Lawsuit: Dismissed LobsterRoast V. The Department of State

[LilSumoVert]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic
CIVIL ACTION
Date: May 6th, 2023​

LobsterRoast
HunterHo LLP (LilSumoVert Representing)

v.

Department of State (Prime Minister Tracefais)

I. Description of Case
The Plaintiff brings forth the following causes of action and alleges the following against the Defendant:

My Client, LobsterRoast came back to help get the Republic of Stratham on track by running for Member of Parliament. My client met all of the requirements to run for office, yet the Department of State led by Prime Minister Tracefias has decided to leave them off the ballot because they posted their election thread after they announced their candidacy.

II. Parties
1. LobsterRoast (Plaintiff)
2. LilSumoVert (Plaintiffs Council)
3. Department of State

III. Sequence of Events
1. Declarations for MP Open on Thursday May 4th, 12:04 AM
2. LobsterRoast declared their candidacy at 9:41 AM the same day
3. LobsterRoast post their Declaration Post at 12:05 PM the same day
4. The Ballot opens up at 7:16PM on May 6th with LobsterRoast Left off the ballot

IV. Claims for Relief
1. According to a Constitutional Amendment passed by parliament, Campaign Clause: No player shall serve as a sitting Member of Parliament without campaigning for their position prior to the election date. Any and all players interested in running must make a minimum of one campaign post disclosing their goals and beliefs as a candidate. Failure to abide by the Campaign Clause will result in immediate disqualification from the election and removal from the ballot.

2. The Official Election date did not begin until May 6th 2023 at 7:16 when voting opened, the time prior to this was Declarations.

3. My clients right to hold public office has been violated by the State Department

V. Damages
1. LobsterRoast should be readded to the ballot

(Attach evidence and a list of witnesses at the bottom if applicable)

In advancing this form to the court, you acknowledge and concur with the rules of court which highlight the importance of honesty at all times. Moreover, you understand the punishments for breaking these rules and/or committing perjury and deception in the court.

 

[ColonelKai]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic
Writ of Summons

@Tracefais is hereby summoned to the Court of the Stratham Republic, and must appear in the court in the following 48 hours starting at the time of this summon's sending. If the defendant fails to adhere to the conditions of the summons hereby set, the court will move forward with a default judgement.

 

[Irongolem_lawyer]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic
Writ of Summons

@Tracefais is hereby summoned to the Court of the Stratham Republic, and must appear in the court in the following 48 hours starting at the time of this summon's sending. If the defendant fails to adhere to the conditions of the summons hereby set, the court will move forward with a default judgement.

Good afternoon Your Honor,
As the Attorney General and the Government's primary legal defendant, I will be representing the government in this case.

 

[Irongolem_lawyer]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic
MOTION TO DISMISS
Date: 04/07/23

LobsterRoast
HunterHo LLP

v.
Department of State (Attorney General Irongolem_lawyer)

I. Motion To Dismiss
The Defendant motions to dismiss the case, respectfully based off the following:
1. The Plaintiff's representative is also an Assistant Prosecutor in the OAG, therefore, there is a conflict of interest, as I am the Plaintiff's representative's employer within the OAG.
If the Plaintiff's legal counsel cannot recuse themselves, then we request the case is dismissed, due to the conflict of interest.

In advancing this form to the court, you acknowledge and concur with the rules of court which highlight the importance of honesty at all times. Moreover, you understand the punishments for breaking these rules and/or committing perjury and deception in the court.

 

[Irongolem_lawyer]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic
MOTION TO DISMISS (extension)
Date: 04/07/23

LobsterRoast
HunterHo LLP

v.
Department of State (Attorney General Irongolem_lawyer)

I. Motion To Dismiss
The Defendant motions to dismiss the case, respectfully based off the following:
2. As per the constitution parliamentary elections are set out in subsection 2 (iii) (A) Take place every two months beginning on the fourth day of the month and ending on the eighth day of the month. This sets out the time frame for which the election is to be held. For parliamentary elections, the dates that undergo are from the 4th to the 8th. The election date starts on the 4th day of the month as this is when the declaration begins the official starting point of the election. To allege that the 6th day is when the election starts is both absurd and wrong due to the fact this is when voting begins, not when the elections begin.

