Transport Systems, Inc. v. Amazon et al
Filing
43
ORDER granting 35 defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by District Judge George Caram Steeh. (MBea)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
TRANSPORT SYSTEMS, LLC,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 18-CV-11286
vs.
HON. GEORGE CARAM STEEH
AMAZON,
Defendant.
__________________________/
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION
FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Doc. 35)
Plaintiff Transport Systems filed this diversity action for breach of
contract, claim and delivery, conversion, and unjust enrichment under
Michigan law against Defendant Amazon relating to an allegedly lost trailer.
Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is now before the court.
Because Plaintiff lacks standing, Defendant’s motion for summary
judgment shall be GRANTED.
I. Factual Background
Plaintiff is a motor carrier company that owns approximately 130
trailers and approximately 30 cabs. (Doc. 38, Ex. A at PgID 366).
Transport Systems is a company wholly owned by Ali Saleh and his wife.
(Doc. 38, Ex. A at PgID 367). Ali Saleh is also the sole owner of Sure
Express, LLC (“Sure Express”). (Doc. 38, Ex. D at PgID 400).
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Plaintiff brought this suit against Defendant arising out of the alleged
loss of a 2016 Vanguard trailer (VIN 5V7VC5326GM607804) which it
identifies as trailer No. 4029 (the “Trailer”). It is undisputed that Plaintiff
does not own the Trailer in question. (Doc. 38, Ex. A at PgID 378). The
title holder is Sure Express. (Doc. 35-1, Ex. B at PgID 277). Ali Saleh
acknowledged this fact at his deposition. (Doc. 38, Ex. A at PgID 378).
During that deposition, Mr. Saleh testified that Plaintiff entered into a lease
agreement for the Trailer but neither that lease nor any other agreement
was ever produced during discovery. Further, no evidence of monthly
payments or other forms of reliance were produced nor any evidence that
Plaintiff paid for the use, maintenance, or repair of the Trailer. (Doc. 38,
Ex. A at PgID 380). Sure Express is not a party to this action.
According to the scheduling order, Plaintiff had until October 31, 2018
to file a motion for leave to amend the complaint to substitute the correct
party plaintiff, Sure Express. (Doc. 15). Plaintiff failed to comply with the
filing deadline. (Doc. 41, PgID 424). On February 28, 2019, Defendant
filed a motion for summary judgment arguing in part that Plaintiff had no
standing to sue because it did not own the Trailer in question. (Doc. 35).
Plaintiff waited an additional two weeks before finally filing a motion for
leave to amend on March 19, 2019, without including a reason for the
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delay. (Doc. 41, PgID 424). Magistrate Judge Patti denied Plaintiff’s
untimely motion to amend, noting, the “determination of the proper entity
plaintiff was not difficult and should have been made before this lawsuit
was filed.” (Doc. 41, PgID 424). Magistrate Judge Patti allowed Plaintiff
the opportunity to file additional briefing in opposition to Defendant’s motion
for summary judgment, but Plaintiff failed to do so. (Doc. 42, PgID 426).
II. Standard of Law
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) empowers the court to render
summary judgment "forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to
interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,
show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the
moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." See Redding v. St.
Eward, 241 F.3d 530, 532 (6th Cir. 2001). The Supreme Court has
affirmed the court's use of summary judgment as an integral part of the fair
and efficient administration of justice. The procedure is not a disfavored
procedural shortcut. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327 (1986);
see also Cox v. Kentucky Dep’t of Transp., 53 F.3d 146, 149 (6th Cir.
1995).
The standard for determining whether summary judgment is
appropriate is "'whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to
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require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party
must prevail as a matter of law.'" Amway Distributors Benefits Ass’n v.
Northfield Ins. Co., 323 F.3d 386, 390 (6th Cir. 2003) (quoting Anderson v.
Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-52 (1986)). The evidence and all
reasonable inferences must be construed in the light most favorable to the
non-moving party. Tolan v. Cotton, 572 U.S. 650, 660 (2014); Matsushita
Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986).
"[T]he mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties
will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary
judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material
fact." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48 (1986)
(emphasis in original); see also National Satellite Sports, Inc. v. Eliadis,
Inc., 253 F.3d 900, 907 (6th Cir. 2001).
If the movant establishes by use of the material specified in Rule
56(c) that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to
judgment as a matter of law, the opposing party must come forward with
"specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." First Nat'l
Bank v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 270 (1968); see also McLean v.
988011 Ontario, Ltd., 224 F.3d 797, 800 (6th Cir. 2000). Mere allegations
or denials in the non-movant's pleadings will not meet this burden, nor will
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a mere scintilla of evidence supporting the non-moving party. Anderson,
477 U.S. at 248, 252. Rather, there must be evidence on which a jury
could reasonably find for the non-movant. McLean, 224 F.3d at 800 (citing
Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252).
III. Analysis
A.
Breach of Contract Claim
Count II alleges breach of contract. Defendant argues it cannot be
liable for breach of contract because the parties are not now, and never
have been, parties to any contract or written agreement with each other
regarding the transportation of Defendant’s goods. Plaintiff conceded this
issue in its responses to Defendant’s first set of “Requests for Admission,”
and further waived the issue in its response to Defendant’s motion for
summary judgment. (Doc. 38, PgID 353). Accordingly, Count II shall be
dismissed.
B.
