Opinion ID: 2827981
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Breach of the Exclusivity Provision

Text: WMATA concedes that the Term Sheet bound it to negotiate exclusively with Banneker, but argues that it never negotiated with LaKritz Adler and so never breached the agreement. The complaint’s allegations make a powerful circumstantial case to the contrary: WMATA, through Graham, communicated frequently and in detail with LaKritz Adler concerning the Florida Avenue site. Graham leaked to LaKritz Adler confidential information about Banneker’s plans so that LaKritz Adler could develop a competitively attractive alternative to Banneker’s proposal. LaKritz Adler called WMATA staff directly and, during that call, pressed its interest in the project subject to the Term Sheet and discussed Banneker’s confidential bid information. Am. Compl. ¶ 261. Before Banneker’s Term Sheet expired, Graham sought to formally solicit bids from Banneker’s competitors, including LaKritz Adler, during the exclusivity period. Though WMATA did not follow through, it is reasonable to infer from all of those allegations taken together that Graham negotiated with LaKritz Adler regarding its possible development of the Florida Avenue site, in violation of the exclusivity term of WMATA’s agreement with Banneker. WMATA seizes on separate allegations that Graham also helped LaKritz Adler in its efforts to become part of Banneker’s development team. WMATA argues that neither Graham nor any other WMATA personnel entered into negotiations with LaKritz Adler to replace Banneker—only to 4 In the district court, Banneker also claimed that the Term Sheet was a contract for conveyance of the property, but it does not press that claim on appeal. 13 see whether LaKritz Adler might join Banneker’s team. Allegations pointing to Graham’s efforts to help LaKritz Adler benefit by getting a piece of Banneker’s projected work are not, however, inconsistent with allegations that Graham simultaneously sought to help LaKritz Adler to displace Banneker from the project altogether. Banneker is entitled to, and does, allege that Graham did both. B. Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Banneker’s second contract claim is that WMATA breached its obligation under the Term Sheet to negotiate in good faith by interposing terms and conditions extraneous to the Term Sheet and unilaterally abandoning negotiations toward a final agreement. The allegations of Banneker’s complaint make clear that it had a contract that imposed on the parties a duty to negotiate in good faith. The parties’ Term Sheet, although preliminary to any binding development contract, was itself a binding contract to negotiate. That acknowledged, contractually binding obligation to negotiate carried with it the implied duty to do so in good faith. See Allworth v. Howard Univ., 890 A.2d 194, 201 (D.C. 2006); Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 205 (1981); 23 Williston on Contracts § 63:22 (4th ed.). Under an often-cited typology of preliminary agreements to negotiate final agreements, the Term Sheet was a “Type II” agreement, or one that “expresses mutual commitment to a contract on agreed major terms, while recognizing the existence of open terms that remain to be negotiated.” Teachers Ins. & Annuity Ass’n of Am. v. Tribune Co., 670 F. Supp. 491, 498 (S.D.N.Y. 1987) (Leval, J.); see Stanford Hotels Corp. v. Potomac Creek Associates, L.P., 18 A.3d 725, 735-36 (D.C. 2011) (applying Tribune). In contrast to a Type 14 I agreement, which is “preliminary only in form” because the parties have reached “complete agreement” and need only to formalize it, Tribune, 670 F. Supp. at 498, parties to a Type II agreement have not reached complete agreement, but “can bind themselves to a concededly incomplete agreement in the sense that they accept a mutual commitment to negotiate together in good faith in an effort to reach final agreement within the scope that has been settled in the preliminary agreement,” id. The Term Sheet on its face is manifestly a Type II agreement. The Term Sheet recites that it is “intended to summarize the principal terms of a proposal being considered by” the parties, and to express the parties’ “wish to negotiate a Definitive Agreement.” Term Sheet, Preamble. It states that its “binding effect” is to give Banneker “the exclusive right to negotiate a Definitive Agreement with