Leonard v. Golden Touch Transportation of New York, Inc.

144 F. Supp. 3d 640, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155760
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedNovember 18, 2015
DocketCiv. No. 15-02084 (WHW)(CLW)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 144 F. Supp. 3d 640 (Leonard v. Golden Touch Transportation of New York, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Leonard v. Golden Touch Transportation of New York, Inc., 144 F. Supp. 3d 640, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155760 (D.N.J. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

Walls, Senior District Judge

Plaintiff Flora Leonard claims that Defendants Golden Touch Transportation of New York, Incorporated (“Golden Touch”), United Airlines Incorporated, and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (“Port Authority”) were negligently responsible for an injury she suffered at Newark Liberty International Airport. Plaintiff moves to amend the complaint to assert a claim against a new defendant, correct the spelling of Defendant United Airlines (currently captioned as “United Air Lines”), and include a new claim for relief by her daughter, Plaintiff Karen Velazquez. Defendants have submitted an opposition to the motion to amend and a cross-motion to dismiss the claim against the Port Authority under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. The Court decides the cross-motion to dismiss here and refers the motion to amend/correct the complaint to Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor. The Court decides the motion to dismiss without oral argument. Fed. R. Civ. P. 78. Defendants’ motion is denied.

PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL HISTORY

Plaintiff Flora Leonard, a resident of the State of Virginia, filed this action on March 23, 2015, alleging that Defendants were negligently responsible for an injury she suffered while attempting to board a shuttle bus at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey (“Newark Airport”) and seeking reasonable damages, counsel fees, interest, and costs of suit. Complaint, ECF No. 1. The complaint alleges that, on or about August 6, 2014,1 Leonard was a passenger on a United Airlines flight from Norfolk, Virginia destined for the United Kingdom and was required to transfer flights via shuttle bus at Newark Airport, “the premises of which are owned, operated, occupied, managed, inspected, held in trust, and/or maintained by” the Port Authority. Id. at 3 ¶ 1. The complaint does not specify exactly how Leonard was injured but alleges that she was a passenger on an “airline vehicle transportation service” bus operated by Golden Touch, which had been granted a privilege permit to operate at Newark Airport by the Port Authority. Id. at 6-7 ¶ 2. The parties agree that Plaintiff “tried to step onto a Golden Touch shuttle bus and fell on the bus steps, cutting her leg.” Def. Cross-Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 21-2 at 1. Defendants filed an answer and request for a statement of damages on May 4, 2015. ECF No. 9. The parties submitted a joint discovery plan on June 10, 2015. ECF No. 13.

On August 27, 2015, Leonard filed an amended complaint and proposed order granting permission to file an amended complaint. ECF No. 15 (terminated). The filings were rejected because they did not include a motion to amend/correct the complaint. On August 31, 2015, Leonard filed a second motion to amend/correct the complaint. ECF No. 18. Leonard seeks to (a) correct the spelling of Defendant United Air Lines, Inc., (b) correct the date of the alleged occurrence, (c) assert an additional claim for negligence against new defendant Gateway Security, Inc.,, a New Jersey corporation, and (d) assert a claim for relief against all Defendants by her daughter, Karen Velazquez, who allegedly boarded the shuttle bus ahead of Leonard [643]*643and “was made immediately aware of her mother’s injuries.” P. Mem. Supp. Second Mot. Amend Complaint, ECF No. 18 at 2.

Defendants submitted a letter on August 31, 2015 requesting permission to file a cross-motion to dismiss the Port Authority from this matter with prejudice. ECF No. 19. The Court issued an order permitting Defendants to file the cross-motion on September 2, 2015. ECF No. 20.

Defendants filed a joint cross-motion to dismiss the claim against Port Authority with prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 and opposition to Plaintiffs second motion to amend the complaint on September 21, 2015. ECF No. 21-2. Defendants argue that the Court should grant summary judgment in favor of the Port Authority because it was an “out-of-possession commercial landlord” and owed no duty of care to Plaintiff at the time of her injury. Defendants point to the “privilege permit” issued by the Port Authority to Golden Touch, which gave Golden Touch the non-exclusive privilege to operate bus services at Newark Airport and which Defendants claim required Golden Touch to (a) assume all responsibility for maintenance and repair of its equipment and operating area and (b) indemnify the Port Authority for all claims caused by the negligence of Golden Touch.

Plaintiff filed a brief in opposition to the motion to dismiss on October 19, 2015, ECF No. 23, and Defendants submitted a reply brief in support of their motion on October 26, 2015. ECF No. 25.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate where “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 factual dispute between the parties must be both genuine and material to defeat a motion for summary judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A disputed fact is material where it would affect the outcome of the suit under the relevant substantive law. Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007). A dispute is genuine where a rational trier of fact could return a verdict for the non-movant. Id.

The movant bears the initial burden to demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Beard v. Banks, 548 U.S. 521, 529, 126 S.Ct. 2572, 165 L.Ed.2d 697 (2006). Once the movant has carried this burden, the non-movant “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts” in question. Scott, 550 U.S. at 380, 127 S.Ct. 1769 (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). Each party must support its position by “citing to particular parts of materials in the record ... or showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1). Facts must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party only if there is a genuine dispute as to those facts. Scott, 550 U.S. at 380, 127 S.Ct. 1769. At this stage, “the judge’s function is not ... to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

“[A] party may file a motion for summary judgment at any time until 30 days after the close of all discovery.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(b). A “district court e[an] dismiss for failure to state a claim upon motion for summary judgment, but a motion so decided is functionally equivalent to a motion to dismiss.” Bogosian v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Movora LLC v. Gendreau
Superior Court of Delaware, 2025
RUSSELL v. CITY OF BAYONNE
D. New Jersey, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
144 F. Supp. 3d 640, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155760, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leonard-v-golden-touch-transportation-of-new-york-inc-njd-2015.