Carhartt, Inc. v. Innovative Textiles, Inc.

356 F. Supp. 3d 657
District Court, E.D. Michigan·Decided December 4, 2018·No. Case No. 17-cv-13604·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

JUDITH E. LEVY, United States District Judge

Innovative Textiles, Inc. ("ITI") filed a third-party complaint against Gentry Mills, Inc. ("GMI") alleging that GMI is liable for claims arising from a contract dispute brought by Carhartt, Inc. ("Carhartt") against ITI. GMI successfully moved to dismiss Innovative Textiles' first third-party complaint based on pleading deficiencies. The Court granted leave for ITI to file an amended third-party complaint. GMI asks the Court to reconsider, arguing that ITI's amendments are futile.

*661I. Background

An outline of this case is explained in the Court's previous opinion and order granting third-party defendant, GMI's Motion to Dismiss. (Dkt. 33.) In short, Carhartt initially sued third-party plaintiff, ITI, for breach of contract based on ITI's failure to sell it sufficiently fire-resistant fabric as specified in an agreement. ITI then filed a third-party complaint against GMI alleging that GMI failed to properly treat the fabric ITI eventually sold to Carhartt. (Dkt. 8.) The original third-party complaint, which contained very few factual allegations, was dismissed pursuant Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). (Dkt. 33.) GMI's current motion for reconsideration challenges the order granting ITI's motion for leave to amend and file an amended third-party complaint. (Dkt. 39.)

As set forth in the July 16, 2018 order granting leave to amend (Dkt. 36), the amended third-party complaint includes a much more developed set of factual allegations. ITI has set forth its relationship with GMI and detailed the specifications regarding the chemicals and treatment it purchased from GMI. The new factual allegations are explored in more detail, as relevant, in the discussion below. (Dkt. 36.)

The amended third-party complaint also includes additional causes of action. The eight counts are now: breach of contract for the sale of goods (Count I); breach of express warranties (Count II); breach of implied warranties (Count III); violation of North Carolina UCC § 25-2-314 requiring merchantable goods (Count IV); violation of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose (Count V); breach of contract (Count VI); negligence (Count VII); and indemnification implied-in-law (Count VIII). The Court's current review of the amended third-party complaint is limited the to the issue of futility, as set forth in an earlier order. (Dkt. 41.)

II. Standard of Review

To prevail on a motion for reconsideration under Local Rule 7.1, a movant must "not only demonstrate a palpable defect by which the court and the parties and other persons entitled to be heard on the motion have been misled but also show that correcting the defect will result in a different disposition of the case." E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(h)(3). "A 'palpable defect' is a defect that is obvious, clear, unmistakable, manifest or plain." Witzke v. Hiller , 972 F.Supp. 426, 427 (E.D. Mich. 1997) (citations omitted).

When a party seeks to amend after a responsive filing, "leave shall be freely given when justice so requires." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). But a "court need not grant leave to amend, however, where amendment would be 'futile.' " Miller v. Calhoun Cty. , 408 F.3d 803, 817 (6th Cir. 2005) (quoting Foman v. Davis , 371 U.S. 178, 182, 83 S.Ct. 227, 9 L.Ed.2d 222 (1962) ). "Amendment of a complaint is futile when the proposed amendment would not permit the complaint to survive a motion to dismiss." Id. (citing Neighborhood Dev. Corp. v. Advisory Council on Historic Pres. , 632 F.2d 21, 23 (6th Cir. 1980) ). Thus, the Court reviews the amendments under the same standard as if there were a pending motion to dismiss.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) requires the Court to "construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and accept all allegations as true." Keys v. Humana, Inc. , 684 F.3d 605, 608 (6th Cir. 2012). "To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). A plausible claim need not contain "detailed factual *662allegations," but it must contain more than "labels and conclusions" or "a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007).

III. Discussion

a. Breach of Contract [Counts I & VI]

ITI's amended third-party complaint includes two counts for breach of contract. Count I will be dismissed as duplicative. Moran v. Ruan Logistics , 1:18-cv-223, 2018 WL 4491376, at *3, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159648, at *7 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 18, 2018). ITI does not oppose dismissal of Count I. (Dkt. 50 at 4.) Only Count VI's claim for breach of contract for goods and services remains.

Under North Carolina law1

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Carhartt, Inc. v. Innovative Textiles, Inc., 356 F. Supp. 3d 657 (E.D. Mich. 2018).

356 F. Supp. 3d 657 (Carhartt, Inc. v. Innovative Textiles, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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