Knauer v. Kitchens (In re Eastern Livestock Co.)

547 B.R. 277, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 855, 62 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 103
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedMarch 18, 2016
DocketCase No. 10-93904-BHL-11; Adv. Proc. No. 13-59021
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 547 B.R. 277 (Knauer v. Kitchens (In re Eastern Livestock Co.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Knauer v. Kitchens (In re Eastern Livestock Co.), 547 B.R. 277, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 855, 62 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 103 (Ind. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

Basil H. Lorch III, United States Bankruptcy Judge

The Trustee, James A. Knauer (the “Trustee”) initiated this adversary proceeding on May 1, 2013, by filing the original complaint (the “Original Complaint”) which was later amended (the “Amended Complaint”) on July 10, 2014. It now comes before the Court on a Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 57) which was filed by Defendant, Stephen N. Kitchens (“Kitchens”) on August 4, 2014. The matter was fully briefed by October 13, 2014, and was taken under advisement at that time. After considering the foregoing, and for the reasons stated hereinbelow, the Court finds that Kitchens’ Motion to Dismiss should be DENIED-

Background

Eastern Livestock Co, LLC (“ELC” or the “Debtor”) is a company organized under the laws of Indiana with its principal place of business in New Albany, Indiana. It ceased operations in November of 2010 when its banking accounts were frozen and involuntary bankruptcy proceedings were initiated against it. Prior to that time, ELC was doing business as a livestock dealer. This adversary proceeding stems from the loss of ELC cattle which were in Kitchens’ custody and care in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Trustee, in his Original Complaint, asserted claims for (1) breach of promissory note, (2) recovery on loans and advances, and (3) unjust enrichment, all of which were based on monies owed to ELC for the death of cattle in Kitchens’ custody around January 15, 2008. In discovery, the Trustee learned that the indebtedness which he sought to recover from Kicthens was owed not pursuant to a promissory note but was instead owed pursuant to an alleged unwritten agreement between ELC and Kitchens for the feed and care of ELC cattle (the “Pasture Agreement”). The Trustee then moved the Court for leave to amend the complaint based on this new information. The Court granted the Trustee’s motion and ordered that the Amended Complaint relate back to the filing of the Original Complaint under Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 15(c)(2).

[280]*280The Amended Complaint asserts two claims arising out of the Pasture Agreement. Under the terms of that Agreement, Kitchens was obligated to provide feed, water, medicine, and veterinarian care for ELC cattle on his pasture land in Bowling Green, Kentucky. In exchange for such “background” services, ELC would pay Kitchens a yardage fee of $0.35 per day per head of cattle, additional compensation, and reimbursement for hay and medicine costs. Kitchens would also be responsible for compensating ELC for any death loss above 6% of ELC cattle.

According to the Amended Complaint, ELC learned of the death of 37.68% (404 of 1,072) of its cattle under Kitchens’ care in January 2008. Kitchens was to return a certain number of cattle to ELC during that month but instead Kitchens informed ELC that cattle had been stolen. Based on Kitchens’ representation, ELC reported the theft of about 100 head, of cattle to Kentucky State Police on January 22, 2008, and then sent an agent to Kitchens’ property to investigate the theft. ELC discovered that 100 head of cattle had not been stolen, but in actuality, 404 head of its cattle had died while under Kitchens’ care. On or about, January 15, 2008, Kitchens and ELC allegedly reached an unwritten settlement agreement whereby Kitchens promised to pay ELC a principal sum of $116,004.24 to compensate ELC for the death loss over 6% (the “Settlement Agreement”). As ELC has never been paid by Kitchens for the lost cattle, the Trustee’s Amended Complaint asserts claims for breach of the Pasture Agreement (Count II) and breach of the subsequent Settlement Agreement between the parties (Count I). Kitchens now moves to dismiss the Amended Complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).1

Discussion

The purpose of a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) is to test the sufficiency of the complaint, not to decide the merits. Triad Assocs., Inc. v. Chicago Hous. Authority, 892 F.2d 583, 586 (7th Cir.1989). In considering a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the Court accepts as true all well-pleaded facts in the plaintiffs complaint and draws all reasonable inferences from those facts in the plaintiffs favor. AnchorBank, FSB v. Hofer, 649 F.3d 610, 614 (7th Cir.2011). To survive a motion to dismiss, the complaint “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id.

Kitchens has moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) on the ground that the Trustee’s claims for breach of contract are time-barred. In his Motion to Dismiss, Kitchens asserts that (i) the Trustee’s claims are time-barred by the five-year Kentucky statute of limitations on oral contracts, which applies pursuant to Indiana’s “most significant contacts” test; or, (ii) if not, then the Trustee’s claims are time-barred by the five-year Kentucky statute of limitations by way of the Indiana “borrowing” statute; and, (iii) even if the longer six-year statute of limitations of Indiana or Tennessee applies, the Trustee’s claims are time-barred because the [281]*281Amended Complaint does not relate back to the filing of the Original Complaint. The Trustee, in addition to disputing Kitchens’ arguments in support of dismissal, suggests that Kitchens’ motion should be denied as improper because it is based on an affirmative defense.

While dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) for noncompliance with the statute of limitations is irregular, a motion to dismiss based on failure to comply with the statute of limitations may be granted where “the allegations of the complaint itself set forth everything necessary to satisfy the affirmative defense.” Chicago Bldg. Design, P.C. v. Mongolian House, Inc., 770 F.3d 610, 613 (7th Cir.2014) (quoting United States v. Lewis, 411 F.3d 838, 842 (7th Cir.2005)). In other words, the plaintiff must affirmatively plead himself out of court; the complaint must “plainly reveal that [the] action is untimely under the governing statute of limitations.” Id. The Court does not find Kitchens’ motion to be improper.

A. The Applicable Statute of Limitations

Although both parties argue that this Motion to Dismiss turns on which statute of limitations applies, neither party raises the unsettled and potentially determinative choice-of-law issue presented here. Both parties assert that the choice-of-law rules, of the forum state of Indiana apply in this ease, and then they disagree on the proper Indiana choice-of-law test and outcome.

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Bluebook (online)
547 B.R. 277, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 855, 62 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/knauer-v-kitchens-in-re-eastern-livestock-co-insb-2016.