Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 1 of 19
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`David J. Groesbeck
`WSBA No. 24749
`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`Tel.: 509-747-2800
`Fax: 509-747-2828
`Email: david@groesbecklaw.com
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
` AT SEATTLE
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`PARLER LLC,
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`v.
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`Plaintiff,
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`AMAZON WEB SERVICES, INC.,
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`Defendant
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 1
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` No. ______________________
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT
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`(JURY DEMAND REQUESTED)
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 2 of 19
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`Plaintiff Parler LLC (“Parler”), by its undersigned counsel, alleges, and by
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`its Chief Operating Officer, verifies, as follows:
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`NATURE OF THE ACTION
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`1.
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`This is a civil action for injunctive relief, including a temporary
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`restraining order and preliminary injunctive relief, and damages. Last Month,
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`Defendant Amazon Web Services, Inc. (“AWS”) and the popular social media
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`platform Twitter signed a multi-year deal so that AWS could support the daily
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`delivery of millions of tweets. AWS currently provides that same service to Parler,
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`a conservative microblogging alternative and competitor to Twitter.
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`2. When Twitter announced two evenings ago that it was permanently
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`banning President Trump from its platform, conservative users began to flee
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`Twitter en masse for Parler. The exodus was so large that the next day, yesterday,
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`Parler became the number one free app downloaded from Apple’s App Store.
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`3.
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`Yet last evening, AWS announced that it would suspend Parler’s
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`account effective Sunday, January 10th, at 11:59 PM PST. And it stated the reason
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`for the suspension was that AWS was not confident Parler could properly police its
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`platform regarding content that encourages or incites violence against others.
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`However, Friday night one of the top trending tweets on Twitter was “Hang Mike
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`Pence.” But AWS has no plans nor has it made any threats to suspend Twitter’s
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`account.
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 2
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`
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 3 of 19
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`4.
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`AWS’s decision to effectively terminate Parler’s account is apparently
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`motivated by political animus. It is also apparently designed to reduce competition
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`in the microblogging services market to the benefit of Twitter.
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`5.
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`Thus, AWS is violating Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act in
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`combination with Defendant Twitter. AWS is also breaching it contract with
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`Parler, which requires AWS to provide Parler with a thirty-day notice before
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`terminating service, rather than the less than thirty-hour notice AWS actually
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`provided. Finally, AWS is committing intentional interference with prospective
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`economic advantage given the millions of users expected to sign up in the near
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`future.
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`6.
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`This emergency suit seeks a Temporary Restraining Order against
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`Defendant Amazon Web Services to prevent it from shutting down Parler’s account
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`at the end of today. Doing so is the equivalent of pulling the plug on a hospital
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`patient on life support. It will kill Parler’s business—at the very time it is set to
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`skyrocket.
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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`7.
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`This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over Parler’s federal
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`antitrust claims under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1337, as well as under 15 U.S.C. §
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`26. The Court has supplemental jurisdiction over Parler’s state law claims under
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`28 U.S.C. § 1367.
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 3
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 4 of 19
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`8.
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`This Court has personal jurisdiction over AWS as it is headquartered
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`in the District. Also, AWS has engaged in sufficient minimum contacts with the
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`United States and has purposefully availed itself of the benefits and protections of
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`both United States and Washington law such that exercise of jurisdiction over AWS
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`would comport with due process requirements.
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`9.
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`Venue lies in this District under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) because AWS
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`maintains its principal place of business in the State of Washington and in this
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`District, and because a substantial part of the events giving rise to Parler’s claims
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`occurred in this District. Personal jurisdiction and venue may also be deemed
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`proper under 15 U.S.C. § 22, because AWS may be found in or transacts business
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`in this District.
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`PARTIES
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`10. Plaintiff Parler LLC is a Nevada limited liability corporation with its
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`principal place of business in Henderson, Nevada. Parler is “the solution to
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`problems that have surfaced in recent years due to changes in Big Tech policy
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`influenced
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`by
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`various
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`special-interest
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`groups.”