3. Campaign Clause: No player shall serve as a sitting Member of Parliament without campaigning for their position prior to the election date. Any and all players interested in running must make a minimum of one campaign post disclosing their goals and beliefs as a candidate. Failure to abide by the Campaign Clause will result in immediate disqualification from the election and removal from the ballot. From the wording of the clause, we see that any player wishing to seek admission to the election must make an official campaign post prior to the election date. Via the constitution Member of Parliament, election outlay we see the official start of the election is the 4th day when declarations open. Doing such on the same day is not meeting the constitutional requirement set within the campaign clause.

4. To clarify the intention to assist with the clear working of the Campaign clause and the Constitution look to the reasoning behind the establishment of the campaign clause; Per the request of Koalition in addition to growing support amongst Members of Parliament, this bill would require all politicians to campaign for their seats. Plenty of politicians run without ever saying a word to the people, this puts voters at a disadvantage as they were never informed about the potential opinions or political views of the candidates prior to the election. This act will help ensure that all voters are able to make an informed decision regarding their vote. From the very beginning of the bill creation and the expressed interest in all that involved the foundation of this bill is to ensure our people are not subject to random voting of our elected officials but before we even see them we hear them and their ideas. To ensure that our people know their representatives. Declarations to voting, the integrity of our elections should always be held to a high standard. Our people should know who they are voting for. Without this clause, anyone could just declare and run without saying a word about their goals or who they are. With this clause, they must and failure will not see them enter the first stage of our democratic election.

In advancing this form to the court, you acknowledge and concur with the rules of the court which highlight the importance of honesty at all times. Moreover, you understand the punishments for breaking these rules and/or committing perjury and deception in court.

 

[ColonelKai]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic

The plaintiff may respond to the motion.

 

[LilSumoVert]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic
MOTION TO DISMISS
Date: 04/07/23

LobsterRoast
HunterHo LLP

v.
Department of State (Attorney General Irongolem_lawyer)

I. Motion To Dismiss
The Defendant motions to dismiss the case, respectfully based off the following:
1. The Plaintiff's representative is also an Assistant Prosecutor in the OAG, therefore, there is a conflict of interest, as I am the Plaintiff's representative's employer within the OAG.
If the Plaintiff's legal counsel cannot recuse themselves, then we request the case is dismissed, due to the conflict of interest.

In advancing this form to the court, you acknowledge and concur with the rules of court which highlight the importance of honesty at all times. Moreover, you understand the punishments for breaking these rules and/or committing perjury and deception in the court.

Objection your honor,

There is no conflict of interest unless the AG plans on acting in bad faith. I have been assigned no work the the OAG’s office nor and I privy to any of the governments dealings in this matter. Therefore no conflict of interest exists. I am representing a client.

 

[LilSumoVert]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic
Answer to the Motion to Dismiss
Date: 04/07/23

LobsterRoast
HunterHo LLP (LilSumoVert Representing)

v.
Department of State

Response to the Motion to Dismiss
As per the Constitution, it lays out that The Declaration period is on the fourth and 5th and that the election period is on the 6th and 7th. This being said, LobsterRoast was well within the Campaign Clause as he posted prior to the election period. To argue that the Declaration for Candidacy period is a part of the election is absurd as you are not electing anyone during that time. An election is when you are actually casting your ballot.

And as a point to point 4, We are not arguing that the bill is not needed nor of the effects of not having it. What we are arguing is that according to the bill, my client was within its right to be on the ballot. We are arguing that the election date is not the same as the Declaration Period, so therefore point 4 is relevant.

 

[Irongolem_lawyer]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic
Motion to Clarify
Date: 04/07/23
LobsterRoast HunterHo LLP (LilSumoVert Representing)
v.
Department of State

Clarification of the Election law: The Plaintiff stated the declaration period is on the fourth and fifth day which is correct however then proceeds to say the election period is on the sixth and seventh which is incorrect. If we look at the Constitution that sets election law it clearly states the following;

(III) The election of Members of Parliament shall:
(A) Take place every two months beginning on the fourth day of the month and ending on the eighth day of the month.
(B) The period for declaring candidacy shall be held on the fourth and fifth days of the month and shall last forty-eight (48) hours.
(C) The voting period shall be held on the sixth and seventh days of the month and shall lastforty-eight (48) hours.
(D) In the election, voters shall cast up to four(4) votes and the seven (7) candidates with the most votes, at the end of voting, shall be elected to the Parliament of Stratham.
(E) The election results must be announced no later than the end of the eighth day of the month.

