Central Facilities Operating Co. v. Cinemark USA, Inc.

36 F. Supp. 3d 700, 2014 WL 3866086, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108100
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Louisiana
DecidedAugust 6, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 11-660-JJB
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 36 F. Supp. 3d 700 (Central Facilities Operating Co. v. Cinemark USA, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Central Facilities Operating Co. v. Cinemark USA, Inc., 36 F. Supp. 3d 700, 2014 WL 3866086, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108100 (M.D. La. 2014).

Opinion

RULING

JAMES J. BRADY, District Judge.

Central Facilities Operating Company, L.L.C. (“CFOC”) seeks a money judgment against Cinemark USA, Inc. (“Cinemark”) [704]*704in the amount of $845,797.231 for chilled water services billed and provided to one of Cinemark’s movie theatres. Cinemark seeks declaratory relief by way of a counterclaim against CFOC, Perkins Rowe Associates, LLC (“Perkins Rowe”), and Joseph T. Spinosa (“Spinosa”). A bench trial on the merits was held on March 11, 2014 through March 13, 2014. CFOC and Cine-mark have filed post-trial briefs (docs. 201 & 202, respectively). Jurisdiction exists pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. The Court, having considered all testimony, evidence, and arguments presented by the parties, now enters these findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a).

I. Findings of Fact2

Plaintiff, CFOC, operates a chilled water plant owned by Central Facilities, L.L.C. (“Central Facilities”) that serves the Perkins Rowe Development (the “Development”) located at the corner of Perkins Road and Bluebonnet Boulevard in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Cinemark has operated a movie theatre (the “Theatre”) at the Development since 2007. During the seven years that Cinemark has been a tenant of the Development, CFOC has provided its Theatre with chilled water services. The instant action arises from Cinemark’s failure to pay $845,797.23 for chilled water services provided to Cinemark during its tenancy.

On March 17, 2005, Cinemark entered into a lease agreement with Perkins Rowe. Article VII of the Theatre Lease provides that,

[Perkins Rowe] shall cause all necessary utilities to be separately metered to the Theatre at standard public rates ... [Cinemark] shall during the Term pay for any and all water sewer, telephone, gas and electric power used in the The-atre. In the event any of these utility services are provided by [Perkins Rowe], they shall be provided at rates not in excess of those charged by local public utilities;

Theatre Lease, Doc. 9-1, Ex. B, art. VII. Cinemark began operating the Theatre on December 14, 2007. Since that time, CFOC has supplied Cinemark with chilled water without interruption of service despite Cinemark’s failure to make payments on its outstanding bill as reflected in monthly invoices.

CFOC contends that the present suit is one for money owed on an open account and therefore, the lease does not apply. In the event that the Court finds that the lease does apply, CFOC contends that the terms of the lease are ambiguous as to price and that the Court should supply a reasonable price term. To that end, CFOC argues that the rate that it charged was reasonable and should be accepted by the Court because it was based upon a rate structure designed in accordance with commonly accepted methodology.

Cinemark contends that it has refused to pay for the chilled water supplied by CFOC because it has no contract with CFOC and therefore, no open account, and because CFOC’s charged rates are exorbitant in contravention of the Theatre Lease’s terms. Cinemark also contends that Spinosa, Perkins Rowe’s authorized representative with whom Cinemark negotiated the terms of the Theatre Lease, withheld key information including his in[705]*705terest in CFOC and the rate for chilled water to induce Cinemark into entering the Theatre Lease. Cinemark argues that Spinosa’s alleged misdealing and connection to CFOC gives CFOC unclean hands, and therefore, CFOC cannot recover for chilled water billed at a higher price than what was provided for in the Theatre Lease. In the alternative, in an effort to bind CFOC to the terms of the Theatre Lease and preclude CFOC from recovering for chilled water billed at a rate in contravention of its terms, Cinemark contends that CFOC, Perkins Rowe, and all other relevant business entities should be treated as one under a single business entity theory and/or a veil piercing theory. In the further alternative, Cinemark contends that CFOC should be precluded from recovering for chilled water at rates in excess of commercially reasonable rates. Finally, in the further alternative, in the event that the Court finds it liable for the full amount sought by CFOC, Cinemark seeks a declaration that Perkins Rowe and Spinosa are liable for amounts beyond those mandated under the Theatre Lease based upon Perkins Rowe’s breach of its terms and Spinosa’s fraudulent misrepresentations.

II. Conclusions of Law

There are two uncontested facts upon which this suit is predicated: CFOC provided chilled water services to Cinemark’s Theatre and Cinemark has failed to pay for such services. Accordingly, in the Court’s view, there is an outstanding debt that must be paid. However, before arriving at this resolution — that is, an accounting for this unpaid debt — the Court must resolve the following issues: (1) upon which legal theory is the outstanding debt owed and (2) whether the outstanding debt is reasonable under the circumstances.

Providing a resolution for the first issue that the Court must address is complicated by the fact that CFOC and Cinemark are not in privity of contract. Instead, the Theatre Lease is between Perkins Rowe and Cinemark. CFOC and Cinemark each offer several legal theories to overcome this lack of privity. CFOC seeks to disregard any obligation that it may have under the Theatre Lease3 and contends that the outstanding debt is owed on an open account theory under La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 9:2781 (2010). In the alternative, CFOC offers the equitable contract theories of quantum meruit and unjust enrichment. Cinemark attempts to manufacture privity between itself and CFOC by contending that CFOC is bound by the Theatre Lease based upon the unclean hands doctrine, the single business entity theory, and/or piercing the corporate veil. The Court finds that Cinemark’s various theories are unavailing.4 Accordingly, the Court will only [706]*706address the theories of recovery proffered by CFOC.

A. CFOC’s Theories: Open Account, Quantum Meruit, and Unjust Enrichment

1. Open Account

Louisiana Revised Statutes § 9:2781(D) provides that an open account “includes any account for which a part or all of the balance is past due, whether or not the account reflects one or more transactions and whether or not at the time of contracting the parties expected future transactions.” Courts have defined an open account as “an account in which a line of credit is running and is open to future modification because of expectations of prospective business dealings, and services are recurrently granted over a period of time.” Signlite, Inc. v. Northshore Serv. Ctr., Inc., 959 So.2d 904, 907 (La.App. 1 Cir.2007); see also Shreveport Elec. Co., Inc. v. Oasis Pool Serv. Inc., 889 So.2d 274, 279 (La.App. 2 Cir.2004). “To prevail on a suit on open account, the creditor must prove that the debtor contracted for the services on an open account.” Dixie Mach. Welding & Metal Works, Inc. v. Gulf States Marine Technical Bureau, Inc.,

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Bluebook (online)
36 F. Supp. 3d 700, 2014 WL 3866086, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/central-facilities-operating-co-v-cinemark-usa-inc-lamd-2014.