WMATA.” Id. § 12. And it sets forth many of the material terms of the deal, including the definition of the property to be leased, the base rent for the property, formulas for how the rent would change based on time, occupancy, and the density of the development, the security deposit Banneker would pay upon execution of a final agreement, an outline of the improvements Banneker intended to build on the property, and the corporate structure of the development team. Through the Term Sheet, Banneker and WMATA established “a general framework within which they could proceed while preserving flexibility in the face of future uncertainty,” Brown v. Cara, 420 F.3d 148, 157-58 (2d Cir. 2005), and after executing the Term Sheet at significant expense to Banneker, they proceeded under that rubric. As a Type II agreement, the Term Sheet did not guarantee the parties would reach complete agreement, but it was nonetheless binding. Type II agreements contemplate 15 that negotiations may fail, either because “good faith differences in the negotiation of the open issues may prevent a reaching of final contract” or because the parties mutually abandon the negotiation. Tribune, 670 F. Supp. at 498. But a duty to negotiate in good faith under a Type II agreement is violated by a party unilaterally “renouncing the deal, abandoning the negotiations, or insisting on conditions that do not conform to the preliminary agreement.” Id.; see also Stanford Hotels, 18 A.3d at 735-36 (quoting Tribune). Banneker’s allegations that Graham directed cessation of negotiations and interjected new terms and conditions that were not part of Banneker’s Term Sheet suffice to show lack of good faith. According to the complaint, Banneker and WMATA staff reached final agreement on the open terms multiple times over twenty months, but the WMATA Board repeatedly altered the deal, delayed it, and ultimately tabled it for the purpose of letting the negotiation period “time out” with no final agreement. Those allegations show that WMATA “simply refused to proceed further” in the negotiations, even though it had no justification and no good faith disagreement had arisen with Banneker—conduct inconsistent with the duty of good faith. United House of Prayer for All People v. Therrien Waddell, Inc., 112 A.3d 330, 344 (D.C. 2015); see also L-7 Designs, Inc. v. Old Navy, LLC, 647 F.3d 419, 430-31 (2d Cir. 2011). Much of Graham’s alleged misconduct occurred before Banneker and WMATA executed the Term Sheet, but Graham also acted to interfere with Banneker’s ability to secure a final agreement during the twenty months of negotiations after the Term Sheet was signed. He pressured Banneker to drop a development partner in favor of LaKritz Adler, instructed WMATA staff to stop or delay negotiations, and explored the possibility of soliciting more bids. 16 The decisions in Tribune, Stanford Hotels, and United House of Prayer are instructive. In Tribune, a prospective borrower’s commitment letter established a Type II agreement to negotiate. 670 F. Supp. at 496, 499. When the borrower “broke off negotiations, declining to negotiate further unless the lender agreed” to a new term not anticipated by the commitment letter, the court found a breach. Id. at 491, 506. The court noted that the borrower had reserved to its Board of Directors the right to approve or reject the loan, but held that the borrower could not abuse that condition by going through the motions of negotiating the loan to the parties’ mutual satisfaction, only to “defeat its obligations under the binding agreement of commitment merely by having its Board do nothing.” Id. at 503. Similarly, in Stanford Hotels, the parties entered an agreement to negotiate the final purchase of a hotel. The seller thereby “obligated itself to negotiate exclusively and in good faith with [the purchaser] and to sign a Definitive Agreement if they were able to agree on terms.” 18 A.3d at 734-35. When the purchaser showed itself “willing to concede” on all of the open issues “if necessary to close on the sale,” id. at 731 n.5, the seller who responded by holding out for a more advantageous alternative, stringing the purchaser along, and ultimately abandoning the negotiations, was in breach, id. at 731-33. In United House of Prayer, a party violated an enforceable Type II agreement when it “terminated discussions . . . without offering any explanation of what terms its lawyer purportedly found unacceptable and by declining to negotiate . . . or even to discuss the matter,” even though the counterparty communicated its willingness to discuss any remaining issues or concerns. 