- Joined
- Dec 28, 2014
Previously you could infer the elements from public conduct, but now you almost need the actual statements constituting conspiracy or tortious interference to even get to discovery. That the potential defendant coyly hints at doing something is unlikely to be sufficient and if it makes the complaint fail to state a cause of action entirely, the fact that it implicates First Amendment activity could even bring it into SLAPP territory, where you'd end up with the absurd result where he ends up owing Dong Gone.Null wouldn't have a baseless conspiracy theory that lays out the elements of the claim with no factual basis, there is indeed a factual basis predicated on Thwomp's own public statements, it's just that discovery would offer concrete elements on which to prove his claim.
None of these people tell Null why they're breaking the contract because they're probably well aware that would be an invitation to drag them into some lawsuit, where even if they weren't a party, it would be burdensome just to have to participate in third party discovery.
Then there's whether there would even be any practical benefit to such a suit. Deranged trannies are not likely to be deterred by the fact they're breaking the law.
That's exactly the quandary Twombly/Iqbal have put plaintiffs in in situations where the suit is based on statements or communications in furtherance of a conspiracy when those statements are not known with particularity.A 12(b)6 claim is a whole other matter, and it might be difficult to meet that standard to begin with in the absence of discovery, but I have to think that one could sustain a tortious interference claim given his very public, and very obvious behavior.
Even if you could overcome that hurdle, it could easily be a situation where the trial court throws it out and it goes to appeal (probably in the Ninth Circuit), where the outcome depends whether you get a panel of right wing nutjobs or left wing nutjobs, and then after an en banc rehearing you're back in the trial court, a couple years later, starting all over again.