UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BROIDY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, et al., Plaintiffs, No. 19-cv-0150 (DLF) v. NICHOLAS D. MUZIN, et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiffs Broidy Capital Management, LLC (BCM) and Elliott Broidy (together, “Broidy”) brought this suit against several foreign agents of Qatar: Nicolas Muzin, Joseph Allaham, Gregory Howard, and Stonington Strategies, LLC (a company founded by Muzin and Allaham). First Am. Compl. (“Complaint”), Dkt. 18 ¶¶ 11–18. Broidy alleges that the defendants joined a “Qatari Enterprise,” which conspired against him to hack his computers and disseminate the hacked information to the media in retaliation for Broidy’s anti-Qatari advocacy. Id. ¶¶ 1–2, 199. He brings thirteen counts against each of the defendants alleging violations of both federal and California law. Before the Court are Muzin and Stonington’s Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint, Dkt. 40; Howard’s Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint, Dkt. 41; and Allaham’s Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint, Dkt. 42. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss. I. BACKGROUND A. The Parties Plaintiff Elliott Broidy is an outspoken critic for the State of Qatar and its sponsorship of terrorist organizations. Complaint ¶ 1. He resides in California and is the Chief Executive Officer for BCM, a California corporation with its principal place of business in Los Angeles. Id. ¶ 11. The defendants are U.S. citizens and agents of Qatar. Id. ¶¶ 13–18. Muzin resides in Maryland and serves as the CEO for Stonington, a public relations consulting firm based in Washington D.C. and organized under the laws of Delaware. Id. ¶¶ 13, 18. On August 24, 2017, Muzin was retained by Qatar for consulting services. Id. ¶ 15. Stonington registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as a foreign agent for Qatar on September 3. Id. ¶ 18. Allaham is a New York resident and the co-founder of Stonington. Id. ¶ 16. He frequently conducts business for Stonington in D.C. and has worked for Qatar as a foreign agent. Id. Allaham originally worked as an unregistered foreign agent, until he filed a belated registration statement under FARA in response to a subpoena from Broidy on June 15, 2018. Id. ¶¶ 16, 69. Howard is a Maine resident and media placement expert who worked at Conover & Gould (Conover), a firm based in D.C. Id. ¶ 17. He worked as a registered foreign agent of Qatar through Conover from July 2017 through January 18, 2018. Id. Howard now works as a Vice President for another D.C.-based public strategy firm, Mercury Public Affairs. Id. B. Broidy Critiques Qatar In June 2017, several neighboring Middle Eastern states severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed an economic blockade and embargo against the country because of its support 2 for terrorism and close ties to Iran. Id. ¶ 42. The international sanctions were supported by the United States and have hurt the Qatari economy. Id. ¶ 43. Beginning in ...
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