112 A.3d at 344. So too, here: Banneker’s allegations that Graham, in his capacity as an agent of WMATA, acted to delay, interfere with, and ultimately defeat a final development agreement 17 between WMATA and Banneker adequately state a claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Further, we find no relevance, in the context of the agreement at issue in this case, that WMATA’s Board reserved for itself the right to approve or disapprove a final agreement. WMATA’s Board approved the Term Sheet, which obligated WMATA to negotiate in good faith. As in Tribune, because WMATA had committed to negotiate the project to the parties’ mutual satisfaction, it could not then “defeat its obligations under the binding agreement of commitment merely by having its Board do nothing.” Tribune, 670 F. Supp. at 503. WMATA responds, relying exclusively on the Bondi Report, that it was not required to extend the negotiation period any further because the parties had reached an intractable, good faith impasse over contract terms. WMATA attached the Bondi Report to its motion to dismiss. In WMATA’s view, the Bondi Report exonerates it of any claim of failure to negotiate in good faith because the report pegged the parties’ failure to reach agreement under the Term Sheet on “business reasons.” In particular, the report concluded that, while Graham acted unethically, there were good faith disagreements between Banneker and WMATA and other business reasons that prevented them from reaching a final development agreement. See, e.g., Bondi Rpt., J.A. 140, at 50. Defendants argue that we must assume the veracity of the Bondi Report, even at the pleading stage, by virtue of the incorporation-by-reference doctrine. Banneker’s complaint refers to the Bondi Report, commissioned by WMATA and released in 2012, as a source of Banneker’s knowledge of certain facts, such as Defendants’ “behind-the-scenes and closed-door actions.” Am. Compl. ¶ 81. Banneker did not 18 attach the report to its complaint or purport to endorse its overall analysis. Defendants contend that we must treat the report as adopted in toto by Banneker. We disagree. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 10(c) permits a plaintiff to attach an exhibit to the complaint, rendering the exhibit “part of the pleading for all purposes.” Incorporation by reference can also amplify pleadings where the document is not attached by the plaintiff, but is “referred to in the complaint and [] integral to [the plaintiff’s] claim.” Kaempe v. Myers, 367 F.3d 958, 965 (D.C. Cir. 2004). A district court may consider a document that a complaint specifically references without converting the motion into one for summary judgment. See id.; 5A Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1327 (4th ed. 2014); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(d). The prototypical incorporation by reference occurs where a complaint claims breach of contract, and either party attaches to its pleading an authentic copy of the contract itself. Because the contract is a legally operative document that is a necessary element of the claim, the contract is “integral” to the plaintiff’s claim—it “form[s] the basis for a claim or part of a claim.” Carroll v. Yates, 362 F.3d 984, 986 (7th Cir. 2004) (internal quotation marks omitted). 5 A pleading’s 5 Defendants cite several cases similarly involving incorporation of documents upon which the plaintiffs’ claims were based, the authenticity of which was not in question. See Clorox Co. Puerto Rico v. Proctor & Gamble Commercial Co., 228 F.3d 24, 32 (1st Cir. 2000) (incorporating advertising copy alleged to have been misleading); In re Burlington Coat Factory Sec. Litig., 114 F.3d 1410, 1426 (3d Cir. 1997) (incorporating annual report where plaintiffs’ claim rested on report’s failure to disclose facts); Kramer v. Time Warner Inc., 937 F.2d 767, 773-74 (2d Cir. 1991) (incorporating documents alleged to contain misrepresentations 19 reference to even a part of a fully integrated and authentic contract thus incorporates the contract as a whole into the complaint. The incorporation by reference doctrine has limits, however. If a document itself comes before the court only