Codan Forsikring A/S v. Conglobal Indus., Inc.

315 F. Supp. 3d 1085
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Illinois
DecidedJune 4, 2018
DocketNo. 17 C 06921
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 315 F. Supp. 3d 1085 (Codan Forsikring A/S v. Conglobal Indus., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Codan Forsikring A/S v. Conglobal Indus., Inc., 315 F. Supp. 3d 1085 (illinoised 2018).

Opinion

Honorable Edmond E. Chang, United States District Judge *1088This case arises out of the unfortunate spoilage of over 53,000 pounds of frozen pork. The pork thawed in transit when its refrigeration temperature was improperly set to a spring-like temperature of +18° C (64° F) instead of -18° C (0° F). R. 39, Am. Compl.1 In its journey from Illinois to the Dominican Republic, the pork changed hands several times among different motor and rail carriers. Id. ¶ 22. The seller, Tomex Foods, and its insurer, Codan Forsikring, brought suit against ConGlobal Industries, City Haul Inc., and Summit Cold Storage Corp., alleging various violations of the Carmack Amendment, as well as alternative breach of contract and negligence claims, in an effort to recover nearly $70,000 in damages. See generally Am. Compl.2 ConGlobal moves to dismiss all claims, arguing that it is not a proper defendant for Carmack liability, that the Carmack Amendment preempts the state law actions, and even if it does not, that the Plaintiffs fail to state a claim. R. 45, Def. Br. at 1-3. For the reasons described in the Opinion, the motion to dismiss is denied.

I. Background

For the purposes of this motion, the Court accepts as true the allegations in the Amended Complaint. Erickson v. Pardus , 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007). Tomex, a Danish food corporation, hired Summit Cold Storage to store its frozen pork as Tomex looked for a buyer. Am. Compl. ¶ 20. In March 2016, Tomex sold the product to a supermarket chain in the Dominican Republic, so Tomex had to arrange for overseas transportation. Id. ¶¶ 21-22. It hired City Haul to carry the cargo by truck from Summit's cold storage facility to the Landers Rail Terminal in Chicago. Id. ¶¶ 22. From there, non-party Mitsui O.S.K. Lines would take it by train to Virginia and then by ship to the Dominican Republic. Id. It was Mitsui that allegedly contracted with ConGlobal to provide a refrigerated shipping container for the product. Id. ¶ 24. Tomex instructed each of its vendors-Summit, City Haul, and Mitsui-that the cargo's temperature had to be maintained at -18° C (0° F), so that it would not thaw and spoil. Id. ¶ 23. Mitsui allegedly passed this instruction on to ConGlobal. Id. ¶ 25.

At the end of March, the cargo began its journey when City Haul picked up the empty refrigerated container from ConGlobal, which had allegedly set the container's thermostat to +18° C (instead of -18° C), and brought it to Summit's cold storage facility to be loaded. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 26-27. Summit employees packed the frozen pork into the container-without adjusting it to the required -18° C.

*1089Id. at ¶ 29. At that point, the container's thermostat was still set to +18° C, presumably the temperature since the container's pick-up and where it remained the entire time that the container held the product. See id. ¶ 29. Once loaded, City Haul picked up the cargo, issued or accepted a bill of lading to cover the shipment, and agreed to carry it to Landers Rail Terminal. Id. ¶ 30. City Haul never adjusted the temperature, even though it too had been instructed to keep the cargo at -18° C. Id. ¶ 31. For reasons unexplained in the complaint, City Haul brought the container to ConGlobal rather than to the Landers Rail Terminal (as it was contracted to do). Id. ¶ 32. At that point, ConGlobal apparently too did not adjust the temperature from its setting of +18° C. See id. ¶ 26. Then, it was allegedly ConGlobal that "transferred it to Landers Rail Terminal," where the container was ramped onto the rail carrier for its trip to Virginia. Id. ¶ 32.

When the container arrived in Virginia in early April 2016, Mitsui discovered that the pork had thawed during its travel. Am. Compl. ¶ 33. The thermostat on the container was still set to +18° C. Id. The thawed meat was (not surprisingly) a total loss, and Tomex suffered losses totaling $69,356.55. Id. ¶ 34. Tomex submitted a claim to its insurer, Codan, which paid the claim minus a deductible, and Codan became subrogated to the rights of Tomex to sue for damages. Id. ¶ 35.

II. Standard of Review

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), a complaint generally need only include "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). This short and plain statement must "give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (cleaned up).3 The Seventh Circuit has explained that this rule "reflects a liberal notice pleading regime, which is intended to 'focus litigation on the merits of a claim' rather than on technicalities that might keep plaintiffs out of court." Brooks v. Ross , 578 F.3d 574, 580 (7th Cir. 2009) (quoting Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A. , 534 U.S. 506, 514, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002) ).

"A motion under Rule 12(b)(6) challenges the sufficiency of the complaint to state a claim upon which relief may be granted." Hallinan v. Fraternal Order of Police of Chi. Lodge No. 7 , 570 F.3d 811, 820 (7th Cir. 2009). "[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

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Bluebook (online)
315 F. Supp. 3d 1085, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/codan-forsikring-as-v-conglobal-indus-inc-illinoised-2018.