Daniel Parisi, Et Al., Plaintiffs, v. Lawrence W. Sinclair, Et Al., Defendants.) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No.: 1:10-cv-00897-RJL

.
net
Case 1:10-cv-00897-RJL Document 101 Filed 02/18/11 Page 1 of 6
THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

1 FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
2
3 DANIEL PARISI, et al., )

)
4
Plaintiffs, )
)
gulator
5
v. )
6 ) Case No.: 1:10-cv-00897-RJL
LAWRENCE W. SINCLAIR, et al., )
7 )
Defendants. )
8 )
10
11 REPLY TO DEFENDANTS BARNES & NOBLE, INC. AND BARNESANDNOBLE.COM

LLC’S MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION TO LAWRENCE W. SINCLAIR’S
12 MOTION TO DISMISS THEIR CROSS-CLAIMS AGAINST SINCLAIR
AND SINCLAIR PUBLISHING, INC.
13
14
/s/Lawrence W. Sinclair
Lawrence W. Sinclair, pro se
15
P.O. Box 9222
16 Chattanooga, TN 37412
(218) 269-2274
TheRe
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
REPLY TO B&N OPPOSITION TO MOTION [94] TO DISMISS 1
PDF processed with CutePDF evaluation edition www.CutePDF.com

.net
Defendant Lawrence W. Sinclair, pro se, (“Sinclair” or “Defendant”), respectfully submits this
1
Reply to the Memorandum of Law of Defendants Barnes & Noble, Inc and Barnesandnoble.com
2
3 LLC (collectively “B&N”) in Opposition to Lawrence W. Sinclair’s (“Sinclair”) Motion to
4 Dismiss their Cross-Claims against Sinclair and Sinclair Publishing, Inc, and in further support
gulator
5 of his motion to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment on all causes of action
6 asserted in the Cross-Complaint (the “Motion”).

7
I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
8
9 On May 28, 2010 Sinclair received by FedEx a Cease and Desist letter from Plaintiffs
10
counsel (Dkt No. 94-4 Ex DD), asking Sinclair to cease publication of his book. However,
11
Plaintiffs did not include with that letter any “draft Complaint” or any statement of intent to file
12
any legal action. On June 2, 2010 Sinclair received a letter dated May 28, 2010 from Linda
13
Steinman, Counsel for Barnes & Noble and Barnesandnoble.com LLC “demanding” that
14
Lawrence W. Sinclair and Sinclair Publishing, Inc “indemnify” Barnes & Noble and
15
Barnesandnoble.com LLC. See Exhibit 1, May 28, 2010 Letter from Linda Steinman (“B&N
16
TheRe
Letter”) .
17
18 Upon receipt of the B&N letter, Sinclair immediately telephoned Mrs. Steinman. In the
19 conversation Sinclair made clear to Counsel for Barnes & Noble that Sinclair would stand by the
20 contents of his book Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies & Murder? At this
21 time, Sinclair was still unaware that Plaintiffs had in fact already filed their complaint.
22 In subsequent emails and conversations with counsel for B&N, Sinclair was repeatedly
23
asked by B&N to provide them a letter of Indemnity, Sinclair was not clear what a “letter of
24
Indemnity” was nor why B&N was demanding that Sinclair provide it to them. After continued
25