Article III Standing
The other three claims for claim and delivery, conversion, and unjust
enrichment (Counts I, III, IV) remain. Defendant argues that it is entitled to
summary judgment on these claims based on Plaintiff’s lack of standing to
sue. It is undisputed that Plaintiff does not own the Trailer. “When
jurisdiction is premised on diversity of citizenship, a plaintiff must have
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standing under both Article III and state law in order to maintain a cause of
action.” Morell v. Star Taxi, 343 F. App'x 54, 57 (6th Cir. 2009).
Article III standing requires three elements. The three constitutional
requirements for standing are “(1) an injury in fact; (2) a causal connection
between the injury and the conduct complained of; and (3) that the injury
will likely be redressed by a favorable decision.” Barnes v. City of
Cincinnati, 401 F.3d 729, 739 (6th Cir. 2005) (citing Lujan v. Defenders of
Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560–61 (1992)). The first element requires that the
plaintiff must have suffered an injury arising from the “invasion of a legally
protected interest.” Macy v. GC Servs. Ltd. P’ship, 897 F.3d 747, 752 (6th
Cir. 2018) (quoting Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560). In addition, a plaintiff must also
satisfy three prudential standing requirements. City of Cleveland v. Ohio,
508 F.3d 827, 835 (6th Cir. 2007). Significantly, the first of those factors
requires that a plaintiff must “assert [its] own legal rights and interests, and
cannot rest [its] claim to relief on the legal rights or interests of third
parties.” Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 499 (1975) (internal citations
omitted). “These additional restrictions enforce the principle that, ‘as a
prudential matter, the plaintiff must be a proper proponent, and the action a
proper vehicle, to vindicate the rights asserted.’” Coal Operators &
Assocs., Inc. v. Babbitt, 291 F.3d 912, 916 (6th Cir. 2002) (quoting Pestrak
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v. Ohio Elections Comm'n, 926 F.2d 573, 576 (6th Cir. 1991)). Here,
Plaintiff has failed to show a legally protected interest in the Trailer; thus, it
fails to satisfy the first prong of the Lujan test.
Defendant argues that Plaintiff’s claims for conversion, claim and
delivery, and unjust enrichment all require an ownership interest in the
property, which is lacking here. (Doc. 35, PgID 266). In response, Plaintiff
argues that it has an equitable interest in the Trailer because it paid for the
use, maintenance, and repair of the Trailer. (Doc. 38, PgID 355-56).
Despite repeated assertions, however, Plaintiff provided no documentary
evidence that it did indeed make any payments on the Trailer.
Plaintiff relies on Aroma Wines & Equip., Inc. v. Columbian Distrib.
Servs., Inc., 497 Mich. 337 (Mich. 2015), for the proposition that it has
standing based on its alleged equitable interest in the Trailer. However, in
that case, there was no question that the plaintiff importer and distributor
was the rightful owner of the wine that the defendant was alleged to have
converted by failing to store it in a climate-controlled environment. Id. at
340-41. That case held that conversion includes “any distinct act of
dominion wrongfully exerted over another’s personal property.” Id. at 35152. Here, unlike the conversion at issue in Aroma Wines, Plaintiff has not
put forth any evidence that the Trailer was its personal property.
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Black’s Law Dictionary defines personal property as, “[a]ny movable
or intangible thing that is subject to ownership and not classified as real
property.” Personal Property, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).
Delving further, ownership is defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as, “[t]he
bundle of rights allowing one to use, manage, and enjoy property, including
the right to convey it to others,” and “[ownership] implies the right to
possess a thing, regardless of any actual or constructive control.”
Ownership, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019). Based on these
definitions, Plaintiff does not enjoy ownership of the Trailer.
Plaintiff’s citations to other case law and Michigan statutes, are also
unpersuasive. Plaintiff relies on Batton-Jajuga v. Farm Bureau Gen. Ins.
Co. of Mich., 322 Mich. App. 422, 425 (2017), which recognized that a land
vendee who had executed and made payments on a land contract became
an equitable owner. Unlike the facts of that case, Plaintiff had no interest in
Sure Express and provided no evidence of an agreement. Ali Saleh, who
is not the Plaintiff, owned the interest in Sure Express. (Doc. 35-1, Ex. B at
PgID 277).
Plaintiff also relies on several statutes addressing equitable
ownership interests. For example, Plaintiff relies on (1) M.C.L. §
600.2932(5), which governs the determination of land benefits, (2) M.C.L. §
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324.80103(i), a definitions page under the Natural Resources and
Environmental Protection Act, and (3) M.C.L. § 440.8510, a provision of
Michigan’s Uniform Commercial Code. Although these statutes recognize
that ownership interests may be equitable in nature, they are of no help to
Plaintiff here, as it has come forward with no evidence to suggest that it has
an equitable interest in the subject Trailer. The final two provisions Plaintiff
cites, (1) M.C.L. § 257.1302, a definitions page of the Motor Vehicle
Service & Repair Act, and (2) M.C.L. § 554.1012, the definitions page of
the Michigan Uniform Commercial Real Estate Receivership Act, do not
even include subsections that identify the term “equitable interest” or an
obvious equivalent. In sum, none of the statutes Plaintiff relies upon are
sufficient to establish Article III standing as to its claims for claim and
delivery, conversion, or unjust enrichment as it lacks an ownership interest,
equitable or otherwise, in the subject Trailer.
IV. Conclusion
Because Plaintiff lacks standing, Defendant’s motion for summary
judgment (Doc. 35) is GRANTED.
Dated: August 6, 2019
s/George Caram Steeh
GEORGE CARAM STEEH
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
Copies of this Order were served upon attorneys of record on
August 6, 2019, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
s/Marcia Beauchemin
Deputy Clerk
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