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`Our
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`Company,
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`https://company.parler.com. Thus, “Parler is built upon a foundation of respect for
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`privacy and personal data, free speech, free markets, and ethical, transparent
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`corporate policy.” Id.
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 4
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`
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 5 of 19
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`11.
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` Defendant Amazon Web Services, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc.
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`company, is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Seattle,
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`Washington. AWS is the world’s leading cloud service providers, capturing a third
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`of the global market. See Global Cloud Infrastructure Market Q3 2020,
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`https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/worldwide-cloud-market-q320. This is almost
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`double the next largest competitor, and equal to the next three largest competitors
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`combined. Id. AWS generates tens of billions of dollars in revenue annually. Id.
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`12. According to its own press release, “[f]or 14 years, [AWS] has been the
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`world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform.” Twitter Selects
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`AWS as Strategic Provider to Serve Timelines, Press Center, Amazon, (Dec. 15,
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`2020), https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/twitter-
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`selects-aws-strategic-provider-serve-timelines. That
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`is why
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`“[m]illions of
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`customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading
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`government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile,
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`and lower costs.” Id. In short, AWS is the Rolls Royce of cloud platform providers.
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`FACTS
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`13. Parler contracts with AWS to provide the cloud computing services
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`Parler needs for its apps and website to function on the internet. Further, that both
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`the apps and the website are written to work with AWS’s technology. To have to
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`switch to a different service provider would require rewriting that code, meaning
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 5
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`
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 6 of 19
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`Parler will be offline for a financially devastating period.
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`14. Parler is also a competitor of Twitter as both provide a similar
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`platform for users to communicate with short messages, links, and pictures. Like
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`many social media platforms, Parler’s business model is not based on subscription
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`fees.
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`15. Less than a month ago, AWS announced with a press release a new
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`multi-year deal with Twitter. AWS will “provide global cloud infrastructure to
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`deliver Twitter timelines.” Twitter Selects AWS as Strategic Provider to Serve
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`Timelines,
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`Press
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`Center,
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`Amazon,
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`(Dec.
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`15,
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`2020),
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`https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/twitter-
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`selects-aws-strategic-provider-serve-timelines.
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`16. According to the deal, “Twitter will leverage AWS’s proven
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`infrastructure and portfolio of services to support delivery of millions of daily
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`Tweets.” Id. Further, “[t]his expansion onto AWS marks the first time that Twitter
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`is leveraging the public cloud to scale their real-time service.” Id. This deal “buil[t]
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`on the companies’ more than decade-long collaboration, where AWS continues to
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`provide Twitter with storage, compute, database, and content delivery services to
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`support its distribution of images, videos and ad content.” Id. What is more,
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`together “Twitter and AWS will create an architecture that extends Twitter’s on-
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 6
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`
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 7 of 19
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`premises infrastructure to enable them to seamlessly run and scale the real-time
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`service globally, increase its reliability . . ., and rapidly move new features into
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`production around the world.” Id.
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`17. At the same time, Parler began to significantly increase its usership
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`at the expense of Twitter. After the election in November, the New York Times
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`reported that “millions have migrated to alternative social media and media sites
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`like Parler . . . .” Mike Isaac & Kellen Browning, Fact-Checked on Facebook and
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`Twitter, Some Conservatives Switch Their Apps, NY Times (Nov. 18, 2020),
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`https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/technology/parler-rumble-newsmax.html. In
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`fact, less than a week after Election Day, between November 3rd and November
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`8th, Parler’s app experienced nearly one million downloads. See Parler, A
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`Conservative Twitter Clone, Has Seen Nearly 1 Million Downloads Since Election
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`Day,
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`The
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`Verge
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`(Nov.
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`9,
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`2020),
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`https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/9/21557219/parler-conservative-app-download-
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`new-users-moderation-bias. This resulted in Parler rocketing to be “the #1 free app
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`in the iOS App Store, up from #1,023” just a week earlier. Id. Likewise, in that
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`same week the Parler app went from 486th to 1st in the Google Play rankings. Id.
