JB Carter Enterprises, LLC v. Elavon, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedJanuary 21, 2020
Docket2:18-cv-00394
StatusUnknown

This text of JB Carter Enterprises, LLC v. Elavon, Inc. (JB Carter Enterprises, LLC v. Elavon, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
JB Carter Enterprises, LLC v. Elavon, Inc., (D. Nev. 2020).

Opinion

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3 JB Carter Enterprises, LLC dba ATM Case No.: 2:18-cv-00394-JAD-NJK Merchant Systems, 4 Order Granting Defendant’s Motion for Plaintiff Summary Judgment, Denying Plaintiff’s 5 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, v. Granting Motions to Seal, and Closing this 6 Case Elavon, Inc., 7 Defendant [ECF Nos. 58, 59, 62, 64, 75] 8

9 In response to large-scale data breaches and increased counterfeiting, the debit- and 10 credit-card industry adopted a technology called EMV to authenticate chip-card transactions. 11 Plaintiff JB Carter Enterprises, LLC dba ATM Merchant Systems (ATMMS) purchased Equinox 12 L5200 terminals from its payment processor, defendant Elavon, Inc., in preparation for the shift. 13 Elavon promised that these terminals were EMV-ready, but they were unable to support PIN- 14 debit EMV transactions by the time liability for disputed transactions shifted from card-issuers to 15 merchants. 16 ATMMS sues for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and 17 fair dealing, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, international interference with business relations, 18 and intentional interference with contractual relations. The parties filed cross-motions for 19 summary judgment, and Elavon filed motions to seal proprietary business information in the 20 briefing. Because the so-called Master Agreement between ATMMS and Elavon bars the 21 alleged oral agreement to be EMV-compliant by the deadline, I grant summary judgment in 22 favor of Elavon on ATMMS’s contract-related claims. I also grant summary judgment in favor 23 1 of Elavon on ATMMS’s other claims because there is no genuine issue of fact as to elements of 2 each of these claims. And I grant Elavon’s motions to seal. 3 Background 4 In April 2011, ATMMS entered into a “Member Service Provider Sales and Service 5 Agreement”—referred to by the parties as the “Master Agreement”—with Elavon.1 Michael

6 Poggi, ATMMS’s general manager, testified that the purpose of the agreement was for Elavon 7 and ATMMS to perform debit- and credit-card processing services together.2 Under the Master 8 Agreement, ATMMS agreed to market “Merchant Services,” which are defined as “[p]ayment 9 device processing services.”3 In turn, “[p]ayment [d]evice” is defined as “any device or method 10 used for the purpose of obtaining credit or debiting a designated account, including a [c]redit 11 [c]ard, [d]ebit [c]ard, and any other financial transaction device or method . . . that is now or 12 hereafter utilized to effect [t]ransactions.”4 Schedule C to the agreement includes equipment 13 pricing, including for the Equinox L5200 terminals at issue in this case.5 14 The Master Agreement limits liability with a monetary cap on damages and a prohibition

15 of consequential damages.6 The agreement’s integration clause provides that the “agreement 16 represents the entire understanding among [ATMMS], Elavon, and [U.S. Bank National 17 Association] with respect to the matters contained herein and, except as provided in this 18 Agreement, it may be amended only by an instrument in writing signed by each of the parties 19

20 1 ECF No. 63 at 5. 21 2 ECF No. 60 at 8–9. 3 ECF No. 63 at 6–7. 22 4 Id. at 7. 23 5 Id. at 20. 6 Id. at 13. 1 hereto.”7 And the choice-of-law-provision requires that the agreement be “governed by and 2 construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia.”8 3 In 2012, credit- and debit- card issuers announced that that they would migrate to a new 4 technology called EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa).9 The technology uses cards embedded 5 with computer chips in order to enhance fraud protection.10 As part of the transition to EMV,

