Axis Oilfield Rentals, LLC v. Mining, Rock, Excavation & Construction, LLC

166 F. Supp. 3d 684, 88 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1234, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20973, 2016 WL 695895
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedFebruary 22, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO: 15-1627
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 166 F. Supp. 3d 684 (Axis Oilfield Rentals, LLC v. Mining, Rock, Excavation & Construction, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Axis Oilfield Rentals, LLC v. Mining, Rock, Excavation & Construction, LLC, 166 F. Supp. 3d 684, 88 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1234, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20973, 2016 WL 695895 (E.D. La. 2016).

Opinion

SECTION: “J” (4)

ORDER & REASONS

CARL J. BARBIER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is MREC’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and Motion for Declaratory Judgment and ACC’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion for Declaratory Judgment (Rec. Doc. 31) filed by Mining, Rock, Excavation and Construction LLC (formerly known as Atlas Copco Construction Mining Technique USA LLC), individually and on behalf of its business unit Chicago Pneumatic Construction Equipment, (“MREC”) and Atlas Copco Compressors LLC (“ACC”) (collectively “Defendants”); an opposition thereto (Rec. Doc. 36) filed by Plaintiff, Axis Oilfield Rental, LLC (“Axis”); Defendants’ reply (Rec. Doc. 44); and Plaintiffs surreply (Rec. Doc. 46). Having considered the motion and legal memoranda, the record, and the applicable law, the Court finds that the motion should be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART for the reasons set forth more fully below.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Axis commenced this litigation in state court on March 25, 2015, seeking damages allegedly sustained in connection with its purchase, of forty-one air compressors manufactured by ACC and allegedly sold [688]*688by MREC in 2014.1 (Rec. Doc. 1-1, at 3-4.) According to Axis’s complaint, the air compressors began to experience mechanical problems within months of being put into service. Id. at 4. Axis alleges causes of action against ACC and MREC for redhi-bition under Louisiana law, and asserts additional causes of action against MREC for breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation. Id. at 4-10. Axis seeks damages in the form of (1) return of the purchase price of the air compressors at issue, with interest from the time it was paid; (2) reimbursement of the reasonable expenses occasioned by the sale; (3) the costs incurred for the preservation of the air compressors; (4) all other damages associated with the air compressors’ mechanical problems; and (5) attorney’s fees. Id.

On August 7, 2012, Axis submitted a “Credit Application” with MREC. (Rec. Doc. 31-4.) The Credit Application, signed by Axis’s president, stated that Axis, “intending to be legally bound hereby, herein agrees and will comply with [the] Terms and Conditions of sale, located on page three (3) of this application.” Id. at 2. The “Terms and Conditions of Sale” (“original Terms”) on page three of the Credit Application included the following choice-of-law provision: “(d) Governing Law: These terms and conditions are governed exclusively by the laws of the State of Colorado without regard to its conflict of laws principles that would have a contrary result.” Id. at 3. The Terms and Conditions of Sale in the Credit Application also included a limitation-of-liability provision, a provision excluding consequential damages, and warranty disclaimers. Id.

On January 1, 2014, the original Terms were amended. (Rec. Doc. 31-8.) Paragraph 17 of the amended Terms and Conditions of Sale (“amended Terms”) contains the following choice-of-law provision:

17. Miscellaneous. ... 17.8. The validity, performance, and all other matters arising out of or relating to the interpretation and effect of these Terms and/or the contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the U.S. State in which Seller’s applicable sales or service facility is located without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule... that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than those of such State.

Id. Similar to the original Terms, the amended Terms include a limitation-of-liability provision, a provision excluding consequential damages, and warranty disclaimers. Id.

Defendants claim that the amended Terms were attached to the invoices Axis received for its purchase of air compressors from MREC.2 (Rec. Doc. 31-1, at 2.) [689]*689However, Axis claims that it initially received the invoices through electronic mail and the invoices it received electronically included only the front side of the invoices — not the reverse side, which Defendants claim included the Terms and Conditions of Sale. (Rec. Docs. 36, at 2.) According to Axis, its president signed the invoices, returned the signed invoiced though electronic mail, and directed JPMorgan Chase Bank to pay Defendants on behalf of Axis. See id. Axis claims Defendants then shipped the air compressors to Axis and mailed hard-copy invoices to Axis’s headquarters. Id. These hard-copy invoices included the reverse side with the Terms and Conditions of Sale. Id.

Defendants filed the instant MREC’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and Motion for Declaratory Judgment and ACC’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion for Declaratory Judgment (Rec. Doc. 31) on December 24, 2015. In their motion, Defendants move for (1) summary judgment as to the Louisiana redhibition claims on the grounds that such claims are not recognized by the law applicable to this action; (2) summary judgment as to the breach of contract claims on the grounds that such claims are barred by the amended Terms and Conditions of Sale agreed to by the parties; and (3) declaratory judgment that Axis’s total recovery, if any, is limited to the price paid for the compressors at issue.3 Axis filed its opposition on January 19, 2016. The Court granted leave for Defendants to file their reply and for Axis to file its surreply on January 28, 2016. The Court now considers the motion on the briefs.

LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate when “the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)); Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir.1994). When assessing whether a dispute as to any material fact exists, the Court considers “all of the evidence in the record but refrains from making credibility determinations or weighing the evidence.” Delta & Pine Land Co. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins. Co., 530 F.3d 395, 398 (5th Cir.2008). All reasonable inferences are drawn in favor of the nonmoving party, but a party cannot defeat summary judgment with conclusory allegations or unsubstantiated assertions. Little, 37 F.3d at 1075. A court ultimately must be satisfied that “a reasonable jury could not return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Delta, 530 F.3d at 399.

If the dispositive issue is one on which the moving party will bear the burden of proof at trial, the moving party “must come forward with evidence which would ‘entitle it to a directed verdict if the evidence went uncontroverted at trial.’ ” Int’l Shortstop, Inc. v. Rally’s, Inc., 939 F.2d 1257

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166 F. Supp. 3d 684, 88 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1234, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20973, 2016 WL 695895, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/axis-oilfield-rentals-llc-v-mining-rock-excavation-construction-llc-laed-2016.