Cunningham v. Headstart Warranty Group, LLC

District Court, N.D. Texas·Decided March 6, 2024·No. 3:24-cv-00545·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE DIVISION CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:23-CV-00239-GCM CRAIG CUNNINGHAM, PRO SE,

Plaintiff,

v. ORDER

HEADSTART WARRANTY GROUP, LLC; VEHICLE SERVICE DEPARTMENT; SING FOR SERVICE, LLC, DBA MEPCO; MICHAEL STAFFORD, AUTO KNIGHT MOTOR CLUB, INC.; MIDWEST CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY; JCHW, INC.; JAMES BLAKEY; TIMOTHY SCHUUR; AND JOHN/JANE DOES 1-5,

Defendants.

This matter is before the Court on Defendants Headstart Warranty Group, LLC; JCHW, INC.; James Blakey; Timothy Schuur; and Sing for Service, LLC d/b/a Mepcos’ Motions to Dismiss the Complaint.1 (Doc. Nos. 13, 15 and 22.) Upon careful consideration of the arguments submitted by the parties, this matter is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas as to Defendants Headstart Warranty Group, LLC; Vehicle Service Department; Sing for Service, LLC d/b/a Mepco; Michael Stafford; Midwest Casualty Insurance Company; JCHW, Inc.; James Blakey; Timothy Schuur; and John/Jane Does 1-5.

1 The Court previously dismissed the Complaint as against Defendant Auto Knight Motor Club, Inc. for lack of personal jurisdiction. (See Doc. No. 33.) I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On April 26, 2023, Plaintiff Craig Cunningham filed a complaint under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), as applied by 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d), and its North Carolina counterpart, the North Carolina Telephone Solicitations Act (“NCTSA”). (Doc. No. 1). See 47 U.S.C. § 227(b); 47 C.F.R. §64.1220(d); N.C. GEN. STAT. §75-102. Plaintiff’s Complaint alleges

he is a resident of North Carolina and uses his cellular phone for “personal, family, and household use.” (Doc. No. 1 at ¶¶ 1, 43.) Plaintiff further alleges he “received multiple calls on behalf of the multiple related defendant entities selling the extended car warranty services of Matrix Financial Services, LLC and resulted in a policy being sold . . . .” (Id. at ¶ 38.) The calls were allegedly initiated using an automatic telephone dialing system “on behalf of each Defendants in this case.” (Id. at ¶ 41.) His three claims allege violations of the TCPA, 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d), and the NCTSA from these phone calls, which Plaintiff estimated happened at least 25 times in the past four years. (Id. at ¶ 42.) Defendants Headstart Warranty Group, LLC; JCHW, INC.; James Blakey; and Timothy

Schuur have filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (Doc. No. 15.) Defendants cite to Rule 12(b)(3) for improper venue, Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a plausible claim for relief, and Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction for failure to plead facts to show standing under Article III of the United States Constitution. (Doc. No. 15 at 1.) Similarly, Defendant Sing for Service, LLC d/b/a Mepco (“Mepco”) has filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) and Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to state a claim. (Doc. Nos. 13 and 22.) II. DISCUSSION A. Standard of Review Courts first consider venue when ruling on a motion to dismiss based upon different provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and if venue is found to be improper, the transferee court will decide the remaining bases for the motion to dismiss. See Atl. Marine Constr.

Co., Inc. v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for the W. Dist. of Tex., 571 U.S. 49, 55 (2013); DFW Aviation, LLC v. Mansfield Heliflight, Inc., No. 1:19-CV-481-LY, 2019 WL 5072883, at *2 (W.D. Tex. Oct. 9, 2019) (recommending transferee court decide Defendant’s alternative Motion to Dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6)); A-76 Techs., Inc. v. Mass Mgmt., LLC, No. 3:21-cv-00496-FDW-DSC, 2021 WL 6202790, at *1 (W.D.N.C. Oct. 6, 2021). A plaintiff has the burden to “establish that venue is proper in the judicial district in which the plaintiff has brought the action.” Plant Genetic Sys., N.V. v. Ciba Seeds, 933 F. Supp. 519, 526 (M.D.N.C. 1996); Oates v. N.C. State Treasurer, No. 3:15-CV-541-GCM, 2016 WL 3226012, at *1 (W.D.N.C. June 7, 2016) (citing Bartholomew v. Va. Chiropractors Ass'n Inc., 612 F.2d 812,

816 (4th Cir. 1979), overruled on other grounds by Union Lab. Life Ins. Co. v. Pireno, 458 U.S. 119 (1982)). Generally, courts rule on questions of venue based on the pleadings, but are “not obliged, however, to treat all allegations as true, no matter how speculative, conclusory, or lacking of necessary supporting factual allegations.” Bartko v. Wheeler, No. 1:13CV1006, 2014 WL 29441, at *8 (M.D.N.C. Jan. 3, 2014) (emphasis in original) (internal citation omitted). However, “a complaint must allege a factual basis for its legal claims” for venue. Id. Courts are also permitted to “freely consider evidence outside the pleadings” when ruling on a Rule 12(b)(3) motion. Sucampo Pharms., Inc. v. Astellas Pharma, Inc., 471 F.3d 544 (4th Cir. 2006). Additionally, when a federal claim is dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(3), the court will decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over corresponding state law claims. See e.g., Snow v. Gen. Elec. Co., No. 5:18-CV-511-FL, 2019 WL 2500407, at *7 (E.D.N.C. June 14, 2019), appeal dismissed, No. 19-1724, 2019 WL 7500455 (4th Cir. Dec. 30, 2019) (declining to exercise supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1367 over state claims upon dismissal of TCPA claim).

When evaluating whether venue is proper, “the court must determine whether the case falls within one of the three categories set out in [28 U.S.C.] § 1391(b).” Atl. Marine, 571 U.S. at 56. Pursuant to § 1391(b), A civil action may be brought in-- (1) a judicial district in which any defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located; (2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated; (3) if there is no district in which an action may otherwise be brought as provided in this section, any judicial district in which any defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction with respect to such action. 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). Venue is proper for individuals in their “place of permanent residence or legal domicile, not where they may otherwise establish ties or occasionally work or visit” and corporations “shall be deemed to reside, if a defendant, in any judicial district in which such defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction with respect to the civil action in question . . . .” Koh v. Microtek Int’l, Inc., 250 F. Supp. 2d 627, 634 (E.D. Va. 2003); 28 U.S.C. § 1391(c).

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Cunningham v. Headstart Warranty Group, LLC, (N.D. Tex. 2024).

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