Donald Trump's lawyer, Edward Paltzik, initiated a lawsuit in December 2024 against pollster Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register for inaccuracies in polling. The lawsuit claimed a conspiracy under Iowa's Consumer Fraud Act. After improperly serving only Gannett, the lawsuit was removed to federal court. Paltzik later amended the complaint to include two Iowa lawmakers as plaintiffs in an attempt to defeat diversity jurisdiction. However, the federal judge ruled their inclusion was unnecessary, declining the motion.
"The case was premised on the theory that the 'poll' was actually a super-secret conspiracy by Selzer, the Des Moines Register, and the Register's parent company Gannett to defraud Iowa 'consumers' by supplying defective 'merchandise' in violation of Iowa's Consumer Fraud Act."
"In the event, they only managed to serve Gannett, a Delaware company doing business in New York, which instantly filed a notice of removal, bouncing the case into the US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa."
"On January 31, they amended the complaint adding two Iowa lawmakers, US Rep Mariannette Miller-Meeks and former state senator Bradley Zaun, as plaintiffs."
"Judge Rebecca Ebinger declined to find the first, but nonetheless ruled that the lawmakers were not 'indispensable' parties and denied the motion for joinder."
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