Amguard Insurance v. Getty Realty Corp.

147 F. Supp. 3d 212, 2015 WL 7430852
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 20, 2015
Docket14 Civ. 9448 (PAE)
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 147 F. Supp. 3d 212 (Amguard Insurance v. Getty Realty Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Amguard Insurance v. Getty Realty Corp., 147 F. Supp. 3d 212, 2015 WL 7430852 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

PAUL A. ENGELMAYER, District Judge:

This case involves a claim that trees fell onto a car wash from a neighboring plot of land, causing damage. Pending ip a motion to dismiss by third-party defendant Lewis Tree Service, Inc. (“Lewis”), which was allegedly contracted to inspect and assure the safe condition of the offending trees. Lewis seeks, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), dismissal of the claims against it brought by third-party plaintiffs Getty Realty Corp,, Getty Properties Corp., and Leemilt’s Petroleum (collectively, “Getty”). For the reasons thatfollow; Lewis’s motion is denied. -

I. Background1

On November 26, 2014, AmGuard Insurance Company (“AmGuard”) brought this lawsuit, as subrogee for its insureds, JR Realty & Property Managemént Corporation and 9W Auto Wash Corporation (“JR Realty”). Dkt. 153, Ex. 1. AmGuard sued Getty and Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (“O&R”) for negligence resulting in damage to JR Realty’s car wash (the “Car Wash”). Id. On July 7, 2015, AmGuard filed an amended complaint, adding as defendants 9W Auto Center, Inc. (“9W Auto”) and Archery Paint & Plaster, Inc. (“Archery Paint”). Getty ATP-Compl. ¶ 11; FAC.

In the FAC, AmGuard alleges that on August 8, 2013, the Car Wash, located in HaverstraW, New York, was damaged when a storm caused “a number of unkempt and obviously unsafe trees” located on the adjoining property to fall on it. Getty ATP-Compl. ¶¶ 13-14; FAC 1114. The FAC alleges that the trees that fell were located on property owned by Getty and/or a “right of way” belonging to O&R that passes through Getty’s property. Getty ATP-Compl. ¶ 14, The FAC refers to the area containing the trees as “The Alleged Area of Trees in Question,” see id., but does not identify more specifically the trees that struck the Car Wash.

On July 20, 2015, Getty answered. Dkt. 153, Ex. 4. . Getty- denied liability, and brought crossclaims against 9W Auto, Archery Paint, and O&R for contribution, common-law indemnity, and contractual indemnity. Id.

On July 9, 2015, Getty filed a third-party complaint against Lewis. Dkt. 88. Later, on September 15, 2015, after Lewis had [216]*216moved to dismiss that complaint, Dkt. 135, Getty filed the ■ Amended Third-Party Complaint. Getty ATP-Compl. There, Getty sought — -in the event that it were found liable to AmGuard — contribution and/or indemnification from Lewis. Getty ATP-Compl. ¶¶ 32, 34-35.

A. Getty’s Claims Against Lewis

In its third-party complaint, Getty alleges the following.2 At all relevant times, O&R was the dominant owner, pursuant to a valid easement, -of the area containing the trees at issue. Getty ATP-Compl. ¶ 16. Accordingly, O&R and/or its agents and employees had the exclusive right and duty to maintain and/or remove trees in that area. Id. ¶¶ 18-19. O&R contracted with Lewis to perform vegetation maintenance, which included inspecting, maintaining, trimming, and removing trees in that area. Id. ¶ 20.

In the months before August 8, 2013, O&R directed Lewis to inspect and perform maintenance and/or removal of “a certain tree or trees [within the area], but Lewis failed or neglected to do so.” Id. ¶¶ 23-24. O&R and its servants, including Lewis, also “failed to safely maintain [the] right of way in order to prevent harm, failed to warn or'notify others of the allegedly dangerous condition of the trees, failed to take timely and proper measures to prevent damage and failed to comply with [O&R’s] own plans and requirements for proper care and maintenance of the trees.” Id. ¶26 (incorporating FAC ¶28). O&R and Lewis’s negligence in maintaining and inspecting the trees in the area allowed “apparently and evidently dangerous” trees to remain in place, foreseeably causing the harm that befell the Car Wash. Id, ¶25 (incorporating FAC ¶28).

B. Lewis’s Motion to Dismiss

On October 8, 2015, Lewis moved under Rule 12(b)(6) to dismiss Getty’s claims against it," Dkt. 168, and filed a declaration, Dkt. 169, and memorandum of law, Dkt. 170 (“Lewis Br,”), in support. On October 29, 2015, Getty filed a brief in opposition. Dkt. 179 (“Getty Br.”). On November 5, 2015, Lewis .filed a reply brief. Dkt. 184.

II. Applicable Legal Standards

To survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A claim has “facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). A complaint is properly dismissed where, as a matter of law, “the allegations in a complaint, however true, could not raise a claim of entitlement to relief.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 558, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

In considering a motion to dismiss, a district court must “aecept[] all factual claims in the complaint, as true, and draw[] all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor.” Lotes Co. v. Hon Hai Precision Indus. Co., 753 F.3d 395, 403 (2d Cir.2014) (quoting Famous Horse Inc. v. 5th Ave. Photo Inc., 624 F.3d 106, 108 (2d Cir.2010)). However, “the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint is inapplica[217]*217ble to legal conclusions.-” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. “[RJather, the complaint’s ¡/¡actual allegations must be enough‘to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, ie., enough to make the claim- plausible.” Arista Records, LLC v. Doe 3, 604 F.3d 110, 120 (2d Cir.2010) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955) (internal quotation marks omitted) (emphasis in Arista Records).

III. Discussion

A. Timeliness of the Motion to Dismiss

The Court first addresses Getty’s argument that Lewis’s motion to dismiss was untimely. - On September 24, 2015, the Court ordered Lewis to file any motion to dismiss by October 8, 2015. Dkt 158. That order superseded the deadline previously set. Lewis filed its motion to dismiss-on October 8, 2015. Getty Br. 3. Lewis’s motion was therefore timely. • -

B. Choice of Law

Because the claims in'this caáe arise under state law, a threshold question is which state’s law applies. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

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147 F. Supp. 3d 212, 2015 WL 7430852, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amguard-insurance-v-getty-realty-corp-nysd-2015.