Marina Point Development Associates v. United States

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT SANDY STEERS’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE ACTION WITH PREJUDICE

/. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Marina Point Development Associates (“MPDA”) filed a Complaint against Defendant Sandy Steers and three Forest Service employees alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 1962 (c) and 1962(d). Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), Steers brought a motion to dismiss the action with prejudice for failure to state a claim on the grounds that her alleged actions constituted protected First Amendment petitioning activities under the Noerr-Pennington doctrine, and that Plaintiff does not have statutory standing under RICO. This Court agrees. The motion is granted and Plaintiffs action against Steers is dismissed with prejudice.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Marina Point Development Associates owns property on the north shore of Big Bear Lake in the community of Fawnskin, in San Bernardino County, California. Compl. ¶ 3. Plaintiff has been trying to develop the land into a “condominium resort” for approximately 20 years. Compl. ¶ 11. The development required a Clean Water Act § 404 permit…