.net
pressure from B&N, Sinclair asked B&N to write down what they wanted from him and they
1
did.
2
3 On June 7, 2010 B&N and Sinclair exchanged numerous emails on the “Indemnity”
4 matter and Sinclair noted in these emails that he was still unaware of any filing of any complaint.
gulator
5 See Exhibit 2, emails between Sinclair and B&N Counsel. On June 8, 2010, feeling pressure
6 from B&N and without an opportunity to consult with legal counsel, Sinclair signed the B&N
7 Indemnity letter that had been written by B&N. Sinclair received nothing new from B&N in
8
exchange for signing the Indemnity letter. On June 9, 2010, after having second thoughts about
9
what he had signed under pressure, Sinclair emailed Joanna Summerscales, Assistant to Linda
10
Steinman, informing B&N that Sinclair was rescinding the letter of Indemnity. See Exhibit 3,
11
June 9, 2010 email to Joanna Summerscales.
12
On June 15, 2010 Sinclair received an email from Christine Ulrich on behalf of Linda
13
Steinman containing a PDF copy of a Letter dated June 15, 2010. See Exhibit 4, June 15, 2010
14
email from Christine Ulrich and June 15, 2010 letter to Sinclair from Linda Steinman. In the
15
16 June 15, 2010 letter, B&N stated “we note that an indemnity is a basic premise of Barnes &
TheRe
17 Noble’s relationship with the publishers of the books it distributes…” and “this is what it means
18 to stand by the content of your book…” B&N went on to inform Sinclair that because he had
19 moved to rescind the June 8, 2010 Indemnity, “…Barnes & Noble will no longer be able to
20 distribute any works authored by Lawrence W. Sinclair or published by Sinclair Publishing, Inc.”
21
B&N then removed from its website Sinclair’s book, as well as the book Go Tell Aunt Rhody:
22
Southern Murder X2, written by Thornton Parsons and published by Sinclair Publishing, Inc.
23
24
25

.net
II. ARGUMENT
1
B&N has in its filings before this Court argued that Barnes & Noble, Inc and
2
3 Barnesandnoble.com LLC do not and have not had any business relationship with Lawrence W.
4 Sinclair or Sinclair Publishing, Inc. (Dkt No. 86 at p.8 and 27) These arguments are truthful,
gulator
5 neither Sinclair nor Sinclair Publishing Inc have ever had any business relationship with B&N on
6 any level. However, for the purpose of seeking to put the cost of defending against Plaintiffs
7 baseless claims onto Sinclair, B&N now wants to argue that it has a written Agreement with
8
Sinclair in which Sinclair agreed to indemnify Barnes & Noble.
9
Neither Sinclair nor Sinclair publishing Inc has been paid anything, offered any type of
10
consideration for, nor any benefit of any kind in signing the June 8, 2010 “Indemnity Letter.”
11
Moreover, Sinclair expressly rescinded that Indemnity letter on June 9, 2010 and B&N accepted
12
that rescission on June 15, 2010, by advising Sinclair that since he was rescinding the Indemnity
13
letter, they would be removing all of his books and Sinclair Publishing’s books from B&N’s
14
website. As a result, the so-called “Indemnity letter,” which B&N is now arguing is the basis of
15
16 its cross-claim against Sinclair, is not a valid and enforceable agreement.

TheRe
17 Moreover, Sinclair signed the June 8, 2010 Indemnity agreement under pressure from
18 B&N and without fully understanding what said Indemnity meant. Under the circumstances and
19 the fact that Sinclair never received any payment, benefit, or any other consideration for said
20 Indemnity, the June 8, 2010 Indemnity Letter is void.
21
Since there is no valid contract for indemnity between Sinclair and B&N, the only other
22
type of indemnity that B&N could claim would be some kind of tort indemnity. But if this Court
23
finds that Sinclair has no liability to Plaintiffs, then it would not owe any tort-based indemnity to
24
B&N as a matter of law.
25

.net
1
VI. CONCLUSION
2
3 For the reasons stated in his Memorandum in Support of his Motion and in this Reply
4 Memorandum, Sinclair requests that if his Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint is granted by
gulator
5 this Court, then the cross-claims of cross-Plaintiffs Barnes & Noble Inc and Barnesandnoble.com
6 LLC for indemnity should be dismissed as moot.

7
8
9
Respectfully submitted February 18, 2011
10
/s/Lawrence W. Sinclair
11 Lawrence W. Sinclair, pro se
P.O. Box 9222
12 Chattanooga, TN 37412
(218) 269-2274
13
14
15
16
TheRe
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

.net
1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that on February 18, 2011 the forgoing Reply to Defendants Barnes
2
& Noble, Inc and Barnesandnoble.com LLC (collectively “B&N”) Memorandum of Law in
3
4 Opposition to Lawrence W. Sinclair’s (“Sinclair”) Motion to Dismiss their Cross-Claims
gulator
5 against Sinclair and Sinclair Publishing, Inc was filed electronically with the Clerk of the
6 Court to be served by operation of the Court’s electronic filing system upon all parties listed
7 below. The undersigned will also serve counsel listed below via electronic mail.
8
9 Richard J Oparil; ROparil@pattonboggs.com