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`Not surprisingly, “the app was the 10th most downloaded social media app in 2020
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`with 8.1 million new installs.” Jonathan Schieber, Parler Jumps to No. 1 on App
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`Store after Facebook and Twitter Ban Trump, TechCrunch (Jan. 9, 2021),
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 7
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`
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 8 of 19
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`https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/09/parler-jumps-to-no-1-on-app-store-after-
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`facebook-and-twitter-bans/.
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`18.
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`In 2021, this trend not only continued, it accelerated, thanks to
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`Twitter’s announcement two days ago that it would permanently ban President
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`Trump from its platform. Id. On that day, last Friday, Parler saw installs increase
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`in the United States by 355%. Id. After Twitter’s announcement, conservative
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`politicians and media figures began encouraging their followers to switch to Parler.
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`See Yelena Dzhanova, Top Conservative Figures are Tweeting to Advertise their
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`Parler Accounts After Trump was Permanently Banned from Twitter, Business
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`Insider (Jan. 9, 2021), https://www.businessinsider.com/top-conservatives-moving-
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`to-parler-after-trumps-ban-from-twitter-2021-1. See also Joseph A. Wulfsohn,
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`Conservatives Flee to Parler Following Twitter’s Permanent Suspension of Trump,
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`Fox News (Jan. 9, 2021), https://www.foxnews.com/media/conservatives-join-
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`parler-twitter-trump-ban.
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`19.
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`Speculation began to mount that President Trump would likewise
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`move to Parler. Id. Given the close to 90 million followers the President had on
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`Twitter, this would be an astronomical boon to Parley and a heavy blow to Twitter.
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`See Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Twitter Statistics, Socialbakers,
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`https://www.socialbakers.com/statistics/twitter/profiles/detail/25073877-
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`realdonaldtrump.
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 8
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 9 of 19
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`20. Given the context of Parler’s looming threat to Twitter and the fact
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`that the Twitter ban might not long muzzle the President if he switched to Parler,
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`potentially bringing tens of millions of followers with him, AWS moved to shut
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`down Parler. See id.
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`21. Yesterday evening, at 6:07 pm PST, web news site BuzzFeed posted
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`an article with screenshots of a letter from AWS to Parler, informing Parler that
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`its account would be suspended at 11:59 pm PST on Sunday, less than thirty hours
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`later. See John Paczkowski, Amazon Is Booting Parler Off of Its Web Hosting
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`Service,
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`BuzzFeed
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`(Jan.
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`9,
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`2021),
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`https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/johnpaczkowski/amazon-parler-aws.
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`Strangely, the article with the letter was posted before Parler itself received the
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`letter in an email, received at 7:19 pm PST, over an hour after the BuzzFeed article
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`went online, meaning AWS leaked the letter to BuzzFeed before sending it to
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`Parler. See Exhibit A.
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`22. Last evening, the Associated Press reported that “Parler may be the
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`leading candidate” for President Trump after his Twitter ban as “[e]xperts had
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`predicted Trump might pop up on Parler . . . .”). Frank Bajak, Squelched by Twitter,
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`Trump Seeks New Online Megaphone, Associated Press (Jan. 9, 2021),
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`https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-politics-media-social-media-coronavirus-
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`pandemic-f5b565ca93a792640211e6438f2db842. However, the AP also observed
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 9
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`
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 10 of 19
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`that “Amazon struck [a] blow Saturday [against the chances of Trump adopting
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`the platform], informing Parler it would need to look for a new web-hosting service
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`effective midnight Sunday.” Id.
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`23. This death blow by AWS could not come at a worse time for Parler—
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`a time when the company is surging with the potential of even more explosive
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`growth in the next few days. Worse than the timing is the result—Parler has tried
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`to find alternative companies to host it and they have fallen through. It has no
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`other options. Without AWS, Parler is finished as it has no way to get online. And
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`a delay of granting this TRO by even one day could also sound Parler’s death knell
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`as President Trump and others move on to other platforms.1 It is no wonder, then,
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`that competitor Twitter’s CEO has heartily endorsed efforts to remove Parler from
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`the public sphere. See Kevin Shalvey, Parler’s CEO John Matze Responded Angrily
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`After Jack Dorsey Endorsed Apple’s Removal of the Social Network Favored by
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`Conservatives,
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`Busines
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`Insider
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`(Jan.
