Exel, Inc. v. Southern Refrigerated Transport, Inc.

44 F. Supp. 3d 736, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119024, 2014 WL 4243762
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedAugust 26, 2014
DocketCase No. 2:10-cv-994
StatusPublished

This text of 44 F. Supp. 3d 736 (Exel, Inc. v. Southern Refrigerated Transport, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Exel, Inc. v. Southern Refrigerated Transport, Inc., 44 F. Supp. 3d 736, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119024, 2014 WL 4243762 (S.D. Ohio 2014).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JAMES L. GRAHAM, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment [738]*738(docs. 93 and 97). For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS the Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment (doc. 93) as to Count IV of the Complaint, DISMISSES Count III of the Complaint, and DENIES the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (doc. 97).

I. Background

The Plaintiff, Exel, Inc., is a freight broker that arranges for the transportation of commodities on behalf of its customers. The Defendant, Southern Refrigerated Transport, Inc. (SRT), is a motor carrier that provides transportation of cargo in interstate commerce. Non-party San-doz, Inc. is a manufacturer of pharmaceutical products and, in the instant case, Exel’s client.

In 2001, Sandoz contracted with Exel to provide transportation brokerage services to Sandoz. Last Aff. at ¶ 5, doc. 31-2. In late 2007, Exel contracted with SRT to transport Sandoz pharmaceuticals. Haldi Aff. at ¶ 7, doc. 31-3. Specifically, the parties executed a Master Transportation Services Agreement (MTSA), id. at ¶¶ 7-10, which purportedly governs the relationship between the parties in the instant case. The MTSA is a standardized agreement that Exel executes with any carrier hired to transport its clients’ goods. Id. at ¶ 6.

The MTSA designates SRT as the “Carrier” and Exel as the “Customer.” MTSA at 1, doc. 97-6. The MTSA generally defines the “Shipper” as the Customer’s principal, id., in this case, Sandoz. It states that “Carrier agrees to accept for arrangement of shipment Commodities moving in ... commerce ... for transportation to the destinations designated by Customer in such a manner as to satisfy the specialized needs of Customer and/or Shipper.” Id. at ¶ 3. The MTSA further provides that:

Customer shall issue and Carrier shall sign freight receipts for each shipment in the form acceptable to Customer and the Shipper. If a bill of lading is used as a freight receipt, any terms, conditions or provisions thereof shall be subject and subordinate to the terms of this Agreement and, in the event of a conflict, this Agreement shall govern.

Id. at ¶ 4. Addressing the parties’ respective liability under the agreement, the MTSA states:

Carrier shall be liable to Customer for loss, damage or injury to the Commodities tendered to Carrier for. transportation hereunder while the Commodities are in its, its agent or underlying carrier’s custody, possession or control except to the extent (and only to the extent) such loss, damage or injury results from (i) acts of God, the public enemy or public authority, (ii) inherent vice or nature of the Commodities, or (iii) the negligent acts of Customer or Shipper.

Id. at ¶ 9(a). Continuing, the MTSA outlines the method for calculating damages under the agreement:

The measurement of the loss, damage or injury to Commodities shall be the Shipper’s replacement value applicable to the kind and quantity of Commodities so lost, damaged or destroyed. Customer shall deduct from the invoice price the reasonable salvage value of any damaged or injured Commodities not released to Carrier. Carrier acknowledges that some of the Commodities may be disposed of in a manner that will prevent the damaged goods from being sold on the open'market.

Id. at ¶ 9(b).

In the winter of 2008, Exel arranged for SRT to transport a shipment of Sandoz pharmaceuticals from Exel’s warehouse in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania to Memphis, [739]*739Tennessee. Last Aff. at ¶6, doc. 30-2. Prior to SRT transporting the shipment, a bill of lading was issued, which SRT signed. Bill of Lading, doc. 97-8. The bill of lading states:

It is mutually agreed, as to each carrier of all or any said property over all or any portion of said route to destination and as to each party at any time interested in all or any of said property, that every service to be. performed here-under shall be subject to all terms and conditions of the Uniform Domestic Straight Bill of Lading ... in the applicable motor carrier classification or tariff .... Shipper hereby certifies that he is familiar with all the said terms and conditions of the said bill of lading set forth in the classification or tariff which governs the transportation of this shipment and the terms and conditions are hereby agreed to by shipper and accepted for himself and his assigns.

Id. In addition, the bill of lading describes the goods and number of units to be transported, the weight of the shipment, instructions for delivery, and the release value for the shipment. Id. Under the bill of lading, the release value1 for the shipment is $56,766.36. Id.

While being transported by SRT, the shipment of pharmaceuticals was stolen in or near Dickson, Tennessee. Joint Stipulation of Facts at ¶ 3(b), doc. 94-4. Following the theft of the shipment, Exel filed a claim with SRT on behalf of Sandoz for $8,583,671.12, the alleged actual value of the lost pharmaceuticals. SRT subsequently denied Exel’s claim, maintaining that the bill of lading limited its liability to $56,766.36. Compl. at ¶ 40, doc. 2.

Subsequently, Sandoz assigned its rights related to its claim concerning the lost pharmaceuticals to Exel. Assignment, doc. 31-6 at 3. Based on this assignment of rights, Exel filed its four-count Complaint “for the use and benefit of’ Sandoz, alleging (1) breach of contract; (2) breach of bailment; (3) breach of the ICC Termination Act (formerly known as the Car-mack Amendment); and (4) a request for declaratory judgment related to the MTSA. Complaint, doc. 2. Exel sought damages of $8,583,671.12. Id.

In response., SRT filed its Answer (doc. 5) and a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (doc. 6) as to Counts I, II, and IV of Exel’s Complaint. In its Motion, SRT argued that the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 14706 et seq., governed the relationship between the parties in this case and preempted Counts I, II, and IV of Exel’s Complaint. The Court reviewed the Carmack Amendment and found that “[t]he Supreme Court has consistently interpreted the Carmack Amendment as broadly occupying the entire interstate shipment field of commerce.” Opinion and Order at 6, doc. 24. Nonetheless, the Court noted, the Sixth Circuit had not addressed whether state law claims brought by a broker against a carrier fall within the preemptive scope of the Carmack Amendment. Id. at 8. After considering the existing case law, the Court concluded that “a broker’s claim survives preemption only if it is based on the carrier’s breach of a separate contractual obligation independent of its obligation as a carrier.” Id. at 13 (internal citation and quotation omitted). Because neither party presented the MTSA to the Court and because Exel failed to identify a contractual obligation independent of the shipper-carrier relationship, the Court found that the Carmack Amendment preempted Counts I and II of Exel’s Com[740]*740plaint. Id. at 12-14. The Court also declined to exercise jurisdiction over Exel’s request for declaratory judgment. Id. at 14-17. Count III of Exel’s Complaint remained pending.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
44 F. Supp. 3d 736, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119024, 2014 WL 4243762, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/exel-inc-v-southern-refrigerated-transport-inc-ohsd-2014.