6 liability for disputed transactions (chargebacks) shifted on October 1, 2015, from the card’s 7 issuing bank to merchants, if the merchant was unable to process EMV transactions.11 8 Elavon told ATMMS to purchase Equinox L5200 terminals, promising that they would 9 be EMV-compliant and EMV-enabled.12 And Elavon made numerous representations that it, 10 and the Equinox L5200 terminal, would be EMV-ready by the crucial shift in liability.13 Elavon 11 purchased 197 terminals in reliance on these representations.14 12 Elavon knew that ATMMS had casino clients that relied on receiving cash back via credit 13 services.15 Elavon also knew that PIN-debit transactions were “crucial to the application that 14 ATMMS has in the casinos.”16 But throughout 2014 and 2015, Elavon representatives

15 communicated multiple delays in making the Equinox L5200 terminals ready for EMV 16

17 7 Id. at 17. 18 8 Id. 9 ECF No. 64-2 at 20. 19 10 Id. at 11. 20 11 Id. at 5–6. 21 12 ECF No. 64-2 at 10. 13 ECF No. 64-4 at 4, 10–20. 22 14 ECF No. 64-2 at 26; ECF No. 64-4 at 38. 23 15 ECF No. 64-3 at 14; ECF No. 64-1 at 10. 16 ECF No. 64-3 at 28. 1 transactions, culminating in an announcement that the terminals would never be EMV-capable.17 2 Elavon’s 30(b)(6) witness described the continual delays as “moving-target development,” 3 explaining that “when we would give dates, those are target dates; and then based on 4 development and priority, those target dates would shift and then we would communicate that 5 back to ATMMS.”18

6 By the time of the liability shift, Elavon “could not process an EMV PIN-debit 7 transaction” through the platform used by ATMMS.19 Elavon sold ATMMS replacement 8 Ingenico isc250 terminals at a discount,20 but, at the time of the filing of these motions, those 9 terminals could not process PIN-debit transactions through the platform used by ATMMS.21 10 Elavon was aware that ATMMS was losing business due to the delays, and that ATMMS’s 11 ability to bid new business was impacted by the delays.22 12 Discussion 13 I. Cross-motions for summary judgment [ECF Nos. 59, 62, 64] 14 Elavon moves for summary judgment on all of ATMMS’s claims.23 ATMMS moves for

15 partial summary judgment on its claims for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, intentional 16 interference with contractual relations, and intentional interference with business relations.24 17

18 17 ECF No. 64-4 at 20, 29–30, 35–38. 19 18 ECF No. 64-2 at 9. 19 ECF No. 64-1 at 70. 20 20 ECF No. 70 at 135. 21 21 See ECF No. 64-1 at 18. 22 22 ECF No. 64-3 at 33. 23 ECF No. 59 (redacted motion for summary judgment); ECF No. 62 (sealed motion for 23 summary judgment). 24 ECF No. 64. 1 2 A. Summary-judgment standard 3 The principal purpose of the summary-judgment procedure is to isolate and dispose of 4 factually unsupported claims or defenses.25 The moving party bears the initial responsibility of 5 presenting the basis for its motion and identifying the portions of the record or affidavits that

6 demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.26 If the moving party satisfies its 7 burden with a properly supported motion, the burden then shifts to the opposing party to present 8 specific facts that show a genuine issue for trial.27 9 Who bears the burden of proof on the factual issue in question is critical. When the party 10 moving for summary judgment would bear the burden of proof at trial (typically the plaintiff), “it 11 must come forward with evidence [that] would entitle it to a directed verdict if the evidence went 12 uncontroverted at trial.”28 Once the moving party establishes the absence of a genuine issue of 13 fact on each issue material to its case, “the burden then moves to the opposing party, who must 14 present significant probative evidence tending to support its claim or defense.”29 When instead

15 the opposing party would have the burden of proof on a dispositive issue at trial, the moving 16 party (typically the defendant) doesn’t have to produce evidence to negate the opponent’s claim; 17 it merely has to point out the evidence that shows an absence of a genuine material factual 18 19 25 Celotex Corp. v.

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JB Carter Enterprises, LLC v. Elavon, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jb-carter-enterprises-llc-v-elavon-inc-nvd-2020.