Kevin M. Bell; kbell@pattonboggs.com
10
Patton Boggs LLP,
11
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
12 Steven J. Weber; Steven.weber@huschblackwell.com

R. Prescott Sifton, Jr.; scott.sifton@huschblackwell.com
13 Husch Blackwell Sanders, LLP,
Attorneys for Defendant, Books-A-Million, Inc.
14
Stephen Smith; steve.smith@klgates.com;
15 Mathew Segal; matthew.segal@klgates.com,
Kari Vander Stoep; kari.vanderstoep@klgates.com
16
John Longstreth; john.longstreth@klgates.com
TheRe
K&L Gates LLP,

17
Attorneys for Defendant, Amazon.com, Inc.
18
Linda Steinman; lindasteinman@dwt.com
19 John Eastburg; roryeastburg@dwt.com
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP,
20 Attorneys for Defendants, Barnes and Noble, Inc. and Barnesandnoble.com
21 JoAnne Zawitoski; jzawitoski@semmes.com

Christina Bolmarcich; cbolmarcich@semmes.com
22 Semmes, Bowen, & Semmes,
Attorneys for Defendant, Jeffrey Rense
23
/s/ Lawrence W. Sinclair
24
25

.net
Case 1:10-cv-00897-RJL Document 101-1 Filed 02/18/11 Page 1 of 2
gulator
TheRe
.net
gulator
TheRe
.net
gulator

EXHIBIT 1
TheRe
.net
gulator
TheRe
.net
gulator
TheRe
.net
gulator

EXHIBIT 2
TheRe
.net
Larry
From: Lawrence Sinclair [larry@larrysinclair.com]
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2010 5:28 PM
To: 'Summerscales, Joanna'
Subject: RE: Parisi et al. Indemnification Agreement
Joanna:

The document will be sent to you tomorrow. We will add something to the “…including any amounts paid in settlement
gulator
(“Claims”)…” section however.

Neither I nor Sinclair Publishing, Inc will agree to paying for settling a suit that is not actually filed and/or legitimate,
which is the case in the letter and draft complaint Barnes and Noble received from Patton Boggs (counsel for Dan Parisi.)

I will have the document signed, faxed, emailed and sent out to your office tomorrow (Tuesday June 8, 2010.)

Thank you,

Larry Sinclair
www.larrysinclair.com

From: Summerscales, Joanna [mailto:JoannaSummerscales@dwt.com]
To: Lawrence Sinclair
Cc: Steinman, Linda
Subject: Parisi et al. Indemnification Agreement
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
Per your earlier request, please find draft indemnification language below. Please sign the letter on behalf of yourself and
the publishing company. Thanks again for your prompt attention to this request.
TheRe
Best,
Joanna
Lawrence W. Sinclair and Sinclair Publishing, Inc. hereby agree to jointly and severally indemnify and hold
harmless Barnes & Noble, Inc. and Barnesandnoble.com LLC (collectively, "Barnes & Noble") from and
against any and all claims, causes of action, liabilities, losses, damages, penalties, assessments, judgments,
awards or costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and including any amounts paid in settlement
("Claims"), arising out of, resulting from, or relating to, the book entitled Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair:
Cocaine, Sex, Lies and Murder, authored by Lawrence W. Sinclair and published by Sinclair Publishing, Inc.
(the "Book"), including, but not limited to, any Claims arising out of the lawsuit captioned Parisi et al. v.
Lawrence W. Sinclair a/k/a "Larry Sinclair" et al., Index No. 1:10-cv-00897 (D.D.C.) (Leon, J.). Lawrence W.
Sinclair and Sinclair Publishing, Inc. agree that Barnes & Noble shall have the right to defend the Claims by
counsel of its own choosing under the terms of this indemnification agreement. Lawrence W. Sinclair and
Sinclair Publishing, Inc. further agree that they will pay Barnes & Noble any sums due under this indemnity
within 60 days of receipt of each bill for legal fees or costs, or of any court order or other applicable document.
1
.net
Joanna Summerscales | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
1633 Broadway, 27th Floor | New York, NY 10019
Tel: (212) 603-6447 | Fax: (212) 489-8340
Email: joannasummerscales@dwt.com | Website: www.dwt.com
Anchorage | Bellevue | Los Angeles | New York | Portland | San Francisco | Seattle | Shanghai | Washington, D.C.
gulator
TheRe
2
.net
Larry
From: Summerscales, Joanna [JoannaSummerscales@dwt.com]
Subject: RE: Parisi et al. v. Sinclair et al.
Mr. Sinclair,
I received your voicemail. Linda is reviewing some draft langauge now and I hope to have it over to you shortly.
gulator
Best,
Joanna
From: Lawrence Sinclair [mailto:larry@larrysinclair.com]