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`10,
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`2021),
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`https://www.businessinsider.com/parler-john-matze-responded-angrily-jack-
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`dorsey-apple-ban-2021-1.
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`1 AWS indefinitely suspending Parler’s account is categorically different than Google or Apple
`dropping Parler from their app stores. In the instance of the latter, existing Parler users can still use
`its app—it’s just harder for Parler to sign up new users. But with AWS’s move, both existing users
`and new users are completely prevented from using the app until Parler can find some other service
`to replace AWS. Users are also prevented from using Parler’s website, which is likewise dependent
`upon AWS.
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 10
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 11 of 19
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`24. Parler’s rival social media apps, such as conservative-oriented Gab or
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`conservative media Rumble, are also experiencing record growth right now. See
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`Isaac & Browning, Fact-checked on Facebook and Twitter, supra. If Parler is not
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`available, people will turn to alternatives, or perhaps return to Twitter or
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`Facebook. What is more, Parler’s current users are likely to leave and go to another
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`platform if Parler is down for an indefinite period. And once those users have begun
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`to use another platform, they may not return to Parler once it’s back online.
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`25. And by silencing Parler, AWS silences the millions of Parler users
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`who do not feel their free speech is protected by Twitter or other social media apps.
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`26. What is more, by pulling the plug on Parler but leaving Twitter alone
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`despite identical conduct by users on both sites, AWS reveals that its expressed
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`reasons for suspending Parler’s account are but pretext. In its note announcing the
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`pending termination of Parler’s service, AWS alleged that “[o]ver the past several
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`weeks, we’ve reported 98 examples to Parler of posts that clearly encourage and
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`incite violence.” Exhibit A. AWS provide a few examples, including one that stated,
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`“How bout make them hang?”, followed by a series of hashtags, including “#fu--
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`mikepence.” Id.
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`27. AWS further stated to Parler that the “violent content on your website
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`. . . violates our terms.” Id. Because, AWS declared, “we cannot provide services to
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`a customer that is unable to effectively identify and remove content that
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 11
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`
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`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 12 of 19
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`encourages or incites violence against others,” AWS announced the pending
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`termination of Parler’s account. Id.
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`28. However, the day before, on Friday, one of the top trends on Twitter
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`was “Hang Mike Pence,” with over 14,000 tweets. See Peter Aitken, ‘Hang Mike
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`Pence’ Trends on Twitter After Platform Suspends Trump for Risk of ‘Incitement of
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`Violence’, Fox News (Jan. 9, 2021), https://www.foxnews.com/politics/twitter-
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`trending-hang-mike-pence. And earlier last week, a Los Angeles Times columnist
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`observed that Twitter and other social media platforms are partly culpable for the
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`Capital Hill riot, by allowing rioters to communicate and rile each other up. See
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`Erika D. Smith, How Twitter, Facebook are Partly Culpable for Trump DC Riot,
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`LA Times (Jan. 6, 2021), https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-06/how-
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`twitter-facebook-partly-culpable-trump-dc-riot-capitol. Yet these equivalent, if not
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`greater, violations of AWS’s terms of service by Twitter have apparently been
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`ignored by AWS.
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`29. AWS knew its allegations contained in the letter it leaked to the press
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`that Parler was not able to find and remove content that encouraged violence was
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`false—because over the last few days Parler had removed everything AWS had
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`brought to its attention and more. Yet AWS sought to defame Parler nonetheless.
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`And because of AWS false claims, leaked to the public, Parler has not only lost
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`current and future customers, but Parler has also been unable to find an
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 12
`
`
`
`
`
`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
`
`
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 13 of 19
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`
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`alternative web hosting company. In short, AWS false claims have made Parler a
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`pariah.
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`Count One: Sherman Act, Section 1
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`AWS is prohibited from contracting or conspiring to restrain trade or
`commerce.
`
`30. Parler restates, re-alleges, and incorporates by reference each of the
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`allegations set forth in the rest of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein.
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`31.
