AAL Group Ltd v. Black Hall Aerospace Inc et al

Filing 65

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER re 19 AAL Group's motion to strike Exhibit B to Defendants' motion to dismiss- To the extent that Defendants filed Exhibit B to prove the existence of the amended complaint and the allegations made in it in the Black Hall Aerospace case, the court DENIES the motion to strike; the court will not consider Exhibit B for any other purpose. Signed by Chief Judge Karon O Bowdre on 10/23/17. (SAC )

FILED
2017 Oct-23 AM 10:56
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
N.D. OF ALABAMA

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
AAL USA, INC.,
Plaintiff,
v.
BLACK HALL AEROSPACE, INC.,
et al.,
Defendants.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No. 2:16-cv-02090-KOB
This Document Relates Only to Case
2:17-cv-00399-KOB

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
This matter is before the court on Plaintiff AAL Group’s motion to strike Exhibit B to
Defendants’ motion to dismiss. (Doc. 19). The court DENIES the motion.
Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint, attaching a number of exhibits. (See Doc. 71 to 7-10). Exhibit B is an amended complaint that Black Hall Aerospace (one of the defendants
in this case) filed against AAL USA, Inc. and two of its officers (none of which are parties to this
case) in the Circuit Court of Madison County, Alabama, in Black Hall Aerospace, Inc. v. AAL
USA Inc., 47-cv-2016-901750. (Doc. 7-3).
At the motion to dismiss stage, the court can take judicial notice of state court filings “for
the purpose of determining what statements the documents contain and not to prove the truth of
the documents’ contents.” Bryant v. Avado Brands, Inc., 187 F.3d 1271, 1278 (11th Cir. 1999)
(discussing public documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission); see also
Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, 713 F.3d 1066, 1075 n.9 (11th Cir. 2013) (“[W]e may take
judicial notice of the court documents from the state eviction action.”). The court can take
judicial notice of the fact that Black Hall Aerospace filed the amended complaint in the Madison
County Circuit Court, and it can take judicial notice of the allegations that Black Hall Aerospace

made in its amended complaint in that case. But it cannot and will not accept as true any of
those allegations, especially if they conflict with the allegations made by Plaintiff in its
complaint in this case.
To the extent that Defendants filed Exhibit B to prove the existence of the amended
complaint and the allegations made in it in the Black Hall Aerospace case, the court DENIES the
motion to strike; the court will not consider Exhibit B for any other purpose.
DONE and ORDERED this 23rd day of October, 2017.

____________________________________
KARON OWEN BOWDRE
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE