Hoffman v. Americahomekey, Inc.

23 F. Supp. 3d 734, 2014 WL 2475923, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75168
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedJune 3, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 3:12-CV-3806-B
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 23 F. Supp. 3d 734 (Hoffman v. Americahomekey, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hoffman v. Americahomekey, Inc., 23 F. Supp. 3d 734, 2014 WL 2475923, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75168 (N.D. Tex. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JANE J. BOYLE, District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendant Katherine Shadle’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (doc. 126), filed on November 12, 2013. For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS the Motion.

I.

BACKGROUND

This case arises out of an employer’s allegedly fraudulent representations concerning its financial status as well as its alleged failure to transfer the full amount of retained bonus payments as required under two employment contracts. In 2009, Plaintiffs Kimberly Hoffman and Patti Pate-Schnure both entered into employment contracts with Defendant America-HomeKey, Inc. (“AHK”) in 2009 to serve as Senior Vice Presidents. Doc. 108, Am. Compl. ¶¶ 17-18. In these positions; both assumed responsibilities to manage the company’s Southeast Branch offices. ■ Id. Pursuant to these contracts, Plaintiffs were entitled to receive a monthly bonuses equal to 50 % of the net, pre-tax profits of the southeastern branches. Id. ¶ 19. Plaintiffs could request to receive less than their monthly bonuses in order to maintain reserves for future or anticipated losses, or in order to maintain an operational reserve. Id. ¶ 20. The contracts also provided that when either party terminated the contracts, any reserve funds, including bonuses, would be transferred to Plaintiffs within 30 days. Id. ¶ 21.

Plaintiffs requested to be paid less than their monthly bonuses for certain months in 2009, and AHK withheld those funds for deposit in the future/anticipated losses or operational reserve. Id. ¶¶ 22-23. AHK also allegedly withheld Plaintiffs’ bonuses for three months in 2011 without authorization. Id. ¶ 24. When AHK terminated Plaintiffs’ employment contracts on November 15, 2011, it failed to pay Plaintiffs the bonus payments that it had withheld in 2009 and 2011 within 30 days. Id. ¶¶ 25-26.

[738]*738Plaintiffs insist that Lane Terrell, "Ida Alcazar, Katherine Shadle, Frank Cau-ghron, and Lynn Eaton (collectively “the Individual Defendants”) were all senior management of AHK who participated in the decision to hire Plaintiffs. Id. ¶¶ 28, 30, 32-33, 35. They maintain that Terrell represented to Plaintiffs that they could elect to be paid less in their bonuses in order to retain reserves and that they would be paid any reserve within 30 days of the termination of the employment contracts. Id. ¶¶ 28, 83-85. They insist that the other Individual Defendants all authorized Terrell to make these statements, and that they all reviewed and approved the terms of the employment contracts that contained these representations. Id. ¶ 85.1 Plaintiffs also aver that Terrell, Alcazar, and Caughron each later assured them prior to their termination that they would be paid the bonuses they were owed. Id. ¶¶29, 31, 34, 87, 101. Plaintiffs maintain that, when these three Individual Defendants made these assurances, however, they knew that AHK would not repay Plaintiffs’ bonuses. Id. Furthermore, Plaintiffs allege that although they regularly requested financial and company information pertaining to AHK throughout their employment, all of the Individual Defendants failed to provide Plaintiffs with accurate and timely financial information. Id. ¶¶ 36-37. Plaintiffs maintain that Defendants “repeatedly and willfully misled [them] regarding the worsening financial situation of Defendant [AHK] in order to induce Plaintiffs to continue working for” AHK and to allow AHK to avoid paying the withheld bonus amounts. Id. ¶¶ 89, 103. They allege that the Defendants specifically failed to inform them of an audit by the Texas Office of Inspector General and that, had Plaintiffs known of the audit, they would have terminated their employment contracts and demanded payment of the withheld bonus payments. Id. ¶¶ 37-40, 90,104.

Plaintiffs filed a Complaint in the State Court of Cobb County in Georgia, alleging causes of action for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, conversion, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation. Doc. 1, Notice of Removal 1. Subsequently, Defendant Alcazar, with the consent of all Defendants, removed the case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Id. Following Defendant AHK’s Motion to Transfer Venue, the case was transferred to this Court in the Northern District of Texas. Doc. 41, Order. All of the defendants have been sporadically represented by counsel throughout the course of this litigation, and Shadle filed the instant Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings during a period in which she was represented by counsel, on November 12, 2014. Doc. 126, Def.’s Mot.

II.

LEGAL STANDARD

A Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings “is designed to dispose of cases where the material facts are not in dispute and a judgment on the merits can be rendered by looking to the substance of the pleadings and any judicially noticed facts.” Hebert Abstract Co. v. Touchstone Props., Ltd., 914 F.2d 74, 76 (5th Cir.1990) (citing 5A Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice And Procedure § 1367, at 509-10 (2d ed.1990)). The stan[739]*739dard for evaluating a Rule 12(c) motion is the same as the standard for evaluating a Rule 12(b)(6) motion for failure to state a claim. Doe v. MySpace, Inc., 528 F.3d 413, 418 (5th Cir.2008) (citation omitted).

Under Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 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). Rule 12(b)(6) authorizes the Court to dismiss a plaintiffs complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). “[Plaintiffs must allege facts that support the elements of the cause of action in order to make out a valid claim.” City of Clinton v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., 632 F.3d 148, 152-53 (5th Cir.2010) (citations omitted). In considering a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss “[t]he court accepts all well-pleaded facts as true, viewing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., 495 F.3d 191, 205 (5th Cir.2007) (citing Martin K. Eby Constr. Co. v. Dali. Area Rapid Transit, 369 F.3d 464, 467 (5th Cir.2004)).

In order to survive a motion to dismiss, Plaintiffs must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal,

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23 F. Supp. 3d 734, 2014 WL 2475923, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75168, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoffman-v-americahomekey-inc-txnd-2014.