Belligerent Ghoul
Hall of Famer
I think it will survive a motion to dismiss / demurrer / 12(b)(6) failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
Several have pointed out that California is an "at will" employment state, one can be fired for having a tie the employer frowns upon. However, I don't believe this precludes a party from suing under a breach of contract theory. I won't say the complaint is poorly written, if anything at first blush it seems Steyn may have a colorable claim. The more one goes into it, the more one can see how, it's also like dominos or a house of cards. To me, the causes of action seem, both dependent on the breach of contract theory and attenuated from it. Morrissey has a history of parting with people on bad terms and having others do the dismissing. The primary reason to have others do this is to avoid face-to-face confrontation. And by many accounts this Donnie Knutson is a jackass so who knows what he said and how he said it. 100 John Does will not be corralled, perhaps not even 1 John Doe will be brought forward. This is a money grab. I think it will settle. If it goes to Court, I cannot fathom how Steyn could win.
Several have pointed out that California is an "at will" employment state, one can be fired for having a tie the employer frowns upon. However, I don't believe this precludes a party from suing under a breach of contract theory. I won't say the complaint is poorly written, if anything at first blush it seems Steyn may have a colorable claim. The more one goes into it, the more one can see how, it's also like dominos or a house of cards. To me, the causes of action seem, both dependent on the breach of contract theory and attenuated from it. Morrissey has a history of parting with people on bad terms and having others do the dismissing. The primary reason to have others do this is to avoid face-to-face confrontation. And by many accounts this Donnie Knutson is a jackass so who knows what he said and how he said it. 100 John Does will not be corralled, perhaps not even 1 John Doe will be brought forward. This is a money grab. I think it will settle. If it goes to Court, I cannot fathom how Steyn could win.
I think the next step will be that Moz will file a motion to dismiss. I am not an expert on contract law in California and one poster spoke with a lawyer who said at least two of the claims were legally baseless, but assuming there is nothing obviously wrong with the legal claims/remedies I suspect it will survive the motion to dismiss. The complaint doesn't have to be true (jurors, not judges are finders of fact), it just has to depict an actual legal wrong with a remedy if it was true. What Moz will do at that point I don't know, but if it does go to trial I cannot see Steyn winning--based on what I've seen so far. I mean for christ sake this man cannot name one hundred of the people he is suing.
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