as an attachment to the defendant’s motion to dismiss, it may not be appropriate for the court to treat the entire document as incorporated into the complaint. Some of our sister circuits have rejected the “fantastic argument” that “all facts contained in any attachments to a complaint are automatically deemed facts alleged as part of the complaint.” Carroll, 362 F.3d at 986 (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted). Rule 10(c) “does not require a plaintiff to adopt every word within the exhibits as true for purposes of pleading simply because the documents were attached to the complaint to support an alleged fact.” N. Ind. Gun & Outdoor Shows, Inc. v. City of South Bend, 163 F.3d 449, 454-56 (7th Cir. 1998); see also Jones v. City of Cincinnati, 521 F.3d 555, 561 (6th Cir. 2008); West-Anderson v. Missouri Gaming Co., 557 F. App’x 620, 622 (8th Cir. 2014). For example, the Second Circuit has explained that a written contract “will defeat invocation of the Statute of Frauds, and a document that discloses what the complaint alleges it concealed will defeat the allegation of concealment,” but a libel plaintiff who attaches to her complaint the allegedly libelous writing does not adopt the libelous statement as true, thereby defeating her own claim. Gant v. Wallingford Bd. of Educ., 69 F.3d 669, 674 (2d Cir. 1995). When considering incorporation, it is necessary to consider “why a plaintiff attached the forming basis of plaintiff’s claim); Hinton v. Corrections Corp. of Am., 624 F. Supp. 2d 45, 47 (D.D.C. 2009) (incorporating contract where plaintiff’s case rested on breach of contractual duty). 20 documents, who authored the documents, and the reliability of the documents.” N. Ind. Gun, 163 F.3d at 455. In evaluating Banneker’s claims, we will not rely on those portions of the Bondi Report not adopted by Banneker. Banneker’s claims here are not based on the Bondi Report. The report is not necessary to Banneker’s claims. It was commissioned by a defendant and its reliability is unknown. 6 Banneker referred to some of the report’s recitations to show how it learned some facts in the complaint, but it did not purport to and was not required to adopt the factual contents of the report wholesale. Ignoring, as we must at the pleading stage, the opinions and conclusions of the Bondi Report, we find nothing in the complaint substantiating WMATA’s position that Banneker has failed to state a claim for breach of the duty to negotiate in good faith. IV. Tortious Interference and Conspiracy Claims against LaKritz Adler Banneker asserts claims against LaKritz Adler for tortious interference with contract, tortious interference with prospective business advantage, and civil conspiracy. To state claims for tortious interference under District of Columbia law, a plaintiff must allege the existence of a 6 Defendants would have been entitled to rely on the Bondi Report to show any inaccuracy in Banneker’s allegations about its contents, because a referenced document may always be read “to evidence what it incontestably shows.” Gant, 69 F.3d at 674 (emphasis added). But that is not the same as treating the report’s contents as though they were alleged by Banneker itself, and thus taking them all as true. And Defendants do not assert, in any case, that Banneker has mischaracterized the Bondi Report. 21 contract or business expectancy, the defendant’s knowledge of the contract or business expectancy, intentional interference causing the breach of the contract or termination of the business expectancy, and damages. See Sturdza v. United Arab Emirates, 281 F.3d 1287, 1305 (D.C. Cir. 2002); Bennett Enters., Inc. v. Domino’s Pizza, Inc., 45 F.3d 493, 499 (D.C. Cir. 1995). Banneker argues that LaKritz Adler, acting in concert with Graham, (1) interfered with its Term Sheet by causing WMATA to breach its exclusivity and good faith obligations, and (2) interfered with its business expectancy in a final agreement by causing WMATA to abandon negotiations. The district court dismissed both tortious interference claims because it concluded that Banneker had alleged neither a valid contract nor a valid business expectancy. Banneker II, 19 F. Supp. 3d at 248-51. We hold that Banneker adequately stated its claims and therefore reverse. First, our resolution of the contract claims establishes that Banneker alleges the existence of a valid contract. The district