arrow left
arrow right
  • BURRI LAW PA, ET AL vs. MILAN LACH, ET ALCOMMERCIAL DOCKET document preview
  • BURRI LAW PA, ET AL vs. MILAN LACH, ET ALCOMMERCIAL DOCKET document preview
  • BURRI LAW PA, ET AL vs. MILAN LACH, ET ALCOMMERCIAL DOCKET document preview
  • BURRI LAW PA, ET AL vs. MILAN LACH, ET ALCOMMERCIAL DOCKET document preview
  • BURRI LAW PA, ET AL vs. MILAN LACH, ET ALCOMMERCIAL DOCKET document preview
  • BURRI LAW PA, ET AL vs. MILAN LACH, ET ALCOMMERCIAL DOCKET document preview
  • BURRI LAW PA, ET AL vs. MILAN LACH, ET ALCOMMERCIAL DOCKET document preview
  • BURRI LAW PA, ET AL vs. MILAN LACH, ET ALCOMMERCIAL DOCKET document preview
						
                                

Preview

NAILAH K. BYRD CUYAHOGA COUNTY CLERK OF COURTS 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113 Court of Common Pleas REPLY BRIEF August 30,2022 11:55 By: MICHAEL!. O'SHEA0039330 Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 BURRI LAW PA, ET AL CV 21 949903 vs. Judge: MICHAEL J. RUSSO MILAN LACH, ET AL Pages Filed: 32 Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO BURRI LAW PA, et al. ) ) Case No. CV 21 949903 Plaintiff ) ) ) vs. ) JUDGE MICHAEL RUSSO ) ) MILAN LACH, et al. ) REPLY BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF: ) motion to stay proceedings Defendants. ) ) ) Now come all Plaintiffs in this matter ("Plaintiffs"), and hereby respectfully submit this reply brief in support of Plaintiffs' Motion to Stay Proceedings (the "Motion to Stay"). I. Introduction. Whether it be by the jurisdictional priority rule, comity or the doctrine of forum non conveniens, this Court should stay the proceedings in this case subject to the soon-outcome of the current discovery sanction/jurisdictional litigation in the Florida Litigation (as defined in the Motion to Stay). Here is why. 1 Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH As indicated in the Motion to Stay, it is clear that the Court in the Florida Litigation is well on its way to rendering significant rulings on jurisdictional issues and discovery sanction issues. No matter how much legal fluff is placed in the brief in opposition to the Motion to Stay, there is no dispute on this issue. None. II. Ohio law on comity. Ohio law has a long history on the doctrine and principles of comity. The brief in opposition to the Motion to Stay directs this Court to give attention to the principles of comity rather than the jurisdictional priority rule. While it is in fact procedurally true that the principles behind comity and the jurisdictional priority are almost the same, there is some guideposts Ohio law gives this Court in evaluating comity in the context of a motion to stay. First, it seems that the much of the cases involving the application of comity involve an Ohio court analyzing a final judgment of another state or country - and by far most often in divorce cases. See Sergey Sargsyan v. Gayane Martirosyan, 2021-Ohio-4576; Baze-Sif v. Sif, 2016-Ohio-29; Mouded v. Khoury, 2018-Ohio-284 (cited in the brief in opposition); Patel v. 2 Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH Krushna SS L.L.C., 2018-Ohio-263 (Cuyahoga); Tatsing v. Njume-Tatsing, 2017-Ohio-8460; Falah v. Falah, 2017-Ohio-1087; Mustafa v.___ Elfadli, 2013-Ohio-1644; Gupta v.___ Gupta, 2013-Ohio-2203 (Cuyahoga); Rahawangi v. Alsamman, 2004-Ohio-4083 (Cuayhoga); Kalia v. Kalia, 151 Ohio App. 3d 145 (2002); and Walsh v. Walsh, 146 Ohio App. 3d 48 (2001). Although, Ohio Courts have also clearly held that it applies in non-divorce cases as well. See e.g. NEP Can. ULC v. MEC Op Transaction 1 ULC, 2022 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 10 (Franklin County) (business litigation); Kaur v. Bharmota, 182 Ohio App. 3d 696 (2009) (probate case); Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Modroo, 2004-Ohio-4697 (insurance litigation); M. E. Jones, Inc. v. Arel Communs. & Software, Ltd., 2003-Ohio-2084 (business litigation); Lexford Props. Mgt. Llc v. Lexford Prop. Mgt, 147 Ohio App. 3d 312 (Cuyahoga 2001) (business litigation); Laborers' Int'l Union Nat'l (Indus.) Pension Fund v. D.O.D. Contracts, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 4280 (business litigation); and Gulf Ins. Group v. Travelers Ins. Co., 1980 Ohio App. LEXIS 13450 (insurance litigation). Further, when comity applies in scenarios where both the Ohio suit and the foreign suit were both pending (i.e. pending final judgment in one of the cases), the Ohio court had to 3 Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH determine whether to "stay" the Ohio case pending the outcome in