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`Section 1 of the Sherman Act prohibits “[e]very contract, combination
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`in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce .
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`. .” 15 U.S.C. § 1. “To state a claim under Section 1, a plaintiff must allege facts
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`that, if true, will prove: (1) the existence of a conspiracy, (2) intention on the part
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`of
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`the
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`co-conspirators
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`to
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`restrain
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`trade, and
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`(3) actual
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`injury
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`to
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`competition.” Coalition For ICANN Transparency, Inc. v. VeriSign, Inc., 611 F.3d
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`495, 501-02 (9th Cir. 2010).
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`32. Less than a month ago, AWS and Parler’s competitor, Twitter,
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`entered into a multi-year deal. Late Friday evening, Twitter banned President
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`Trump from using its platform, thereby driving enormous numbers of its users to
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`Parler. Twenty-four hours later, AWS announced it would indefinitely suspend
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`Parler’s account.
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`33. AWS’s reasons for doing so are not consistent with its treatment of
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`Twitter, indicating a desire to harm Parler.
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 13
`
`
`
`
`
`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
`
`
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 14 of 19
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`
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`34. By suspending Parler’s account, AWS will remove from the market a
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`surging player, severely restraining commerce in the microblogging services
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`market.
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`35. AWS’s actions violate the Sherman Act, 5 U.S.C. § 1.
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`36. Parler is entitled to injunctive relief.
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`Count Two: Breach of Contract
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`AWS breached its contract with Parler by not providing thirty days’
`notice before terminating its account.
`
`37. Parler restates, re-alleges, and incorporates by reference each of the
`
`
`
`allegations set forth in the rest of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein.
`
`38. Under Washington law, “[a] breach of contract is actionable only if the
`
`contract imposes a duty, the duty is breached, and the breach proximately causes
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`damage to the claimant.” See Northwest Independent Forest Mfrs. v. Dept. of Labor
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`and Industries, 78 Wn. App. 707, 712, 899 P.2d 6 (1995).
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`39. The AWS Customer Agreement with Parler allows either party to
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`terminate the agreement “for cause if the other party is in material breach of this
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`Agreement and the material breach remains uncured for a period of 30 days from
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`receipt of notice by the other party.” Exhibit B.
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`40. On January 8, 2021, AWS brought concerns to Parler about user
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`content that encouraged violence. Parler addressed them, and then AWS said it
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`was “okay” with Parler.
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 14
`
`
`
`
`
`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
`
`
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 15 of 19
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`
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`41. The next day, January 9, 2021, AWS brought more “bad” content to
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`Parler and Parler took down all of that content by the evening.
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`42. Thus, there was no uncured material breach of the Agreement for 30
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`days, as required for termination.
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`43. Further, while AWS used the term “suspension” in its notice to Parler,
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`it stated that it would “ensure that all of your data is preserved for you to migrate
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`to your own servers, and will work with you as best as we can to help your
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`migration.” Exhibit A. This is not action AWS would take for a temporary
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`suspension, but rather for a permanent termination. Thus, whatever words AWS
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`used, it was terminating the Agreement with Parler.
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`44. This termination will immediately make it impossible for Parler to have
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`an online presence for at least a week, depriving Parler’s current users of any use
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`of the app and website, and completely preventing any new users from
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`downloading and using the app, or the website.
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`45. Thus, AWS will have breached its contract with and harmed Parler.
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`Further, lost future profits in this case are difficult to calculate due to the rapidly
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`increasing nature of Parler’s user base. That’s because “[t]he usual method for
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`proving lost profits is to establish profit history.” Tiegs v. Watts, 135 Wash.2d 1
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`(1998). But that history will, at best, undervalue the future given how quickly
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`Parler is growing. And at worst, Parler will get nothing as “[l]ost profits cannot be
`
`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 15
`
`
`
`
`
`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
`
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 16 of 19
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`
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`recovered where they are speculative, uncertain and conjectural” because “[t]he
`
`amount of lost profits must be established with reasonable certainty.” Id. Thus,
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`money damages may not be available, but at the least are insufficient to make
`
`Parler whole.