court held that the Term Sheet was not enforceable. As we have discussed, however, the Term Sheet was a valid Type II agreement that bound WMATA to negotiate exclusively and in good faith with Banneker. Banneker also alleges a valid business expectancy in the completion of a final development agreement. A business expectancy “must be commercially reasonable to anticipate” before its loss may be actionable. Browning v. Clinton, 292 F.3d 235, 242 (D.C. Cir. 2002) (internal quotation marks omitted). In holding that Banneker lacked a valid business expectancy, the district court reasoned that, after signing the Term Sheet, Banneker could “only hope[] to enter into a final contract with WMATA” because the possibility that the Board would approve a final deal “was too remote to establish 22 a valid business expectancy.” Banneker II, 19 F. Supp. 3d at 249. The district court relied extensively on Carr v. Brown, 395 A.2d 79, 82 (D.C. 1978). There, a real estate developer applied for a permit to relocate a portion of an alley and for a zoning variance that would enable him to develop his property. When another property owner and his attorney expressed their opposition and “incite[d] . . . area residents to oppose the alley closing and relocation,” the developer sued them for losses caused by the resultant delay in approval of the permit. Id. at 83. The D.C. Court of Appeals held that the developer’s business expectancy was “too remote, depending as [it does] on governmental approval,” particularly because the opponents to the permit were “participating in procedures fixed by statute which specifically invite opposition.” Id. at 84. Carr itself distinguishes its facts from the type of expectancy at issue here, as it expressly does not purport to apply to “a claim by the plaintiff that he has an expectancy of doing business with a governmental body and that expectancy is unjustifiably interfered with by the defendant.” Id. Here, by contrast, Banneker was doing business with WMATA. LaKritz Adler is alleged to have interfered with a prospective final agreement. We hold that it was commercially reasonable for Banneker to anticipate the consummation of the deal anticipated by the Term Sheet. Banneker had far more than a “hope” of closing the deal; the very purpose of the Term Sheet was to produce a final agreement. Indeed, Banneker and WMATA staff reached agreement many times. WMATA staff repeatedly recommended approval. And the Board had in the past rarely voted against a development agreement recommended by the staff. On these facts, as alleged, Banneker had a justified expectation that a development agreement would be finalized. 23 Banneker also adequately alleged the remaining elements of tortious interference. Banneker alleged that LaKritz Adler had knowledge of its Term Sheet, and therefore of its exclusivity rights and expectancy in a final agreement, and Banneker has also made the requisite “strong showing of intent,” Bennett, 45 F.3d at 499 (internal quotation marks omitted), or “bad faith,” Sorrells v. Garfinckel’s, Brooks Bros., Miller & Rhoads, 565 A.2d 285, 292 (D.C. 1989) (internal quotation marks omitted). The allegations that LaKritz Adler and Graham embarked on a long campaign to induce WMATA to partly or wholly displace Banneker suffice to plead causation. And Banneker alleged that the campaign to undermine its bid caused WMATA to breach its exclusivity and good faith obligations, and ultimately cost Banneker the project. 7 LaKritz Adler argues that Banneker failed adequately to allege that LaKritz Adler’s conduct was the cause of any breach of the Term Sheet or WMATA’s abandonment of negotiations because it is Graham who is alleged to have been the “primary wrongdoer in the entire affair.” Appellee Br. 53 (quoting Appellant Br. 32). We disagree. Banneker alleges that LaKritz Adler “used [its] relationship with Graham to induce Graham and WMATA’s staff and Board to breach its contract to negotiate exclusively with Banneker,” Am. Compl. ¶ 270, and to cause WMATA to abandon negotiations. District of Columbia courts have adopted the Restatement’s 7 We reject the argument made by Defendants that LaKritz Adler could not have caused the failure of negotiations because WMATA was an independent decision maker. The crux of Banneker’s claim against LaKritz Adler is that its conspiracy with Graham, a WMATA Board Member, impaired Banneker’s competitiveness and prompted the Board to end the negotiations without consummating a final agreement. The merits of that theory must await the proof. 