Judge Dismisses Initial complaint โin Case Against Erika Jayne’sโ Lawyer, Cites vague Accusations
A federalโค judge hasโ dismissed the initial โcomplaint filed against attorney Tom Wilkes by Morante, Psaila,โ and their company, Marcosquared, โLLC, finding it legally insufficient. The lawsuit, โfiled in November, โaccused Wilkes of abuse of process and conspiracy to commit abuse of process, alleging he aided Erika Jayne (EJ)โ and Tom Girardi (TG) in delaying bankruptcy proceedings and discrediting those challenging Girardi’s financial misconduct.
The plaintiffs claimed Wilkes orchestrated โlegal strategies to benefit โฃJayne and Girardi, andโข further alleged he fundedโ Jayne’s legal battles using improperly โขobtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.โข The complaint stated Wilkes “substantially” overstated his employee count and falsely claimed โpandemic-related salary losses to secure the loans.
Theโฃ lawsuit also referenced allegations that Girardi directedโข Jayne to falsely accuse โAmerican Express of nearly โค$800,000 in credit card fraud, with charges โฃagainstโ Psaila later dropped after evidence – photos ofโฃ Jayne wearing the disputed costumes – was presented.
However, Judge Charleneโ Edwards Honeywell found the complaintโค deficient on two โคkey grounds.โฃ First, it failed to adequately establish the court’s jurisdiction by omitting the citizenship of all Marcosquared, LLC members, a requirement under โfederal diversityโค jurisdiction rules. Second,the judge characterized โขthe complaint as a โฃ”shotgun pleading” – a legal termโค forโค filings that are overly โคbroad,convoluted,andโฃ contain irrelevant allegations,hinderingโ a reasonable response โฃfrom the defendant.
Judge Honeywell’s order described the complaint as “replete with conclusory,vague,and immaterial facts not obviously connected toโ any particular cause of action,” โคand โcriticized it’s relianceโฃ onโ “tabloid headlines”โ rather then a clear legal claim.
the judge grantedโ the plaintiffs 21 days to file an amended complaint addressing both the jurisdictional issues and the deficiencies in pleading. Failure to do so will result in the โcase being dismissed entirely.
Key Statements:
According to the โฃplaintiffs’ original complaint, “Wilkesโ urged TG and EJ to separate and to devise a storyโ that would protect โขEJ from financial ruin or even criminalโฃ prosecutionโ if TG could not extract himself from the many lawsuitsโ filed against TG.”
Judge Honeywell stated in her ruling, “Very few actualโ facts are pleaded regarding the defendant’s conduct as it relates to the claims โof abuse of process and any harm allegedly suffered by these Plaintiffs as an inevitable result.”
Looking Ahead:
While theโข ruling doesn’t end theโค case, it placesโฃ the onus on the plaintiffs to revise their complaint and โฃmeet federal pleading standards. If a revised complaintโ is filed, the court will review it to determine if it provides aโค legally sufficient basis to proceedโข with litigation regardingโ Wilkes’โ alleged conduct during the fallout from Girardi’s bankruptcy.
