Citizenfour producers sued 'on behalf of American public' for aiding Snowden

A private US citizen is suing the makers of an Oscar-tipped documentary about the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for allegedly “profiteering” from the “theft and misuse” of thousands of leaked government documents.
Retired naval officer Horace Edwards says he is taking legal action “on behalf of the American public” against the producers of Citizenfour, director Laura Poitras and the Weinstein Company.

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According to the suit, which was filed by Edwards at the Kansas federal court, the plaintiff hopes to hold producers responsible for “obligations owed to the American people” and “misuse [of] purloined information disclosed to foreign enemies”. The suit further reads: “This lawsuit seeks relief against those who profiteer by pretending to be journalists and whistleblowers but in effect are evading the law and betraying their country.”

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He should sue his own lawyer first for profiteering off of his client's stupidity and malpractice. The lawyer had an obligation to explain the concept of standing to his client.

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Cardinal said:

Citizenfour producers sued 'on behalf of American public' for aiding Snowden | Film | The Guardian

I'm not especially of the lawyerly persuasion, though it seems like one of the first commenters, Macktan894, may have been:

So does Horace have grounds to sue?

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OrphanSlug said:

Seems like you can sue just about anyone for any reason these days. Now merit for the case resulting in a win, that is another matter for this case. It does not look good.

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Federal sovereign immunity

In the United States, the federal government has sovereign immunity and may not be sued unless it has waived its immunity or consented to suit. The United States has waived sovereign immunity to a limited extent, mainly through the Federal Tort Claims Act, which waives the immunity if a tortious act of a federal employee causes damage, and the Tucker Act, which waives the immunity over claims arising out of contracts to which the federal government is a party.[27] The United States as a sovereign is immune from suit unless it unequivocally consents to being sued.[28] The United States Supreme Court in Price v. United States observed: "It is an axiom of our jurisprudence. The government is not liable to suit unless it consents thereto, and its liability in suit cannot be extended beyond the plain language of the statute authorizing it."[29]

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Cardinal said:

My error, I meant "Does Horace have grounds to sue and win?" To my knowledge you've always been able to sue anyone for any reason, though that's certainly no promise it won't be thrown out of court instantly anyway. There is an exception, however, regarding lawsuits against the government.

Ah, here it is...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_immunity#United_States

I don't know if that covers a President, though.

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OrphanSlug said:

It is always more entertaining going after the government, but to the point of the story I do not see how this can be a winner inside of a courtroom.

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Cardinal said:

Citizenfour producers sued 'on behalf of American public' for aiding Snowden | Film | The Guardian

I'm not especially of the lawyerly persuasion, though it seems like one of the first commenters, Macktan894, may have been:



So does Horace have grounds to sue?

Click to expand...

Cardinal said:

Citizenfour producers sued 'on behalf of American public' for aiding Snowden | Film | The Guardian

I'm not especially of the lawyerly persuasion, though it seems like one of the first commenters, Macktan894, may have been:



So does Horace have grounds to sue?

Click to expand...