Bland v. FREIGHTLINER LLC

206 F. Supp. 2d 1202, 49 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 524, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10190, 2002 WL 1257657
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedApril 15, 2002
Docket8:01-cv-01484
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 206 F. Supp. 2d 1202 (Bland v. FREIGHTLINER LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bland v. FREIGHTLINER LLC, 206 F. Supp. 2d 1202, 49 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 524, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10190, 2002 WL 1257657 (M.D. Fla. 2002).

Opinion

ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

KOVACHEVICH, Chief Judge.

This cause comes before the Court on Defendant, Freightliner LLC’s (hereinafter “Freightliner”) Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State Cause of Action. (Dkt. 6) and response thereto (Dkt. 7).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

A district court should not dismiss a complaint unless it appears, “beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” See Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). To survive a motion to dismiss, a *1205 plaintiff may not merely “label” Ms or her claims. See Blumel v. Mylander, 919 F.Supp. 423, 425 (M.D.Fla.1996). At a minimum, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require a “short and plain statement of the claim [that] will give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiffs claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” See Conley, 355 U.S. at 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2)).

In deciding a motion to dismiss, the court may only examine the four corners of the complaint. See Rickman v. Precisionaire, Inc., 902 F.Supp. 232, 233 (M.D.Fla.1995). “Any exhibit attached to [the] complaint 'becomes a part thereof for all purposes.’ Accordingly [the] court may utilize [attached exhibits] in considering a motion to dismiss.” DiDomenico v. New York Life Ins. Co., 837 F.Supp. 1203, 1205 (M.D.Fla.1993) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 10(c)). “The threshold sufficiency that a complaint must meet to survive a motion to dismiss is exceedingly low.” Ancata v. Prison Health Serv., Inc., 769 F.2d 700, 703 (11th Cir.1985).

In addition, a court must accept the plaintiffs well-pled facts as true and construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); Howry v. Nisus, Inc., 910 F.Supp. 576 (M.D.Fla.1995). However, when on the basis of a dispositive issue of law, no construction of the factual allegations of the complaint will support the cause of action, dismissal of the complaint is appropriate. See Executive 100, Inc. v. Martin County, 922 F.2d 1536 (11th Cir.1991).

BACKGROUND

The following allegations, taken from the complaint and its attached exhibits, are considered true for the present purpose of deciding whether to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint. See Beck v. Deloitte et al., 144 F.3d 732, 735 (11th Cir.1998). On or about April 19, 1999, Plaintiffs, John Bland and Margaret Bland (hereinafter “the Blands”), purchased a new 1999 Freight-liner FL60, Showhauler 204 (hereinafter “Freightliner Vehicle”) from an Ohio truck dealership, Sweeney Truck Sales d/b/a Western Ohio Freightliner (hereinafter “Sweeny Truck Sales”) for ninety-one thousand eight hundred seventy one dollars ($91,871.00). The Blands financed the Freightliner Vehicle through a third party consumer installment loan and are currently submitting monthly payments to the third party creditor.

Soon after driving their newly purchased Freightliner Vehicle, the Blands soon began experiencing defects, including faulty transmission and cruise control operations. 1 For 'each discovery, the Blands reported the defects to various Freightliner dealers around the country, requesting the repair of the newly purchased Freight-liner Vehicle. The defects and subsequent repair requests occurred on twenty-one separate occasions. To no avail, the mechanics attempted to properly restore the Freightliner Vehicle to an operable state. On January 24, 2001, the Blands notified Freightliner, through one of its dealerships, of their intent to rescind the purchase of the Freightliner Vehicle. At some point thereafter, the Blands initially filed a three-count lawsuit in state court requesting equitable and legal relief to compensate for the losses flowing from the *1206 defective Freightliner Vehicle. 2 The case was removed to federal court based upon diversity of citizenship. The Blands seek to rescind the contract for Freightliner’s failure to cure the defects. Alternatively, the Blands seek to revoke the acceptance of their new motor vehicle pursuant to Section 672.711, Florida Statutes (2001). Finally, the Blands seek monetary damages for breach of express warranty pursuant to the terms of the manufacturer’s warranty that Freightliner provided.

In response, Freightliner, pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), filed its Motion to Dismiss, on all three counts, claiming the Blands failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Alternatively, Freightliner requests the case be transferred to a different forum, because it claims a lack of jurisdiction pursuant tó Section 47.051, Florida Statutes. This Court will take up each count and the choice of venue argument accordingly.

DISCUSSION

1. Plaintiffs’Complaint

a. Count I — Rescission

“The rescission of contract ‘amounts to the unmaking of a contract, or an undoing of it from the beginning, and not merely a termination... Wilson v. Par Builders II, Inc., 879 F.Supp. 1187, 1190 (M.D.Fla.1995) (quoting Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th Ed.) See also Borck v. Holewinski, 459 So.2d 405 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984) (stating the effect of rescission is to render the contract abrogated and of no force and effect from the beginning). “The rescission ‘may be effected by mutual agreement of parties; by one of the parties declaring rescission of the contract, without the other if a legally sufficient ground therefore exists; or by applying to courts for a decree of rescission.’ ” Wilson, 879 F.Supp. at 1190. “It is an action of an equitable nature.” Id. Under Florida law, rescission may be granted where a party breaches a term that is an essential part of the bargain between contracting parties, such that a contract is essentially destroyed. Hibiscus Associates Ltd. v. Board of Trustees of Policemen and Firemen Retirement System of the City of Detroit, 50 F.3d 908 (11th Cir.1995).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
206 F. Supp. 2d 1202, 49 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 524, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10190, 2002 WL 1257657, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bland-v-freightliner-llc-flmd-2002.