Opinion ID: 1472584
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Watts/WEAVE Affidavit

Text: Appellees also argue that the amended complaint fell short of the heightened pleading requirement for defamation. Again, the jurisdiction has not adopted that standard. Applying the familiar standard for testing the sufficiency of a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6), we conclude that the allegations were sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss. The amended complaint alleges that Ms. Watts signed an affidavit attesting that an attached document was a copy of appellant's criminal and arrest record kept by the Superior Court's Criminal Division and that the statement was false and made negligently and/or with malice on the part of Ms. Watts. The complaint contains further assertions explaining that the document attached to Ms. Watts' affidavit is not a record kept by the Superior Court, that the information contained therein is false, and that the information published was not in the Superior Court's electronic records. Appellant alleges further that Ms. Watts published the affidavit and attached document first to a notary public in Washington, D.C. and then to Emmanuel Usoh in Nigeria, who published it further in that country. Thus, the amended complaint contains allegations of all elements of a cause of action for defamation. See Crowley, supra, 691 A.2d at 1173 n. 2. Ms. Watts and WEAVE argue that publication to the notary is insufficient because there is no allegation that the notary read beyond the first page of the affidavit where the notary's stamp appears. They contend that since the affidavit states that appellant has an arrest record and he does have an arrest record, the publication was not defamatory. When considering a motion to dismiss under Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(b)(6), we must accept as true all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint and construe the allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Atraqchi, supra, 788 A.2d at 562 (citing Fingerhut, supra, 738 A.2d at 803). The complaint alleges that Ms. Watts published both [her] affidavit and the two attached pages to a notary public. The reasonable inference from this allegation is that the notary read, or had the opportunity to read, the affidavit and accompanying papers. See Atraqchi, 788 A.2d at 563 (noting that the court must draw reasonable inferences from the complaint in the plaintiff's favor). Whether the notary read or did not read beyond the first page is a factual question that cannot be resolved by the court on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Accepting as true the allegations of the complaint, as we must, including reasonable inferences therefrom, and construing the complaint in the light most favorable to appellant, the complaint is sufficient. In such circumstances, the complaint is not subject to dismissal even if the court were to doubt that plaintiff would prevail ultimately. See Klayman v. Segal, 783 A.2d 607, 612 (D.C.2001) (citing Atkins v. Industrial Telecomms. Ass'n, 660 A.2d 885, 887 (D.C.1995)). Therefore, the complaint against Ms. Watts and her employer, WEAVE, could not be dismissed under Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(b)(6) on the assumption that the notary did not read the documents.