24 formulation of the claim of tortious interference. Havilah Real Prop. Servs., LLC v. VLK, LLC, 108 A.3d 334, 345 (D.C. 2015). The Restatement recognizes Banneker’s inducement theory: One who intentionally and improperly interferes with the performance of a contract . . . between another and a third person by inducing . . . the third person not to perform the contract, is subject to liability to the other for the pecuniary loss resulting to the other from the failure of the third person to perform the contract. Onyeoziri v. Spivok, 44 A.3d 279, 286-87 (D.C. 2012) (second ellipsis added) (quoting Restatement (Second) of Torts § 766 (1979) (“Restatement”)); see also Restatement § 766B (defining tortious interference with prospective business advantage to include interference consisting of “inducing . . . a third person not to enter into or continue the prospective relation). In support of its claim of tortious interference against LaKritz Adler, Banneker alleges a circumstantial case that LaKritz Adler, both by its direct actions and its inducement of Graham, undermined the exclusivity term and helped to scuttle any final development agreement with WMATA. Banneker alleges that LaKritz Adler was in frequent communication with Graham, that Graham leaked to LaKritz Adler confidential bid information, that LaKritz Adler, knowing that information to be confidential, used it in a phone call with WMATA, and that Graham sought to re-open the bidding process in the middle of Banneker’s exclusivity period. In addition, Banneker alleges that LaKritz Adler was a major contributor to Graham’s campaigns and projects, that it made contributions during Banneker’s exclusivity period, 25 Am. Compl. ¶ 26, and that, despite knowing and understanding the nature of WMATA’s exclusivity obligations, LaKritz Adler exercised its financial influence over Graham to induce WMATA to breach the exclusivity clause of the Term Sheet. Finally, Banneker alleges that LaKritz Adler made repeated calls to WMATA staff for the purpose of disparaging Banneker, id. ¶ 272, that it interfered in Banneker’s attempts to develop the Florida Avenue site alongside a parcel owned by Howard University, and that it formulated a plan with Graham to delay and obstruct Banneker’s negotiations with WMATA. At the pleading stage, those allegations, taken together, state a claim for inducement of WMATA’s breach of the exclusivity term. See supra Part III.A. (discussing breach of contract claim). Banneker also alleges that LaKritz Adler’s conduct and its inducement of Graham’s conduct resulted in WMATA’s ultimate abandonment of negotiations. Given the minimal showing required at this early procedural stage, those allegations suffice to state a claim for tortious interference with prospective business advantage. Contrary to LaKritz Adler’s position, Banneker need not allege inducement through egregious means, such as libel, slander, coercion, or disparagement. See Appellee Br. 55. “[I]nducement may be any conduct conveying to the third person the actor’s desire to influence him not to deal with the other.” Restatement § 766 cmt. k. Such conduct may include “intimidation,” but it also includes “persuasion,” such as the persuasion coupled with financial influence alleged here. Id. § 766 cmt. h. Even were egregious means required, moreover, Banneker alleged not only that LaKritz Adler stayed in frequent communication with Graham, but also that it called WMATA staff “every few months to disparage Banneker while attempting to convince WMATA” to give LaKritz Adler the project. Am. Compl. ¶ 272. 26 Nor may LaKritz Adler claim as a defense that it was merely pursuing its “financial interest.” Appellee Br. 57. In the District of Columbia, the defendant bears the burden of establishing legal justification or privilege for the inducement of a breach. Onyeoziri, 44 A.3d at 287. Economic competitors are free to use means that are not wrongful to cause third parties not to enter into prospective contractual relations “or not to continue an existing contract terminable at will.” Restatement § 766B. “A party may not, however, under the guise of competition actively and affirmatively induce the breach of a competitor’s contract in order to secure an economic advantage over that competitor.” Dunn