Cleven v. Mid-Am. Apartment Cmtys., Inc.

348 F. Supp. 3d 604
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedSeptember 18, 2018
Docket1:16-CV-820-RP
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 348 F. Supp. 3d 604 (Cleven v. Mid-Am. Apartment Cmtys., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cleven v. Mid-Am. Apartment Cmtys., Inc., 348 F. Supp. 3d 604 (W.D. Tex. 2018).

Opinion

ROBERT PITMAN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court are Plaintiffs Cathi Cleven, Tara Cleven, Areli Arellano, Joe L. Martinez, and a class of similarly situated tenants' (collectively, "Plaintiffs")1 Second *607Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, (Dkt. 137), Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, (Dkt. 204), and the parties' responsive briefing. Each party argues that they are entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiffs' sole claim: that Defendants' apartment late fees violated the Texas Property Code § 92.019. Having considered the parties' arguments, the evidence, and the relevant law, the Court will grant Plaintiffs' motion and deny Defendants' motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs are current and former tenants of Defendants' residential apartment communities throughout Texas. Defendants are Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. and Mid-America Apartments, LP, (together, "MAA"), and MAA's predecessor in interest, CMS/Colonial Multifamily Canyon Creek JV LP ("Colonial") (collectively, "Defendants"). MAA and Colonial merged in 2013. (Form 10-K, Dkt. 126-22, at 3). Prior to the merger, MAA and Colonial applied different late fee structures. (Pls.' Mot. Summ. J., Dkt. 137, at 8-9). Colonial generally charged late fees according to a $75/$10 fee structure for tenants who paid rent late, which applied a $75 initial fee and an added fee of at least $10 for each additional day late ("the $75/$10 fee"). (Pls.' Mot. Summ. J., Dkt. 137, at 8; Ellsberry Dep., Dkt. 137-3, at 11). MAA typically charged a similar $50/$10 late fee structure, with $50 as the initial late fee and $10 for each additional day late. (Ellsberry Dep., Dkt. 137-3, at 11.). These late fee policies were largely uniform across Texas for each company immediately prior to the merger. (Id. ). After merging in 2013, Defendants harmonized the late fee policy according to the $75/$10 fee structure all Texas properties. (Pls.' Mot. Summ. J., Dkt. 137, at 8-9; Ellsberry Dep., Dkt. 137-3, at 11).

Plaintiffs allege that Defendants' late fee policy violates Texas Property Code § 92.019, which provides that "a landlord may not charge a tenant a late fee for failing to pay rent unless ... the fee is a reasonable estimate of uncertain damages to the landlord that are incapable of precise calculation and result from late payment of rent." (Pls.' Mot. Summ. J., Dkt. 137, at 7-8; Second Am. Compl., Dkt. 36, at 20 (citing TEX. PROP. CODE § 92.019(a)(2) ) ). The statute further provides: "A landlord who violates this section is liable to the tenant for an amount equal to the sum of $100, three times the amount of the late fee charged in violation of this section, and the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees." Id. at § 92.019(c). The statute invalidates any lease term "that purports to waive a right or exempt a party from a liability under this section." Id. at § 92.019(d).

Both parties now seek summary judgment on the issue of Defendants' liability under Section 92.019. (Pls.' Mot. Summ. J., Dkt. 137; Defs.' Mot. Summ. J., Dkt. 204).

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure only "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A dispute is genuine only if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 254, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "A fact issue is 'material' if its resolution could affect the outcome *608of the action." Poole v. City of Shreveport , 691 F.3d 624, 627 (5th Cir. 2012).

The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of "informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of [the record] which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The burden then shifts to the nonmoving party to establish the existence of a genuine issue for trial. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 585-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) ; Wise v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. , 58 F.3d 193, 195 (5th Cir. 1995). "A party opposing a properly supported motion for summary judgment may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of his pleading, but ... must set forth specific facts." Anderson , 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citations and quotation marks omitted). After the nonmovant has been given the opportunity to raise a genuine factual issue, if no reasonable juror could find for the nonmovant, summary judgment will be granted. Miss. River Basin Alliance v. Westphal , 230 F.3d 170, 175 (5th Cir. 2000).

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Bluebook (online)
348 F. Supp. 3d 604, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cleven-v-mid-am-apartment-cmtys-inc-txwd-2018.