the non-Ohio forum. See M. E. Jones, Inc. v. Arel Communs. & Software, Ltd., supra; Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Modroo, supra; Lexford Props. Mgt. Llc v. Lexford Prop. Mgt, supra ("A court may grant a motion to stay proceedings in the interests of comity, orderly procedure, or judicial economy."); Gulf Ins. Group v. Travelers Ins. Co., supra; and Priconics, LLC v. Amperor, Inc., 2018-Ohio-551. Further still, when it comes to comity, a trial court has full discretion on whether to defer to another court's current jurisdiction and judgment. See Sergey Sargsyan v. Gayane Martirosyan, supra, Baze-Sif v. Sif, supra; Mustafa v. Elfadli, supra; and M. E. Jones, Inc. v. Arel Communs. & Software, Ltd., supra. Further still, as set forth in Patel v. Krushna SS L.L.C., supra (Cuyahoga), Ohio courts are not bound by the decree or order of another court outside of Ohio, but should give "deference" to that other decree or case unless that decree "is repugnant to the laws of the United States and Ohio or violates Ohio public policy." Lastly, many courts dealing with the issue of comity have utilized what are called the "Caspian" factors. As set forth in 4 Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH M. E. Jones, Inc. v. Arel Communs. & Software, Ltd., supra: The Caspian court established five factors to be balanced when determining whether to grant a motion for stay or dismissal in favor of litigation in an overseas forum. Id., at 884. Those factors are as follows: "the similarity of parties and issues involved, promotion of judicial efficiency, adequacy of relief available in the alternative forum, considerations of fairness to all parties and possible prejudice to any of them, and the temporal sequence of filing for each action." Id., citations omitted. III. Why comity applies to have this Court stay this case. As clearly set forth in the Motion to Stay, the Florida Litigation is far more along than this case when it comes to Plaintiffs' claims - and is in fact on the verge of making major pronouncements on jurisdiction and discovery sanctions concerning the Lach Defendants (including discovery rulings and discoveries that may be relevant in this case). There is no fair dispute on this issue. In that regard, when it comes to the claims of the Plaintiffs as set forth in the complaint filed in this case, this Court should stay this case pending the outcome of the Florida Litigation. The Caspain factors apply here. There is no question that the Florida Litigation (from a temporal sequence of filing) was filed first and that service was perfected in the Florida Litigation on the Lach Defendants. There is no question that 5 Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH Plaintiffs' claims and issues in this case mirror in large measure Plaintiffs' claims and issues in the Florida Litigation. There is no question that the parties are the same. There is no question (from a judicial efficiency standpoint) that the Court in the Florida Case is actively involved with the Plaintiffs and the Lach Defendants. There is no question (from a adequacy of relief standpoint) that both the Plaintiffs and the Lach Defendants have the same opportunities, protection and potential relief in the Florida Litigation. There is no question (from a fairness/prejudice standpoint) that the Florida Court has given both the Plaintiffs and the Lach Defendants ample opportunity and time to press their respective causes. IV. The false statements made and personal attacks against the Plaintiffs should cease. Something needs to be said about the plethora of false insults and allegations that have been made against the Plaintiffs when it comes to this case and the filing of this case. As Plaintiffs have made clear in numerous filings in this case; A. This case was only filed as a placeholder case in the event there were jurisdiction concerns in Florida and 6 Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH Arizona (in fact, as it now turns out, there are none);1 B. Plaintiffs offered in good faith on September 28, 2021 to stay any further proceedings in this case subject to the outcome of the cases in Florida and Arizona (thus preventing the expenditure of this Court's time and incurring any attorney fees);1 2 and C. The only arduous litigation that has occurred in this case is from the ill-founded and avoidable prosecution of the RC 2323.51 counterclaims by the Lach Defendants (and not Plaintiffs' claims); and D. Plaintiffs' claims have not been "litigated" at all - so any allegation (as spread out in the brief in opposition) that Plaintiffs seek to "relitigate" their claims in the Florida Litigation against the Lach Defendants is just flat out false. 