v. Cox, 163 A.2d 609, 610 (D.C. 1960) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Restatement § 766B cmt. h (“[W]hen B is legally obligated to deal with C, A is not justified by the mere fact of competition in inducing B to commit a breach of his legal duty.”). Here, Banneker alleges that its contract with WMATA was not terminable at will. The Term Sheet secured to Banneker an exclusive negotiation period designed to bring about a final agreement. LaKritz Adler allegedly knew of the exclusivity term, but induced WMATA, through Graham, to breach that term. And LaKritz Adler’s means of inducement—financial influence and persuasion—would, if substantiated, suffice to make out a claim against LaKritz Adler. See Chaves v. Johnson, 335 S.E.2d 97, 103 (Va. 1985); cf. Angle v. Chicago, St. P., M. & O. Ry. Co., 151 U.S. 1, 14 (1894) (citing Lumley v. Gye, 2 El. & Bl. 216, 118, Eng. Rep. 749 (Q.B. 1853)); Beekman v. Marsters, 80 N.E. 817, 819 (Mass. 1907). We conclude that Banneker, at this early procedural stage, has stated claims for interference with contract and 27 prospective business advantage. 8 We therefore reverse the district court’s dismissal of Banneker’s tortious interference claims against LaKritz Adler. Because LaKritz Adler does not argue that the conspiracy claim is otherwise inadequately stated, we also reverse the dismissal of that claim. V. Tort Claims and Sovereign and Official Immunity Defenses Banneker asserts a fraud claim against WMATA, alleging it misled Banneker as to its chances of securing Board approval. Banneker also asserts claims for tortious interference and civil conspiracy against Graham for his attempts to undermine Banneker’s bid. The district court 8 We also reject LaKritz Adler’s argument that its conduct is shielded by the Noerr-Pennington doctrine, “under which petitioning the Government for redress of grievances, whether by efforts to influence legislative or executive action or by seeking redress in court, is immune from liability.” Covad Commc’ns Co. v. Bell Atl. Corp., 398 F.3d 666, 677 (D.C. Cir. 2005). To our knowledge, we have never applied the Noerr-Pennington doctrine, which arose in the context of the antitrust laws, to bar liability for common law torts; Defendants cite no case to the contrary. Cf. Whelan v. Abell, 48 F.3d 1247, 1254 (D.C. Cir. 1995). Even were we to do so now, and we take no position on the matter, the doctrine does not apply to parties “engaged in private commercial activity, no element of which involved seeking to procure the passage or enforcement of laws.” Cont’l Ore Co. v. Union Carbide & Carbon Corp., 370 U.S. 690, 707 (1962). “Private efforts to influence governmental bodies acting in an economic rather than a political framework, e.g., a governmental procurement agency, have been held unprotected” because they are business, not political, activity. Fed. Prescription Serv., Inc. v. Am. Pharm. Ass’n, 663 F.2d 253, 263 (D.C. Cir. 1981); see also George R. Whitten, Jr., Inc. v. Paddock Pool Builders, Inc., 424 F.2d 25, 33 (1st Cir. 1970). 28 dismissed those claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the ground that WMATA and Graham enjoy immunity from suit. We affirm as to WMATA but vacate and remand as to Graham. A. WMATA’s Sovereign Immunity From Claims of Fraud During Negotiations Banneker alleges that it relied to its detriment on WMATA’s rosy predictions of Banneker’s chances of securing a final deal, and that WMATA should have disclosed Graham’s attempts to prevent the deal from closing. 9 The district court held that Banneker’s fraud claim against WMATA was barred by sovereign immunity. We affirm. WMATA, a quasi-governmental entity created by an interstate compact, is protected against common law tort actions by sovereign immunity. See KiSKA Construction Corp., N.S.A. v. WMATA, 321 F.3d 1151, 1158 (D.C. Cir. 2003). District courts lack subject matter jurisdiction to enter judgment against WMATA unless its limited waiver of immunity applies. Id. Section 80 of the WMATA Compact waives immunity for contract claims and claims of torts “committed in the conduct of any proprietary function,” but not torts committed “in the performance of a governmental function.” D.C. Code § 9-1107.01(80); see also KiSKA, 321 F.3d at 1158. “Because it is difficult to distinguish between public and private sector functions with any precision,” we ask whether the claim seeks to impose liability for conduct that is discretionary, in which case the claim is barred by immunity, or ministerial, in which case the claim may proceed—a dichotomy we have imported from the Federal 9 Banneker’s fraud claim against WMATA below was broader. We address here only the narrowed theory of liability for fraud that Banneker presses against WMATA on appeal. 