation, Hoainhan Truong, Zsuzsanna Polger, > > > Zsuzanna Polger? > > Zsuzsanna is her actual legal name. > > Zsuzsa is a diminutive form of Zsuzsanna. Thanks -- I never would have figured that out by myself. Um... "Polger"? > Susan is just a nickname Zsuzsanna Polger adopted when she immigrated > to America. Thanks again; it's amazing the things one can learn from much ster people, like Mr. Sloan! Until now, I suffered from the delusion that all "Susans" everywhere used American English, and spelled their names the same no matter where they lived or what language they spoke. Silly me. > I learned all this during the months I stayed in Zsuzsanna's apartment > in Budapest in 1986. Really? Ms. Pogar had her own apartment in Budapest? How ever did she manage to pay the rent? Wait -- don't tell me... by giving chess lessons? -- help bot
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Date: 21 Nov 2007 17:23:06
From:
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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On Nov 21, 6:17 pm, "B. Lafferty" <[email protected] > wrote: > I find it interesting the PR is representing both the USCF and Mr. Truong. > While Mr. Truong is a board member who would normally be represented by the > USCF's insurance carrier, in this instance the allegations of wrongdoing go > beyond the scope of his duties as a board member creating potential > liability for the USCF. I'm not at all certain PR can represent both of them > in this litigation. I would think this issue will be raised at some point in > the proceedings. I am filing an ethical complaint against the above attorney. cus Roberts
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Date: 21 Nov 2007 16:03:57
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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On Nov 21, 6:21 pm, help bot <[email protected] > wrote: > On Nov 21, 6:06 pm, samsloan <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Dear Judge Chin: > > This law firm is counsel to defendants The United States Chess > > Federation, Hoainhan Truong, Zsuzsanna Polger, > > Zsuzanna Polger? Zsuzsanna is her actual legal name. Zsuzsa is a diminutive form of Zsuzsanna. Susan is just a nickname Zsuzsanna Polger adopted when she immigrated to America. I learned all this during the months I stayed in Zsuzsanna's apartment in Budapest in 1986. Sam Sloan
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Date: 21 Nov 2007 19:15:00
From: Ray Gordon, creator of the \pivot\
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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> Susan is just a nickname Zsuzsanna Polger adopted when she immigrated > to America. That's EMIGRATED. -- Ray Gordon, The ORIGINAL Lifestyle Seduction Guru http://www.cybersheet.com/library.html Includes 29 Reasons Not To Be A Nice Guy Ray's new "Project 5000" is here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/project-5000 Don't rely on overexposed, mass-keted commercial seduction methods which no longer work. Thinking of taking a seduction "workshiop?" Read THIS: http://www.dirtyscottsdale.com/?p=1187 Beware! VH-1's "The Pickup Artst" was FRAUDULENT. Six of the eight contestants were actors, and they used PAID TARGETS in the club. The paid targets got mad when VH-1 said "there are no actors in this club" and ruined their prromised acting credit. What else has Mystery lied about?
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Date: 22 Nov 2007 05:29:40
From: Tony M
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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On Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:15:00 -0500, "Ray Gordon, creator of the \"pivot\"" <[email protected] > wrote: >> Susan is just a nickname Zsuzsanna Polger adopted when she immigrated >> to America. > >That's EMIGRATED. Don't you just love it when a gram cop gets it all wrong? Tony
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Date: 21 Nov 2007 15:21:09
From: help bot
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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On Nov 21, 6:06 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote: > Dear Judge Chin: > This law firm is counsel to defendants The United States Chess > Federation, Hoainhan Truong, Zsuzsanna Polger, Zsuzanna Polger? > Joel Charming, Prince Charming? > William > Goichberg, Bill Hall, Randall Hough, Randy Bauer and Jim Berry > (collectively "Defendants") Why not "Randall Rough" or "Slim Berry"? Oh well; the talking heads around here seem to think the case was filed in the wrong place anyway. I hope Mr. Sloan is not typing all these items in by hand, when he could have simply used a scanner with text- recognition software... . -- help bot
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Date: 22 Nov 2007 00:17:21
From: B. Lafferty
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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I find it interesting the PR is representing both the USCF and Mr. Truong. While Mr. Truong is a board member who would normally be represented by the USCF's insurance carrier, in this instance the allegations of wrongdoing go beyond the scope of his duties as a board member creating potential liability for the USCF. I'm not at all certain PR can represent both of them in this litigation. I would think this issue will be raised at some point in the proceedings.
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Date: 21 Nov 2007 18:19:44
From: Ray Gordon, creator of the \pivot\
Subject: Re: Letter "Answer" filed by Proskauer Rose representing the USCF
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Gee, what happens if one defendant has to testify against another? What does their lawyer do? -- Ray Gordon, The ORIGINAL Lifestyle Seduction Guru http://www.cybersheet.com/library.html Includes 29 Reasons Not To Be A Nice Guy Ray's new "Project 5000" is here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/project-5000 Don't rely on overexposed, mass-keted commercial seduction methods which no longer work. Thinking of taking a seduction "workshiop?" Read THIS: http://www.dirtyscottsdale.com/?p=1187 Beware! VH-1's "The Pickup Artst" was FRAUDULENT. Six of the eight contestants were actors, and they used PAID TARGETS in the club. The paid targets got mad when VH-1 said "there are no actors in this club" and ruined their prromised acting credit. What else has Mystery lied about?
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