krajina serb lawyers at odds with each other
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Motion by Professor Anthony D'Amato seeking leave to intervene in the case of the Krajina Serbs v. MPRI.TRANSCRIPT
THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
GENOCIDE VICTIMS of KRAJINA ) Plaintiffs, ) No. 10 Cv 5179
v. ) ) Hon. John Z. Lee
3-L COMMUNICATIONS CORP., et al. ) United States District Judge)
Defendants. )
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO INTERVENE
Anthony D’Amato (“D’Amato”), by his attorney, moves this Court for an order, pursuant to
Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a), granting him leave to intervene in this action for the limited purpose of
presenting valid claims and arguments on behalf of the plaintiff class, which claims and arguments
have been abandoned or forsaken by the Pavich Law Group, P.C., Quantum Legal, LLC, and the
Ostojic & Scudder law firm (collectively, “Pavich”). In support, D’Amato states:
1. D’Amato is the Judd & Mary Morris Leighton Professor of Law at Northwestern
University School of Law, a member of the New York bar, and a world-renowned expert in
international and constitutional law. He was the architect of this action. He serves as the law of
foreign relations expert of this class action. He joined Robert and John Pavich to commence this
action. Pavich served as local counsel. D’Amato was listed on the plaintiffs’ retention agreement as
the international law expert. He drafted and signed the Complaint and First Amended Complaint.
2. D’Amato seeks to communicate to the plaintiff class his best judgment and expertise, but
is impeded by Pavich who neither answers his phone calls nor responds to his emails. D’Amato does
not seek this Court’s intervention in resolving those professional differences, but pursuant to Local
Rule [of Professional Responsibility] 83.51.3 and New York Disciplinary Rules 6-101 and 6-102
he is to use his best judgment to serve and protect the rights of the class members. D’Amato has not
sought to be relieved of his duties of representation, nor has this Court so discharged him.
3. Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a) provides in relevant part that “anyone shall be permitted to intervene
... when the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the subject
of the action and the applicant is so situated that the disposition of the action may as a practical
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matter impair or impede the applicant’s ability to protect that interest...” When D’Amato was still
working with the plaintiffs’ committee, Pavich altered, changed and deleted portions of D’Amato’s
drafts without showing those changes to D’Amato, or allowing D’Amato to defend his original work.
Pavich also substituted new arguments in D’Amato’s drafts. D’Amato protested these changes as
inimical to the class members’ interests. Any constriction of the claims or arguments advanced on
behalf of the plaintiff class therefore impedes D’Amato’s ability to protect that interest. Any
remuneration that D’Amato might receive from representing the plaintiff class is dependent on the
outcome and hence he has an interest in the “property... which is the subject of the action.” Pavich
has not committed to protecting D’Amato’s interest by any suitable security.
4. After years of silence from Pavich, D’Amato received electronic notice of the Fourth
Amended Complaint less than three weeks ago. This motion is timely inasmuch as D’Amato only
learned that Pavich intended to abandon or forswear certain claims when he received electronic
notice of its filing. He has timely filed this Motion for Leave to Intervene in just three weeks.
(D’Amato remains on the electronic distribution list, further evidence that he has not been discharged
from his obligations.)
5. The Fourth Amended Complaint adopts in haec verba a number of factual allegations from
the pleadings that D’Amato authored. He intervenes in part to discharge his professional obligation
to inform the Court that not all of this Complaint was authored by the attorneys who signed it. Since
D’Amato has performed the “reasonable inquiry” that “the allegations and other factual contentions
have evidentiary support” required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 11, it is incumbent on this Court to permit
D’Amato to intervene, so as to insure that the plaintiff class receive the best available legal advice,
as provided in Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(d)(1)(B)(iii), which authorizes orders “to protect class members
and fairly conduct the action... [that they be given] opportunity ... to intervene and present claims and
defenses, or to otherwise come into the action.”
6. Attached to this motion are D’Amato’s proposed enlargement of the Fourth Amended
Complaint to include 1) a new Count that genocide violates federal common law, 2) a new Count
that unlawful homicide violates Illinois’ Wrongful Death Act, and 3) a series of allegations of the
factual basis for Military Professional Resources, Inc.’s perpetration of genocide and unlawful
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homicide, along with his Personal Statement of his qualifications and reasons for seeking leave to
intervene.
WHEREFORE, intervenor Anthony D’Amato respectfully requests that this Court grant his
motion to intervene, and that he have such other relief as is just.
ANTHONY D’AMATO, intervenor
By__________________________His attorney
David G. Duggan3108 N. Southport Ave.CoachhouseChicago, IL 60657773-281-2873e-mail: [email protected]
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