`
`46. Parler is entitled to injunctive relief.
`
`Count Three: Tortious Interference with a Contract or Business
`Expectancy
`
`By terminating Parler’s account, AWS will intentionally interfere with
`the contracts Parler has with millions of its present users, as well as
`with the users it is projected to gain this week.
`
`47. Parler restates, re-alleges, and incorporates by reference each of the
`
`allegations set forth in the rest of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein.
`
`48. In Washington, “[t]he elements of tortious interference with a contract
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`or expectancy are: (1) the existence of a valid contractual relationship or business
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`expectancy; (2) the defendant’s knowledge of that relationship; (3) an intentional
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`interference inducing or causing a breach or termination of the relationship or
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`expectancy; (4) the defendant's interference for an improper purpose or by
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`improper means; and (5) resulting damage.” Koch v. Mutual of Enumclaw Ins. Co.,
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`108 Wn. App. 500, 506, 31 P.3d 698 (2001).
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`49. Parler currently has over 12 million users under contract. It expects to
`
`add millions more this week given its growth the last few days and the growing
`
`voice of conservatives encouraging their Twitter followers to switch to Parler.
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`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 16
`
`
`
`
`
`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
`
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 17 of 19
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`
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`50. AWS is aware of Parler’s user numbers and current trends. AWS also
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`knew that Parler was negotiating with it to increase its server capacity given this
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`ongoing and expected growth. AWS also knew of public speculation that Trump,
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`with his nearly 90 million Twitter followers, was going to switch to Parler, likely
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`bringing many of those followers with him. Finally, AWS also knew from public
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`statements that Parler was about to go to the market to raise money.
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`51. AWS intentionally will interfere with Parler’s current contracts and
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`future expected customer relationships by terminating Parler’s Agreement with it
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`under the pretext that Parler was in violation of that contract when AWS knew
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`Parler was not in violation (and when Twitter was engaging in identical conduct
`
`but AWS did not terminate its contract with Twitter).
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`52. Parler will be severely damaged financially and reputationally if it
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`must go offline Sunday at midnight because AWS terminates Parler’s account. As
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`noted above, given the speculative nature of Parler’s financial and reputational
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`damages, money damages will not make it whole.
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`53. Therefore, Parler is entitled to injunctive relief.
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`PRAYER FOR RELIEF
`
`Plaintiff respectfully requests that the Court:
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`A. Grant Parler’s motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and order AWS to
`
`maintain Parler’s account until further notice from this Court, and to refrain from
`
`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 17
`
`
`
`
`
`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
`
`
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 18 of 19
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`suspending, terminating or failing to provide any services previously provided
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`under Parler’s customer agreement with AWS.
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`B. Grant Parler damages, including trebled damages, in an amount to be
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`determined at trial.
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`C. Grant Parler such other relief as the Court deems just and proper.
`
`///
`
`///
`
`///
`
`///
`
`Dated: January 10, 2021.
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`/s David J. Groesbeck
`WSBA No. 24749
`DAVID J. GROESBECK, P.S.
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, WA 98501
`(509) 747-2800
`david@groesbecklaw.com
`
`621 W. Mallon Ave., Suite 507
`Spokane, WA 99201
`
`Counsel for Plaintiff
`
`VERIFIED COMPLAINT - 18
`
`David J. Groesbeck, P.S.
`Attorney and Counselor
`1716 Sylvester St. SW
`Olympia, Washington 98501
`(509) 747-2800
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`Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 1 Filed 01/11/21 Page 19 of 19
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`VERIFICATION
`I, John Matze, say that I am the Chief Executive Officer of Parler LLC in the
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`case captioned Parler LLC v. Amazon Web Services, Inc., in the U.S. District Court
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`for the Western District of Washington, and have authorized the filing of this
`
`complaint. I have reviewed the allegations made in the complaint, and to those
`
`allegations of which I have personal knowledge, I know them to be true. As to those
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`allegations of which I do not have personal knowledge, I believe them to be true.
`
`Dated: January 10, 2021
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`Verified by:
`
`John Matze
`Chief Executive Officer, Parler LLC
`
`