To: Summerscales, Joanna
Mrs. Summerscales:

If you could be so kind as to send me what Davis Wright/Barnes & Noble would like from us and I will be more than
happy to have it prepared, signed, faxed and then over‐nighted to your office.

Thank you,

Larry Sinclair

Sent: Monday, June 07, 2010 10:02 AM
Cc: Steinman, Linda
TheRe
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
We wanted to follow up briefly regarding the indemnification letter that you discussed with Linda. Please let us know if
you need any additional information from us and when we should expect to receive it.
Many thanks,
Joanna

Tel: (212) 603-6447 | Fax: (212) 489-8340

Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 5:30 PM
1
.net
Thank you, I did receive the documents

Thank you,

Larry Sinclair

gulator
To: larry@larrysinclair.com
Cc: Steinman, Linda
Subject: Parisi et al. v. Sinclair et al.
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
At Linda Steinman's request, please find attached a copy of the letter from Mr. Parisi's counsel addressed to Barnes &
Noble and the draft complaint. Please confirm that you have received the attached documents.
Best regards,
Joanna
<<Patton Boggs Ltr and Cplt - May 18 2010.pdf>>

Tel: (212) 603-6447 | Fax: (212) 489-8340
TheRe
2
.net
Larry
Cc: Steinman, Linda
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
gulator
Best,
Joanna

Tel: (212) 603-6447 | Fax: (212) 489-8340
TheRe
1
.net
Larry
Cc: Steinman, Linda
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
The complaint was filed on May 28, 2010 and, as such, we would like to retain the settlement language.
gulator
Best,
Joanna

Joanna:

The document will be sent to you tomorrow. We will add something to the “…including any amounts paid in settlement
(“Claims”)…” section however.

Neither I nor Sinclair Publishing, Inc will agree to paying for settling a suit that is not actually filed and/or legitimate,
which is the case in the letter and draft complaint Barnes and Noble received from Patton Boggs (counsel for Dan Parisi.)

I will have the document signed, faxed, emailed and sent out to your office tomorrow (Tuesday June 8, 2010.)

Thank you,

Larry Sinclair
TheRe

Cc: Steinman, Linda
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
Best,
Joanna
1
.net
gulator
Tel: (212) 603-6447 | Fax: (212) 489-8340
TheRe
2
.net
gulator

EXHIBIT 3
TheRe
.net
Larry
From: Lawrence Sinclair [larry@larrysinclair.com]
To: 'Summerscales, Joanna'
Joanna:

After speaking with counsel today, I have been advised to rescind my letter of Indemnity to Barnes & Noble. Please be
gulator
advised that I and Sinclair Publishing, Inc will be standing by the content of the book Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair:
Cocaine, Sex, Lies & Murder?, but we will not indemnify Barnes & Noble.

Counsel has advised that we need not and should not give Barnes & Noble indemnity considering the fact that B&N can
recoup their cost from plaintiffs.

We will be forwarding written notice that we are rescinding/revoking the indemnification provided yesterday, June 8,
2010.

Thank you,

Larry Sinclair

Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 2:29 PM
Cc: Brad Feuer; Steinman, Linda
Many thanks.
TheRe

Joanna:

Attached is the revised Indemnity letter in .pdf form. I will put the original in the mail today. Also, please note that I did
not fax the first one since I sent it in .pdf form and overnight mail.

