Carroll v. Ray et al

Filing 35

ORDER by Judge Ronald A. White granting plaintiff's motion for partial judgment on the pleadings ( 14 Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings) (lal, Deputy Clerk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
DANNY K. CARROLL, M.D.,
Plaintiff,
v.
DANNY RAY, and VICTORY FARMS
STALLION STATION, INC.,
Defendants.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No. CIV-15-99-RAW

ORDER
Before the court is the motion of the plaintiff for partial judgment on the pleadings
pursuant to Rule 12(c) F.R.Cv.P. Plaintiff brings this lawsuit arising out of the joint
ownership of a horse by plaintiff and defendant Ray. Plaintiff brings claims for, inter alia,
breach of contract.

The written agreement between the parties includes a “buy/sell

provision” which plaintiff alleges defendant breached.

Defendant Ray answered the

complaint and brought a counterclaim against plaintiff for breach of contract. Defendant
alleged that plaintiff (1) breached his “duty of good faith and fair dealing” implicit in the
contract and (2) breached his oral agreement to sell his ½ interest in the horse for a certain
price.
A motion for judgment on the pleadings is evaluated under the same standard as a
motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). Jacobsen v. Deseret Book
Co., 287 F.3d 936, 941 n.2 (10th Cir.2002). In the present motion, plaintiff asserts that the
written agreement between the parties qualifies as a sale of “goods” under the UCC.

Therefore, plaintiff argues, the alleged oral agreement is unenforceable under the applicable
statute of frauds. See 12A O.S. §2-201(1). In response, defendant Ray concedes the point,
but maintains his argument regarding alleged breach of good faith and fair dealing.
It is the order of the court that the plaintiff’s motion for partial judgment on the
pleadings (#14) is hereby granted. Defendant’s counterclaim (#11) remains pending, but is
dismissed to the extent it seeks to recover directly upon an alleged oral agreement.
ORDERED THIS 29th DAY OF JULY, 2015.

Dated this 29th day of July, 2015.

J4h4i0

2