Carol Wilding, et al. v. DNC Services Corporation, et al.
ERISA DueProcess JusticiabilityDoctri Jurisdiction
Does the DNC have a fiduciary duty to maintain impartiality in the Democratic Party presidential nominating process?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Does the Democratic National Committee (‘DNC’), a not-for-profit corporation charged with general responsibility for the affairs of the Democratic Party between national conventions, have, along with its chairperson, a legally binding, fiduciary duty to Democratic Party members to maintain impartiality and evenhandedness as among the presidential candidates and campaigns during the Democratic Party presidential nominating process, as the DNC’s own charter states? 2. Did the dismissal of state-law and fraud-related claims brought by Democratic Party members and donors that the DNC and its chairperson favored one candidate in the 2016 Democratic Party Presidential nominating process — which was based on lack of specificity in the complaint, did not find amendment would be futile, but denied Plaintiffs leave to amend — transgress Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)’s dictate that leave to amend “shall be freely given when justice so requires?” 3. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(g)(2), does a defendant who initially moves to dismiss a complaint for insufficient service of process under Rule 12(b)(5) thereby waive any right to file a successive motion to dismiss the complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted? 4. Should the Court grant the petitioners leave to file the attached amended complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1653 in order to correct any defective allegations of jurisdiction?