1 As the Lach Defendants well know, and despite what the Lach Defendants initially represented to this Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously held that the Lach Defendants were subject to personal jurisdiction in the Arizona federal case. See attached hereto Exhibit 38 proffered at trial in this matter. 2 It is ironic that the Lach Defendants cite to the case of Sager v. Gerace, 2010 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 18096 for the proposition that "every plaintiff has an affirmative obligation to diligently prosecute a complaint." P. 3 of the brief in opposition. This position seems to completely rebut the vigorous and avoidable RC 2323.51 counterclaim pursued by the Lach Defendants. 7 Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH Much of the brief in opposition seems to brazenly ignore these undisputed truths. This type of briefing conduct actually undermines the credibility of all of the Lach Defendants' arguments. V. Conclusion. For all of the foregoing reasons, the Plaintiffs respectfully move this Court to stay this case pending the outcome of the Florida Litigation. Respectfully submitted; LIPSON O'SHEA LEGAL GROUP /s/ Michael J. O'Shea_____ Michael J. O'Shea, Esq. (0039330) michael@lipsonoshea.com The Hoyt Block Building - Suite 110 700 West St. Clair Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44113 (216) 241-0011 (440) 331-5401 - fax Attorney for all Plaintiffs 8 Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH SERVICE I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing was served upon: Doug Holthus, Esq. dholthus@mrrlaw.com Shafiyal A. Ahmed, Esq. sahmed@mrrlaw.com MAZANEC, RASKIN & RYDER CO., L.P.A 175 South Third Street, Suite 1000 Columbus, Ohio 43215 Fax: 614-228-5934 Attorneys for Defendant Thomas Olmsted James B. Niehaus, Esq. jniehaus@frantzward.com Klevis Bakiaj, Esq. kbakiaj@frantzward.com Frantz Ward LLP 200 Public Square, Suite 3000 Cleveland, OH 44114-1230 Fax: (216) 515-1650 Attorneys for Defendants Bishop Milan Lach and Byzantine Catholic Diocese of Parma by regular US. Mail, e-filing, fax transmission and/or email delivery, this 30th day of August, 2022. /Michael J. O'Shea Michael J. O'Shea 9 Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH I et al. Burri v.TrialLach Exhibit 1 38 FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT Burri Law PA, a Florida No. 21-15271 professional association; Dean Allen Burri, a Florida resident, D.C. No. Plaintiffs-Appellants, 2:20-cv-01692- dlr v. William C. Skurla, an individual; OPINION Kurt Richard Burnett, an individual; Milan Lach, an individual; Metropolitan Archdiocese of Pittsburgh, Byzantine Rite, a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation; Byzantine Catholic Diocese of Parma, an ohio non-profit corporation; Eparchy of Passaic, a New Jersey non-profit corporation; Unknown Parties, named as: ABC Entities 1­ 10 and John and Jane Does 1-10, Defendants-Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona Douglas L. Rayes, District Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted December 7, 2021 Pasadena, california Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH 2 Burri Law PA v. Skurla Filed June 3, 2022 Before: Marsha S. Berzon, Carlos T. Bea, and Jacqueline H. Nguyen, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge Berzon SUMMARY* Personal Jurisdiction The panel vacated the district court's dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction of Dean Burri's action against three bishops of the Byzantine Catholic Church and their respective dioceses. Burri alleged that defendants directed defamatory statements about him toward individuals and entities in Arizona and tortiously interfered with his contractual relationship with the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix. The panel held that the district court erred in dismissing for lack of personal jurisdiction over the defendants. Where a defendant directs communications that are defamatory toward a forum state and seeks to interfere with a forum state contract, the defendant has purposefully directed conduct at the forum state, and the defendant knows or should know that such conduct is likely to cause harm in the forum state. * This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH Burri Law PA v. Skurla 3 The panel rejected defendants’ contention that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine deprived the court of subject matter jurisdiction over the appeal. The panel held that the doctrine was not relevant here where Burri was not asking the court to adjudicate the sort of issues covered by the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine. The panel applied the Calder effects test to determine whether a defendant purposefully directed activities toward a forum state. Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 788-89 (1984). The panel held that Burri’s claims against defendant William Skurla, the Archbishop of Pittsburgh, were on all fours with Calder. The panel held that the district court erred in holding that Skurla did not purposefully direct conduct at Arizona. Taking Burri’s factual allegations as true, the panel held that Skurla directed communications toward Arizona that were defamatory and were designed to interfere with an Arizona lawsuit and an Arizona contract. Such acts targeted the forum state itself and such acts were likely to cause harm in Arizona. The panel held that the district court erred in concluding that Burri, as a Florida resident, could not suffer harm in Arizona where Skurla’s statements circulating in Arizona would cause Burri reputational harm in Arizona, and the communications were designed to undermine Burri’s employment contract with the Phoenix Eparchy. Burri carried his burden to establish a prima facie case that Skurla “purposefully directed” conduct at Arizona. The district court did not address the other two components of the due process “minimum contacts” inquiry. The panel vacated the dismissal of Burri’s claims against Skurla - and by extension the Eparchy of Pittsburgh - and remanded for the district court to complete the remainder of the jurisdictional inquiry. The panel’s analysis regarding Burri’s claims against Richard Burnett, the Bishop of Passaic, Milan Lach, the Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH 4 Burri Law PA v. Skurla Bishop of Parma, and their respective dioceses was similar, with one caveat. The First Amended Complaint contained substantially less detail regarding the actions of Burnett and Lach. The district court did not address that important difference. In addition, the district court's denial of Burri's motion for jurisdictional discovery rested on the same misunderstanding that undermined its analysis regarding personal jurisdiction over Skurda - that Burri, as a Florida resident, could not suffer harm in Arizona. The panel vacated the dismissal of Burri's claims against Burnett, Lach and the Eparchies of Passaic and Parma; vacated the denial of Burri's motion for jurisdictional discovery; and remanded so that the district court could assess the questions afresh. COUNSEL Jamie L. Mayrose (argued) and Deanna R. Rader, Rader Mayrose LLP, Phoenix, Arizona, for Plaintiffs-Appellants. Stacy K. Luell (argued) and Jeffrey T. Nichols, Crivello Carlson S.C., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for Defendants- Appellees William C. Skurla, Kurt Richard Burnett, Metropolitan Archdiocese of Pittsburgh Byzantine Rite; and Eparchy of Passaic. James B. Niehaus (argued) and Klevis Bakiaj, Frantz Ward LLP, Cleveland, Ohio, for Defendants-Appellees Milan Lach and Byzantine Catholic Diocese of Parma. Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH Burri Law PA v. Skurla 5 OPINION BERZON, Circuit Judge: Dean Burri brought suit in Arizona against three bishops of the Byzantine Catholic Church—William Skurla, the Archbishop of Pittsburgh; Richard Burnett, the Bishop of Passaic; and Milan Lach, the Bishop of Parma—and their respective dioceses. He alleges that the Defendants directed defamatory statements about him toward individuals and entities in Arizona and tortiously interfered with his contractual relationship with the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix (the “Phoenix Eparchy”). The district court granted the Defendants’ motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and denied Burri’s motion for jurisdictional discovery. The court concluded that Defendants did not purposefully direct conduct at Arizona and that no set of facts could establish that Burri was likely to suffer harm in Arizona. We disagree. Where a defendant directs communications that are defamatory toward a forum state and seeks to interfere with a forum state contract, the defendant has purposefully directed conduct at the forum state, and the defendant knows or should know that such conduct is likely to cause harm in the forum state. The dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction therefore rested on a legal error. I. A. Factual Background Burri, a Florida resident, owns Burri