“Justice Is Not Served by Allowing This Game of Whack-a-Mole to Continue”
From today’s decision by Judge Steven McAuliffe (D.N.H.) in Beres v. RELX, Inc.:
After multiple unsuccessful defamation suits against RELX, Inc., d/b/a LEXIS NEXIS USA, and Portfolio Media, Inc., in other courts, Christopher Beres, who is a lawyer proceeding pro se, brought the same claims in Hillsborough County (New Hampshire) Superior Court. Defendants removed the action to this court, but Beres then added Andrew Delaney as a plaintiff to destroy diversity jurisdiction and sought remand to state court.
The court granted the defendants’ motion to sever Delaney from the case to preserve diversity jurisdiction, and denied the plaintiffs’ motion to remand. Delaney is no longer a party in this case.
In response, Beres filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice. Defendants move to convert Beres’s notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice to dismissal with prejudice and also seek an award of fees incurred in litigating this case….
The factual backstory:
Delaney was employed in a temporary position at a law firm, where he worked on a project for the firm’s client, Toyota, and apparently had access to confidential documents. The project was suspended during the COVID pandemic, resulting in Delaney losing his job. Delaney, through Beres, who was acting as his legal counsel, sent a demand letter to Toyota, but Toyota did not respond. In April of 2020, Beres filed a lawsuit against Toyota on Delaney’s behalf in Brevard County, Florida. Beres included allegedly sensitive information about Toyota in that complaint. Delaney later dismissed the suit without prejudice.
The agency that employed Delaney and placed him in a temporary position at the law firm filed suit against Delaney in federal court in the Southern District of New York, alleging breach of contract and other cl
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