Goldberg Segalla partners Imoh E. Akpan and Courtney E. Darmofal successfully secured a dismissal of constitutional law, fraud, and breach of contract claims on behalf of our client, a national housing lender, in the District Court for the District of Columbia.

The plaintiff brought claims against our client — as well as various governmental agencies and bodies, banks, and financial institutions — for alleged violations of the Constitution, criminal statutes, claims of negligence, fraud, and breach of contract.

Courtney and Imoh — based in Princeton and Baltimore, respectively, and with Courtney appearing pro hac vice — moved to dismiss the claims under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. They expeditiously argued the plaintiff had no standing to assert general grievances against it and that he was not in a position to bring claims because he failed to allege his claimed damages with particularity.

Courtney and Imoh further contended the plaintiff failed to identify what conduct our client allegedly engaged in that would support any theory of liability, and maintained that without standing, the court had no jurisdiction to entertain plaintiff’s claims.

The district judge agreed and, in a written opinion, he dismissed the case in its entirety against all defendants pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1).

The successful work of the GS team highlights the value in moving to dismiss claims early so that clients are not incurring substantial litigation fees and costs for lawsuits when there is an avenue for an immediate adjudication. Here, the GS attorneys were able to use their knowledge of the Federal Rules of Court, constitutional law and defense of fraud claims to engage in zealous advocacy for our client.

Imoh E. Akpan is a partner at Goldberg Segalla and serves as the administrative partner for the firm’s Baltimore office. Imoh is an accomplished trial and appellate litigator specializing in catastrophic injury, wrongful death, general negligence, negligent security, civil rights, product liability, and other types of claims.

Courtney E. Darmofal is a partner in Goldberg Segalla’s Princeton office and a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Arbitration and Real Estate Litigation and Title Disputes practice groups. She specializes in defending small businesses, large retailers and lenders in complex, multi-party actions including wrongful death, negligence, and fraud claims.