Howard v. Lowe's Home Ctrs., LLC

306 F. Supp. 3d 951
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedJanuary 26, 2018
Docket1:16–cv–1279–RP
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 306 F. Supp. 3d 951 (Howard v. Lowe's Home Ctrs., LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Howard v. Lowe's Home Ctrs., LLC, 306 F. Supp. 3d 951 (W.D. Tex. 2018).

Opinion

ROBERT PITMAN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

*954Before the Court is Defendant Lowe's Home Centers, LLC's ("Lowe's") Motion for Summary Judgment, (Dkt. 48), and Plaintiff Shari Howard's ("Howard") response, (Dkt. 58). Having considered the parties' arguments, the factual record, and the relevant law, the Court finds that Lowe's motion should be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

Howard, representing herself,1 is suing Lowe's to recover damages arising out of two separate disputes: (1) a broken Whirlpool refrigerator and (2) the denial of a prepaid-account discount. The former dispute began when Howard bought a "GE Whirlpool" refrigerator from Lowe's in August 2014. (Am. Compl., Dkt. 25, at 3). According to Howard, Lowe's sold, delivered, and installed a defective fridge; its freezer compartment produced excessive "ice and frost" that spoiled the food inside. (Id. ). Howard then called Lowe's on December 5, 2014, to ask them to repair the fridge. (Id. ). They sent a repairperson to Howard's home on January 5, 2015, but he or she could not fix the unit. (Id. at 3-4). According to Howard, Lowe's employees made twelve separate visits to her house to try to fix the fridge, but the fridge continued to malfunction despite the company's considerable efforts. (Id. at 4). Howard then filed this action against Lowe's, alleging that the broken fridge caused a variety of personal injuries and property damage: Howard lost money on spoiled food; her replacement cooler leaked water, damaging personal property; an unspecified event involving the fridge caused a shoulder injury that limited her ability to work; her elderly mother fell near the fridge and injured her head ; and that Howard experienced mental anguish related to these injuries and losses. (Id. at 4-5).

Out of the broken fridge arise a number of causes of action. Howard asserts claims for: (1) statutory and common-law products liability, (id. at 5-6, 8); (2) violations of seller's warranties contained in the Texas Business and Commerce Code and the common law, such as the implied warranty of merchantability, (id. at 6-7, 9); (3) common-law fraudulent misrepresentation, (id. at 7-8); common-law fraud, (id. at 11); (4) breach of contract, (id. at 12); (5) negligent inspection, advertising, and repair, (id. at 12-13); (6) false advertising violations of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), (id. at 13); (7) violations of the Sherman Act's prohibition against restraints of trade, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 - 7, (id. at 13); and (8) violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act ("DTPA"), (id. at 14-15).

The second dispute concerns Lowe's alleged failure to give Howard a five percent discount on a number of purchases made from a prepaid account. (Id. at 15-17). Howard says that she entered into a prepayment program in which she would deposit money into a Lowe's account and then receive a five percent discount on purchases made with account funds. (Id. at 15). According to Howard, Lowe's applied the discount to several purchases but not to a number of others. (Id. at 16). She *955alleges damages stemming not only from being overcharged but also from costs associated with the time that she had to spend arguing with Lowe's employees about the discount. (Id. at 16-17).

From these facts, Howard asserts claims for (1) common-law conversion, (id. at 17-18); (2) "illegal banking," (id. at 17-18); and (3) violations of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 - 7, (id. at 19-20). For relief, Howard asks not only for damages but also for an injunction requiring Lowe's to give her a perpetual five percent discount on all of her Lowe's purchases. (Id. at 17).

Lowe's filed a motion for summary judgment seeking judgment on all of Howard's claims, (Mot. Summ. J., Dkt. 48), and Howard filed a response. (Resp. Mot. Summ. J., Dkt. 58).

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure only "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A dispute is genuine only if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 254, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "A fact issue is 'material' if its resolution could affect the outcome of the action." Poole v. City of Shreveport , 691 F.3d 624, 627 (5th Cir. 2012).

The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of "informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of [the record] which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). "[T]he moving party may [also] meet its burden by simply pointing to an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Boudreaux v. Swift Transp. Co. , 402 F.3d 536, 544 (5th Cir. 2005).

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Bluebook (online)
306 F. Supp. 3d 951, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howard-v-lowes-home-ctrs-llc-txwd-2018.