Thank you,

Larry Sinclair

To: larry@larrysinclair.com
Cc: Brad Feuer; Steinman, Linda
1
.net
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
We have revised the language below such that any settlement entered into by Barnes & Noble would be subject to your
approval. We trust and hope that this satisfies your concerns. Please send us a PDF of the revised indemnity letter
today, with the original to follow promptly by mail.
Best,
Joanna
gulator
awards or costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and including any amounts paid by Barnes &
Noble in a settlement approved by Lawrence W. Sinclair and/or Sinclair Publishing, Inc. ("Claims"), arising out
of, resulting from, or relating to, the book entitled Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies and
Murder, authored by Lawrence W. Sinclair and published by Sinclair Publishing, Inc. (the "Book"), including,
but not limited to, any Claims arising out of the lawsuit captioned Parisi et al. v. Lawrence W. Sinclair a/k/a
"Larry Sinclair" et al., Index No. 1:10-cv-00897 (D.D.C.) (Leon, J.). Lawrence W. Sinclair and Sinclair
Publishing, Inc. agree that Barnes & Noble shall have the right to defend the Claims by counsel of its own
choosing under the terms of this indemnification agreement. Lawrence W. Sinclair and Sinclair Publishing, Inc.
further agree that they will pay Barnes & Noble any sums due under this indemnity within 60 days of receipt of
each bill for legal fees or costs, or of any court order or other applicable document.

Tel: (212) 603-6447 | Fax: (212) 489-8340
TheRe
2
.net
gulator

EXHIBIT 4
TheRe
.net
Larry
From: Ulrich, Christine [christineulrich@dwt.com] on behalf of Steinman, Linda
[lindasteinman@dwt.com]
To: larry@larrysinclair.com; sinclairpublishinginc@sinclairpublishingllc.com
Cc: bfeuer@bn.com; Steinman, Linda; Summerscales, Joanna
Subject: Parisi v. Sinclair
Attachments: DOC001.PDF
gulator
Please see attached letter.
TheRe
1
.net
gulator
TheRe
.net
gulator
TheRe

Daniel Parisi, Et Al., Plaintiffs, v. Lawrence W. Sinclair, Et Al., Defendants.) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No.: 1:10-cv-00897-RJL

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Daniel Parisi, Et Al., Plaintiffs, v. Lawrence W. Sinclair, Et Al., Defendants.) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No.: 1:10-cv-00897-RJL

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

.

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

3 DANIEL PARISI, et al., )

11 REPLY TO DEFENDANTS BARNES & NOBLE, INC. AND BARNESANDNOBLE.COM

REPLY TO B&N OPPOSITION TO MOTION [94] TO DISMISS 1

PDF processed with CutePDF evaluation edition www.CutePDF.com

3 LLC (collectively “B&N”) in Opposition to Lawrence W. Sinclair’s (“Sinclair”) Motion to

6 asserted in the Cross-Complaint (the “Motion”).

REPLY TO B&N OPPOSITION TO MOTION [94] TO DISMISS 2

REPLY TO B&N OPPOSITION TO MOTION [94] TO DISMISS 3

16 its cross-claim against Sinclair, is not a valid and enforceable agreement.

REPLY TO B&N OPPOSITION TO MOTION [94] TO DISMISS 4

6 LLC for indemnity should be dismissed as moot.

REPLY TO B&N OPPOSITION TO MOTION [94] TO DISMISS 5

4 Opposition to Lawrence W. Sinclair’s (“Sinclair”) Motion to Dismiss their Cross-Claims

9 Richard J Oparil; ROparil@pattonboggs.com

12 Steven J. Weber; Steven.weber@huschblackwell.com

K&L Gates LLP,

21 JoAnne Zawitoski; jzawitoski@semmes.com

REPLY TO B&N OPPOSITION TO MOTION [94] TO DISMISS 6

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

From: Lawrence Sinclair [mailto:larry@larrysinclair.com]

Subject: RE: Parisi et al. v. Sinclair et al.

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

Joanna Summerscales | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

From: Lawrence Sinclair [mailto:larry@larrysinclair.com]

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

<<Patton Boggs Ltr and Cplt - May 18 2010.pdf>>

Joanna Summerscales | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

Joanna Summerscales | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Email: joannasummerscales@dwt.com | Website: www.dwt.com

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

From: Lawrence Sinclair [mailto:larry@larrysinclair.com]

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

From: Lawrence Sinclair [mailto:larry@larrysinclair.com]

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

Joanna Summerscales | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

You might also like