First American Corp. v. Al-Nahyan

175 F.R.D. 411, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14817, 1997 WL 597472
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedAugust 26, 1997
DocketCivil Action No. 93-1309 (JHG/PJA)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 175 F.R.D. 411 (First American Corp. v. Al-Nahyan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
First American Corp. v. Al-Nahyan, 175 F.R.D. 411, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14817, 1997 WL 597472 (D.D.C. 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

JOYCE HENS GREEN, District Judge.

Upon consideration of Defendants Clark M. Clifford and Robert A. Altman’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Allegations of Negligence and Recklessness, or Alternatively, for Entry of Final Judgment (“Clifford & Altman’s Motion”), Plaintiffs’ Opposition, the Opposition of the Abu Dhabi Sovereigns, the Joint Opposition of Sheikh Karnal Adham, Adham Corporation and [413]*413Sayed Jawhary (“Joint Opposition”), Clifford & Altman’s Reply, Plaintiffs’ Surreply, Clifford & Altman’s Response to Plaintiffs’ Surreply, and the entire record in this matter, the motion will be denied.

Following dismissal of Messrs. Clifford and Altman’s third-party complaint and cross-claims for contribution and indemnification, Clifford and Altman filed a motion seeking partial summary judgment, barring Plaintiff from recovering “on any of its claims against Messrs. Clifford and Altman based upon proof of recklessness and/or negligence.” Clifford & Altman’s Motion at 1. Alternatively, should this Court deny their motion, Clifford and Altman request that the Court enter final judgment, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ.P. 54(b), such that they may take an immediate appeal of the Court’s decision denying their claims for contribution and indemnification.

Summary judgment is appropriate, of course, only when there is “no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The burden to demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact is on the movant, Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970), and “[t]he inquiry performed is the threshold inquiry of determining whether there is a need for trial — whether, in other words, there are any genuine issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The role of the Court on a motion for summary judgment is not to weigh the evidence, but to determine whether genuine issues of material fact exist for trial. Abraham v. Graphic Arts Int’l Union, 660 F.2d 811, 814 (D.C.Cir.1981).

Summary judgment is available only where “the evidence is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. at 2512. If the material facts proffered by the non-moving party are subject to diverse interpretations, summary judgment is not available. Id. at 251-53, 106 S.Ct. at 2512; Tao v. Freeh, 27 F.3d 635, 638 (D.C.Cir.1994). Any doubts are resolved in favor of the non-moving party, Abraham, 660 F.2d at 815, and the non-moving party is entitled to all justifiable inferences. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513; Liberty Lobby, Inc. v. Dow Jones & Co., Inc., 838 F.2d 1287, 1293 (D.C.Cir.1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 825, 109 S.Ct. 75, 102 L.Ed.2d 51 (1988).

Clifford and Altman’s request for a ruling that Plaintiffs may not recover based upon negligence will be denied. Previously, this Court ruled that Plaintiffs Complaint did not fairly embrace a claim of negligence, thus prohibiting Clifford and Altman from asserting their third-party complaint and cross-claims for contribution and indemnification. See Mem. Op. and Order at 16-17 (citing among other cases Philip Morris, Inc. v. Emerson, 235 Va. 380, 411, 368 S.E.2d 268 (1988) (indemnification unavailable for wrongful conduct or active negligence)).1 As reflected by their filings, the parties have no dispute regarding whether allegations of simple negligence are at issue. Compare Clifford & Altman’s Motion at 9 (“Thus, the Court made clear that First American may not recover on Count V by demonstrating only that Messrs. Clifford and Altman acted negligently ... ”) with Plaintiffs’ Opp. at 28 (“First American has not asserted simple negligence claims against defendants”) and Clifford & Altman’s Reply at 3 (there is little, if any, real difference between the parties on the legal issues presented by our motion. Thus ... First American concedes it “has not asserted simple negligence claims against defendants”) with Plaintiffs’ Surreply at 8 (“there is no claim in this action based solely on negligence”). This being so, the Court is simply not presented with a controversy regarding allegations of negligence upon which to rule. While the hotly disputed facts of this case may or may not have actually sup[414]*414ported a finding of simple negligence against Defendants Clifford and Altman, such a claim has not presently been asserted.2 A ruling granting summary judgment on a matter not in controversy would be advisory in nature and clearly inappropriate.3 Even where material facts may not be disputed, a party has no entitlement to judgment as a matter of law regarding issues that are not in controversy. And, to the extent that the material facts in dispute support a finding of “active negligence,” akin to an intentional tort, see, e.g., Emerson, 235 Va. at 411, 368 S.E.2d 268 summary judgment would clearly be unavailable.

As to the request for a ruling that the defendants cannot be held liable on the basis of recklessness, genuine issues of material fact preclude summary judgment. The voluminous record makes crystal clear that the material facts regarding recklessness are in dispute. And, the parties generally agree that, as a matter of law, reckless conduct may rise to a level sufficient to deny the right to contribution and indemnification from a joint tortfeasor. Compare Clifford & Altman’s Reply at 7 with Plaintiffs’ Opp. at 26 and Plaintiffs’ Surreply at 10. Consequently, because the material facts as to recklessness are iii genuine dispute, this Court cannot rule that Defendants Clifford and Altman are entitled to judgment that they cannot be held liable for reckless conduct as a matter of law. Should this case go to trial, the parties will, of course, be offered an opportunity to present their views on the proper legal standard (in the form of proposed jury instructions or otherwise) regarding the degree of recklessness that constitutes “an extreme departure.” See, e.g., SEC v. Steadman, 967 F.2d 636, 641-42 (D.C.Cir. 1992). The motion for partial summary judgment as to recklessness will therefore be denied.

The alternative relief sought by Defendants Clifford and Altman will also be denied.

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Bluebook (online)
175 F.R.D. 411, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14817, 1997 WL 597472, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/first-american-corp-v-al-nahyan-dcd-1997.