The whole period including the declaration period is classed under election. (c) of this section specifically calls the last two days of parliamentary elections Voting Period. The term election is a general statement to be used when talking about the whole procedure in which we elect our officials. Section (d) explains how many we can vote for while also re referring to the voting period "end of voting" Wrong wording of what is write from our constitution can lead to a massive misinterpretation of the complete facts of not just the wording of the constitution but also then would undermine the campaign clause.
Declaration and Voting are both crucial and part of the election for MPs and show in an official capacity who will be on the ballot. The campaign clause ensure that anyone wishing or has the intension to run should announce before the election start this is the ethos of the clause and its nature within our law and undermining it by misrepresenting the wording of the constitution is dangerous.

 

[LilSumoVert]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic
Motion to Clarify
Date: 04/07/23
LobsterRoast HunterHo LLP (LilSumoVert Representing)
v.
Department of State

Your Honor we object to the Attorney General,

1. Campaign Clause: No player shall serve as a sitting Member of Parliament without campaigning for their position prior to the election date. Any and all players interested in running must make a minimum of one campaign post disclosing their goals and beliefs as a candidate. Failure to abide by the Campaign Clause will result in immediate disqualification from the election and removal from the ballot.

The bill specific refers to the Date of the election, not the entire period. As per the bill, it says the Election Date. Based off of this, my client was well within their right to be on the ballot and that was violated by the Department of State by leaving my Client off the ballot. The Attorney General can argue what was intended all he wants and can even quote the constitution, but the wording of the Amendment that was passed by Parliament and given Prime Ministerial Assent is clear, you must post a Campaign Post prior to the election date, that is what my client did.

 

[ColonelKai]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic

I extend my apologies to both sides for the late response.

I hereby overrule the motion to dismiss on the following grounds.
Both judges have agreed that a conflict of interest cannot be found in this case. As for the other points, whether or not the date refers to a specific date, or a period, or which specific date is what lies at the heart of the case. Seeing as the case has merit, and these points can (and the parties have gone ahead and started arguing these points without the permission of the court), be argued, there is no grounding for a dismissal.

The plaintiff may make their opening statements, the default 48 hours is given.

 

[LilSumoVert]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic
Motion to Clarify
Date: 04/07/23
LobsterRoast HunterHo LLP (LilSumoVert Representing)
v.
Department of State

OPENING STATAMENT

Thank you your honor,

The reason we are here today is because this government, namely the Prime Minister, violated my clients constitutional right to seek elected office. In the constitution it is clearly stated that if you meet the requirements of running for office, then you can run. My client did this, My client met the playtime requirements, the BC Seen Requirements, The Activity Requirement and the Campaign post requirement. They did this all off of the wording of the Campaign Claus which says

Campaign Clause: No player shall serve as a sitting Member of Parliament without campaigning for their position prior to the election date. Any and all players interested in running must make a minimum of one campaign post disclosing their goals and beliefs as a candidate. Failure to abide by the Campaign Clause will result in immediate disqualification from the election and removal from the ballot.

If you pay attention to the words Election Date, this proves my client was well within the parameters of posting their Election post. They did it well before the election date.

The terms "election" and "election date" are related but have slightly different meanings:

Election: An election refers to the process of choosing a person or a group of people for a specific position or office through voting. It involves the selection or appointment of individuals who will hold public office, represent a constituency, or serve in a particular capacity. Elections are conducted to determine the preferences or opinions of the eligible voters, usually in a democratic setting.

Election Date: The election date, on the other hand, specifically refers to the day or date on which an election is scheduled to take place. It is the specific point in time when eligible voters cast their ballots to decide the outcome of the election. The election date is usually predetermined and is announced well in advance to allow for adequate preparations, campaigning, and voter awareness.

In summary, while "election" refers to the broader concept of the process of selecting individuals for office through voting, "election date" is a narrower term that focuses solely on the scheduled day or date when the voting takes place. The Department of State violated the rights of my client by leaving them off the ballot, even though my client was well within his right to be on said ballot.

Thank you, your honor.

 

[ColonelKai]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic

The defense may now make their opening statements. The default 48 hours is afforded.

 

[Irongolem_lawyer]

In The Distinguished Court of The Stratham Republic

The defense may now make their opening statements. The default 48 hours is afforded.

The Plaintiff and myself are currently involved in settlement negotiations. Therefore, we request a pause until a decision on this is reached.

 

[ColonelKai]

Does the plaintiff confirm this point?

 

[LilSumoVert]

Your Honor,

Both sides have come to an agreement, therefore at this time we will be dropping the case.