New York Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Schecter recently granted motions to dismiss filed by Morgan Stanley and Glenn Agre client Antonello Di Meo, a distressed debt investor, dismissing with prejudice for failure to state a claim all four tortious interference claims brought by Moby S.p.A., an Italian company that transports passengers and freight between Italy, France, and various islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
In her ruling, Justice Schecter specifically agreed with Glenn Agre partner Jed Bergman's argument on behalf of Di Meo that Moby's claims against Di Meo for tortiously interfering with a sale of two vessels to Danish company DFD - counts one and two of Moby's complaint - are barred by res judicata under the "two-dismissal rule" because those claims were included in two prior complaints that Moby filed but voluntarily dismissed. Justice Schecter also invited additional briefing on Di Meo's right to attorneys' fees under New York's recently amended Anti-SLAPP statute.
Jed's success in the case was recognized in Law.com's "Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs" column. Read the full column here.