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DNC Lawsuit Lawyers File Motion to Appeal Dismissal

DNC Lawsuit Lawyers File Motion to Appeal Dismissal
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The DNC lawsuit may not be over just yet.

The lawyers for the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit against the DNC and Debbie Wasserman Schultz filed an intent to appeal Friday, less than a month after the lawsuit was tossed by a federal judge.

Very few details have been provided for the basis of the appeal. However, it was noted that one of the attorneys, Elizabeth Beck, previously suggested that the dismissal itself -- which was based partially on jurisdictional issues -- could serve as the basis for an appeal.

Beck mentioned in a livestream video that the appeal was rushed due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Irma to Florida, where the case was filed. No further information was given.

ALSO READ: DNC to Court: We Are a Private Corporation with No Obligation to Follow Our Rules

Judge Zioch, who is presiding over the case, dismissed the lawsuit on “technical matters of pleading and subject-matter jurisdiction.” There were two main issues that led to the dismissal:

  1. There were plaintiffs who lived in the same states where Wasserman Schultz and the DNC are based.
  2. The plaintiffs failed to allege any connection between the defendants’ allegedly fraudulent statements and the injury they suffered.

Plaintiffs in the case filed the lawsuit in June 2016 on the basis that they had given money to a campaign in the Democratic presidential primary (Bernie Sanders’ campaign) under the belief that the election process was fair.

Yet the DNC violated its own rules of neutrality when party officials minimized Bernie Sanders’ campaign in favor of Hillary Clinton.

In the simplest of terms, Judge Zioch recognized that the party treated voters unfairly, but legal technicalities prevented the court from being able to find fault in the DNC.

In other words, as Beck suggests, the case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, which Beck says is enough to file for an appeal.

IVN.us will continue to keep you informed as updates become available.

Lynn Marie Morski

Lynn Marie Morski is a physician at the Veterans Administration and an adjunct professor of health law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

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