Law, P.A., a Florida law firm that specializes in assisting clients associated with the Catholic Church with employee benefits issues, including Employee Retirement Income Security Act Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH 6 Burri Law PA v. Skurla (“ERISA”) issues.1 In late 2015, the Phoenix Eparchy, an Arizona resident, hired Burri to investigate the Eparchy's health care benefits plan, draft health plan documents, and, if necessary, pursue litigation on its behalf. Those tasks required Burri regularly to direct communications toward Arizona, meet with his clients in Arizona, and perform work in Arizona. Pursuant to his contract with the Phoenix Eparchy, Burri began investigating the Eastern Catholics Benefits Plan (the “Plan”), an ERISA health care plan that provided benefits to the Phoenix Eparchy. Burri requested original Plan formation documents and accounting information from Plan administrators, including Skurla, but was refused. Burri nevertheless uncovered irregularities in the Plan that demonstrated it was not in compliance with applicable law. For example, Burri discovered that Plan administrators had illegally commingled Plan funds, converted Plan assets, and placed Plan funds in offshore accounts. After learning about Burri's investigation, Plan administrators unlawfully sought to restructure the Plan by attempting to “merge” it “with other health plans from other employers, namely the Eparchies of Pittsburg, Passaic, and Parma,” which are led by Skurla, Burnett, and Lach, respectively. After concluding that further negotiation with the Plan administrators would not be fruitful, the Phoenix Eparchy, represented by Burri, filed an ERISA action against the Plan in the District of Arizona. See Complaint, Byzantine Cath. Eparchy of Phx. v. Emp. Benefit Servs., Inc., No. 2:18-cv- 1 Because we are reviewing the district court's decision to grant the Defendants' motions to dismiss, “we recite the facts as alleged in [Burri's] complaint, and assume them to be true.” Brooks v. Clark County, 828 F.3d 910, 914 n.1 (9th Cir. 2016). Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH Burri Law PA v. Skurla 7 01288-GMS (D. Ariz. Apr. 26, 2018) (the “ERISA action”). Two months later, the Phoenix Eparchy filed an amended complaint adding Skurla and other Plan administrators as defendants. In response, Skurla, Burnett, and Lach—all Defendants in this case—commenced a campaign of defamation against Burri. To conceal the Plan's ERISA violations, the Defendants sought to have Burri's contract with the Phoenix Eparchy terminated and the Bishop of Phoenix replaced before the ERISA action could move into the discovery phrase. In particular, Skurla “repeatedly requested that the Phoenix Eparchy terminate the contract with” Burri. Skurla also stated, among other things, that Burri was “greedy, incompetent, and inexperienced” and sought to “make a name for himself” through a lawsuit that “had absolutely no legal merit.” These statements were communicated to the Phoenix Eparchy and third parties through emails, phone calls, voicemails, letters, and in-person communications. Some of the recipients were in Arizona when they heard or read the statements. Although Burri has the greatest knowledge regarding Skurla's actions, he maintains on information and belief that Burnett and Lach repeated Skurla's false and defamatory statements to the Phoenix Eparchy and third parties, and “directed” third parties “to urge the Phoenix Eparchy to fire [Burri] and terminate the Arizona lawsuit.” And Skurla, Burnett, and Lach attended an in-person meeting in Texas that included “multiple representatives from the Phoenix Eparchy.” At this meeting, “the false statements [about Burri] were repeated, and it was communicated to the Electronically Filed 08/30/2022 11:55 / BRIEF / CV 21 949903 / Confirmation Nbr. 2639656 / BATCH 8 Burri Law PA v. Skurla Phoenix Eparchy” that the ERISA action should be dropped and Burri should be fired.2 when these actions failed to produce the desired result, the Defendants communicated their displeasure with Burri to the Papal Nuncio. Relying on a precept of canon law under which church officials cannot sue one another without papal authorization, the Pope issued an order requiring the Phoenix Eparchy to withdraw the ERISA action and terminate its relationship with Burri. Burri also alleges that church officials caused a canon lawyer who was “of counsel” at Burri Law, P.A. to end his contractual relationship with Burri. Following the termination of the ERISA action, Burri submitted a bill for his legal services. The Phoenix Eparchy,