Cure v. Pedcor Management Corp.

265 F. Supp. 3d 984
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nebraska
DecidedSeptember 21, 2016
Docket8:16CV154
StatusPublished

This text of 265 F. Supp. 3d 984 (Cure v. Pedcor Management Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nebraska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cure v. Pedcor Management Corp., 265 F. Supp. 3d 984 (D. Neb. 2016).

Opinion

.MEMORANDUM ORDER

Richard G. Kopf, Senior United States District Judge

In this diversity action, Plaintiff claims Defendants, two companies that own and manage an apartment complex in Grand Island, Nebraska, where Plaintiff resided with her minor child,,were negligent in failing to prevent the kidnapping and rape of her child by another resident. Defendants have filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), and contend the facts alleged in Plaintiffs amended complaint do not show that the crime was reasonably foreseeable by them. For the reasons discussed below, Defendants’ motion to dismiss will be denied.

I. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

A complaint must contain.“a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the, pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). To survive a motion to dismiss, the factual allegations in a complaint “must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A complaint must be dismissed if it does not plead “enough facts to -state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (stating that the [987]*987plausibility standard does not require a probability,.but asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully).

For the purposes of a motion to dismiss, the court must “assume that well-pleaded factual allegations in the complaint are true and construe the complaint, and all reasonable inferences, arising therefrom, most favorably to the pleader." Westcott v. City of Omaha, 901 F.2d 1486, 1488 (8th Cir. 1990) (internal quotation marks omitted). The court will not, however, “blindly accept the legal conclusions drawn by the pleader from the facts.”, M “When the allegations in a complaint, however true, could not raise a claim of entitlement to relief, the complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).” Hawkins Constr. Co. v. Peterson Contractors, Inc., 970 F.Supp.2d 945, 949 (D. Neb. 2013).

While a complaint “does not.need detailed factual allegations, a plaintiffs obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (internal quotation marks omitted). “The' essential function of a complaint under thé' Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is to give the opposing party ‘fair notice of the nature and basis or grounds for a claim, and a general indication of the type of litigation involved.’ ” Topchian v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 760 F.3d 843, 848 (8th Cir. 2014) (quoting Hopkins v. Saunders, 199 F.3d 968, 973 (8th Cir. 1999)).

B, Applicable Nebraska Law

In order to recover in a negligence action, a plaintiff must show a legal duty owed by the defendant to the plaintiff, a breach of such duty, causation, and damages. Pittman v. Rivera, 293 Neb. 569, 879 N.W.2d 12, 15 (2016). The question whether a legal duty exists for actionable negligence is a question of law dependent on the facts in a particular situation. Peterson v. Kings Gate Partners-Omaha I, L.P., 290 Neb. 658, 861 N.W.2d 444, 448 (2015). In this case, a legal duty arises by virtue of an alleged 'landlord-tenant relationship.

Although the Nebraska Supreme Court previously stated that “landlords are not insurers that a tenant will be protected at all times,” C.S. v. Sophir, 220 Neb. 51, 368 N.W.2d 444, 446 (1985) (holding that landlord did not have duty to warn tenants of danger of sexual assault in parking area based on a single prior assault), this case, law predates the Court’s decision in A.W. v. Lancaster Cty. Sch. Dist. 0001, 280 Neb. 205, 784 N.W.2d 907 (2010), and “is not helpful in -the duty determination presented here.” Peterson, 861 N.W.2d at 449. In A.W., [the Nebraska Supreme Court] abandoned the risk-utility test and adopted the duty analysis set forth in the Restatement (Third) of Torts ...." Latzel v. Bartek, 288 Neb. 1, 846 N.W.2d 153, 162 (2014). Under the Restatement analysis, “[t]he question whether a legal duty exists for actionable negligence is a question of law dependent on the facts in a particular situation.” A.W., 784 N.W.2d at 913. “But it is for the fact finder to determine, on the facts of each individual case, whether or not the evidence establishes" a breach of that duty.” Id. “[Foreseeable risk is an element of the determination of negligence, not legal duty.” Id. at 917.

“Simply put, whether a duty exists is a policy decision, and a lack of foreseeable risk in a specific case may be a basis for a no-breach determination, but such a ruling is not a no-duty determination.” Id. at 916 (emphasis in original). As a matter of law, “[a]n aetor in a special relationship with another owes the other a [988]*988duty of reasonable care with regard to risks that arise within the scope of the relationship.” Restatement (Third) of Torts, § 40(a). One “special relationship” giving rise to such a duty is the relationship of “a landlord with its tenants.” Id. at § 40(b)(6); Peterson, 861 N.W.2d at 448 (holding that plaintiff stated plausible claim for relief against landlord for fading to protect him from another resident).

“After A.W., the existence of a duty generally serves as a legal conclusion that an actor must exercise that degree of care as would be exercised by a reasonable person under the circumstances.” Peterson, 861 N.W.2d at 448. “In order to determine whether appropriate care was exercised, the fact finder must assess the foreseeable risk at the time of the defendant’s alleged negligence.” Pittman, 879 N.W.2d at 17. “The extent of foreseeable risk depends on the specific facts of the case and cannot be usefully assessed for a category of cases; small changes in the facts may make a dramatic change in how much risk is foreseeable.” Id. “Thus, courts should leave such determinations to the trier of fact unless no reasonable person could differ on the matter.” Id.

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Related

Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Schroer v. Synowiecki
435 N.W.2d 875 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1989)
Knoll v. Board of Regents of University of Nebraska
601 N.W.2d 757 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1999)
C.S. v. Sophir
368 N.W.2d 444 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1985)
Aw v. Lancaster County School Dist. 0001
784 N.W.2d 907 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 2010)
K.S.R. v. Novak & Sons, Inc.
406 N.W.2d 636 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1987)
Samvel Topchian v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
760 F.3d 843 (Eighth Circuit, 2014)
Tommy Hopkins v. John Saunders
199 F.3d 968 (Eighth Circuit, 1999)
Hawkins Construction Co. v. Peterson Contractors, Inc.
970 F. Supp. 2d 945 (D. Nebraska, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
265 F. Supp. 3d 984, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cure-v-pedcor-management-corp-ned-2016.