29 Tort Claims Act. Beebe v. WMATA, 129 F.3d 1283, 1287 (D.C. Cir. 1997); see also Burkhart v. WMATA, 112 F.3d 1207, 1216 (D.C. Cir. 1997). 10 Discretionary duties generally “involve[] judgment, planning, or policy decisions” and are immunized as reflecting sovereign choices. KiSKA, 321 F.3d at 1159 n.9 (internal quotation marks omitted). Merely ministerial duties, which can “involve[] enforcement or administration of a mandatory duty at the operational level, even if professional expert evaluation is required,” are treated as not exercising distinctively sovereign powers and so are not immunized. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). We apply a two-part test to determine whether WMATA’s conduct is immunized as discretionary. Because “sovereign immunity does not bar suits based on an employee’s failure to follow [a] prescribed course of conduct,” we ask first whether “any statute, regulation, or policy specifically prescribes a course of action for an employee to follow.” Id. at 1159 (internal quotation marks omitted). If the tort claim arises from a WMATA employee’s failure to act as the law specifically prescribes, the conduct is not shielded by immunity. If the law leaves the conduct in question to the official’s discretion, we then ask “whether the exercise of discretion is grounded in social, economic, or political goals.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Only actions grounded in such discretion retain “governmental function” immunity. Our decision in KiSKA governs Banneker’s fraud claim against WMATA. There, a contractor on a tunnel project 10 We have also held that “quintessential” governmental functions such as law enforcement are entitled to immunity. See Beebe, 129 F.3d at 1287. WMATA concedes that Banneker’s fraud claim is not directed at the performance of a quintessential government function. 30 sued WMATA for fraud, claiming that WMATA’s Invitation for Bids (IFB) failed to disclose the report of a technical expert that WMATA had retained in developing the IFB’s requirements. Id. at 1154-55. The contractor alleged that its project cost double its bid, and that it would have bid differently had WMATA disclosed the expert’s report recommending more extensive measures for keeping the tunnel dry. Id. at 1155-56. In the absence of “any statute, regulation or policy that ‘specifically prescribe[d]’ the content of WMATA’s IFBs,” and because the duties of good faith and fair dealing and of accurate project description did not “specifically prescribe” that content, the court held that WMATA retained “broad discretion to determine the contents of the tunnel project’s bid package.” Id. at 1160. WMATA was thus immune. The same is true here. The parties agree that WMATA has broad discretion to select appropriate bidders and to negotiate final agreements. Banneker argues only that WMATA lacked the discretion to lead bidders to believe they would receive approval from the Board when, in fact, one of its Board Members was actively working to prevent it. Nothing of which we are aware, however, so limits WMATA’s discretion. See also Greenbelt Ventures LLC v. WMATA, 481 F. App’x 833, 839-40 (4th Cir. 2012) (holding no statute, regulation, or policy governed WMATA’s course of conduct while negotiating joint development agreement); Monument Realty LLC v. WMATA, 535 F. Supp. 2d 60, 78 (D.D.C. 2008). Banneker invokes the WMATA Standards of Conduct for Board Members, but it does not argue that those standards apply to WMATA staff. It is only the conduct of the staff that Banneker challenges with its fraud claim. Banneker does not contend that WMATA’s challenged conduct, if discretionary, is nonetheless not immunized. 31 Banneker apparently accepts that whatever discretion WMATA exercises in selecting bidders and negotiating agreements is the kind of discretion that is “susceptible to policy judgment,” and so immunized. We therefore affirm the district court’s dismissal of Banneker’s claim for fraud against WMATA because it is barred by sovereign immunity.