Don-Rick, Inc. v. QBE Americas

995 F. Supp. 2d 863, 2014 WL 359664, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12789
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedFebruary 3, 2014
DocketNo. 13-cv-625-slc
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 995 F. Supp. 2d 863 (Don-Rick, Inc. v. QBE Americas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Don-Rick, Inc. v. QBE Americas, 995 F. Supp. 2d 863, 2014 WL 359664, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12789 (W.D. Wis. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

STEPHEN L. CROCKER, United States Magistrate Judge.

In this removal action for breach of contract, plaintiff Don-Rick, Inc. alleges that defendant QBE failed to pay contingent sales commissions for insurance products that Don-Rick sold on behalf of QBE. On September 16, 2013, QBE moved to dismiss the complaint under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, claiming that QBE had no contractual obligation to pay Don-Rick contingent sales commissions and that Don-Rick can not bring a claim of bad faith under Wisconsin law. Dkt. 3. Soon after the briefing was completed on the motion to dismiss, Don-Rick filed an amended complaint adding claims of promissory estoppel and unjust enrichment. Dkt. 14. QBE responded with a second motion to dismiss, arguing that the amended complaint was untimely, and in the alternative, that it also fails to state a claim because QBE never promised to pay Don-Rick the discretionary bonus. Dkt. 15.

In its reply, Don-Rick explained that it was unable to file the amended complaint by the deadline set in the preliminary pretrial conference order because the court’s electronic filing system was down. QBE has accepted this explanation. As a result, I find that the amended complaint was timely and becomes the operative pleading in this case. Generally, the filing of an amended complaint would moot QBE’s motion to dismiss the original complaint. National Pork Producers Council v. Jackson, 2009 WL 1255557, *1 (W.D.Wis. May 1, 2009); Hypergraphics Press, Inc. v. Cengage Learning, Inc., 2009 WL 972823, *1 n. 1 (N.D.Ill. Apr. 8, 2009). However, QBE properly raised its original challenges to the breach of contract and bad faith claims in its second motion to dismiss, as well as challenges to the newly [866]*866added claims of promissory estoppel and unjust enrichment.

Because I agree with QBE that the bonus commission program document did not constitute a contract, I am granting QBE’s motion to dismiss with respect to the breach of contract and bad faith claims. That, however, is not necessarily the end of it: during the briefing of the motion to dismiss the amended complaint, Don-Rick submitted additional evidence that creates an question of fact as to whether QBE made a promise to pay Don-Rick a bonus commission for sales made in 2012. With this evidence, Don-Rick can at least state a valid claim for promissory estoppel and unjust enrichment; however, Don-Rick did not actually do so: the amended complaint does not reference or include the additional evidence. So, the question is, what does fairness and efficiency require at this juncture? Although we are fairly deep into the schedule, it seems everyone has been treading water while the dismissal motion was pending (a logical decision), so it would not be unfair to allow Don-Rick to file a second- and last-amended complaint that adds the appropriate allegations.

Apart from this, on January 28, 2014, QBE asked to extend the March 10, 2014 deadline to file summary judgment motions, to May 1, 2014. See dkt. 21. I am granting that motion in this order, and I am willing to grant a longer extension (and perhaps change the trial date) if the parties can make a case for actually needing more time in light of the conclusions reached in this order.

From the amended complaint and the documents attached to the motion to dismiss,1 I draw the following facts, solely for the purpose of deciding the motion to dismiss:

FACTS

Plaintiff Don-Rick, Inc. and defendant QBE Holdings, Inc. are insurance companies. Between January 1, 2009 and March 4, 2013, Don-Rick was an agent of QBE and sold QBE policies pursuant to an agency agreement, which provided that:

As full compensation for services, [QBE] shall pay [Don-Rick] commissions in accordance with the most recent commission schedule made part of this Agreement (“Exhibit B”) on premium reported and paid to [QBE] on business written by [Don-Rick],

Agreement § IV.a, dkt. 5, exh. 1 at p. 5. Section IX of the agreement provided that either party could terminate the agreement for any reason with at least 90 days notice unless a longer period was required by law.2

As an additional benefit of being a QBE agent, Don-Rick became eligible to participate in the 2012 “QBE Premier Partner Contingent Commission Program” (or bonus commission program). The overview section of the document describing the bonus commission program states that an agent “can receive a bonus based on the profit You generate during the Bonus Year [867]*867if You meet the requirements set forth in this Plan.” Dkt. 5, exh. 2 at p. 1. The bonus commission program has three eligibility requirements:

Active Agent You must be an active agent in good standing with Us at the time of payment. We will pay You no bonus if We have terminated Your agency authority, or if We have terminated Your involvement in this Plan, before payment is issued to You.
Minimum Volume You must produce a minimum of $1,000,000 in combined QBE Personal and Commercial Lines Qualifying Written Premium.
Profit Sharing Ratio Maximum Your Total Profit Sharing Ratio in the Bonus Year must be 64.0% or less

Id. at p. 1.

Under a section entitled “General Program Provisions,” the document also states that

• This program is separate from the Independent Agency Agreement between You and Us....
• This program is not a contract and creates no legally binding rights or obligations for You or Us. We may cancel or amend this Program at any time without advance notification to You. Cancellation or amendment of this Program will be effective immediately and will control Our payment of a bonus to You, if any.
• The profit sharing bonus payable under the terms and conditions as stated in this document will be determined at the end of each Bonus Year and paid to the agency within 90 days.

Dkt. 5, exh. 2 at 2.

QBE terminated the parties’ agency agreement on March 4, 2013. Although Don-Rick was eligible to participate in the 2012 bonus commission program and earned commission payments in the amount of $75,000 that “were payable” pri- or to the termination of the agency agreement, QBE refused to pay the money owed to Don-Rick. At the time the bonus commissions were due, Don-Rick was an agent in good standing.

OPINION

QBE moves to dismiss each of Don-Rick’s claims under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. In ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court accepts all well-pleaded allegations as true and draws all inferences in favor of the plaintiff. Bielanski v. County of Kane, 550 F.3d 632, 633 (7th Cir.2008) (citations omitted). The complaint must include “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face,” Hecker v. Deere & Co., 556 F.3d 575

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995 F. Supp. 2d 863, 2014 WL 359664, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12789, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/don-rick-inc-v-qbe-americas-wiwd-2014.