Long v. M & M Transportation, LLC

44 F. Supp. 3d 636, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123916, 2014 WL 4388337
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. West Virginia
DecidedSeptember 5, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 3:13-CV-65
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 44 F. Supp. 3d 636 (Long v. M & M Transportation, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Long v. M & M Transportation, LLC, 44 F. Supp. 3d 636, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123916, 2014 WL 4388337 (N.D.W. Va. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ REVISED MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING AS MOOT DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

GINA M. GROH, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court for consideration of the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Par[640]*640tial Summary Judgment [ECF 130], the Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF 128] of Defendants M & M Transportation, LLC (“M & M”), Kevin E. Miller, Kenneth Andrew Miller (“Andy Miller”), Peggy Miller, and Miller & Sons Auto and Truck Repair, Inc. (“Miller & Sons”), and the Defendants’ Revised Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF 147]. For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS the Defendants’ Revised Motion for Summary Judgment, DENIES the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, and DENIES AS MOOT the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment.

I. Background1

M & M is a trucking business owned by Andy, Kevin, and Peggy Miller (“the Miller Defendants”). In addition to owning M & M, Andy Miller is an employee of Miller & Sons, another trucking business. Kenneth Albert Miller, Jr. owns Miller & Sons.

M & M hired Christopher Tyler Long (“Tyler Long”) as a mechanic. Tyler Long had been dating Kevin Miller’s daughter, Angela Miller, and lived with Angela Miller and Kevin Miller’s parents. Andy Miller trained Tyler Long for this position. One of Tyler Long’s duties at M & M was to mount truck tires. M & M did not provide its mechanics with a cage or other restraining device to use when mounting truck tires. When training Tyler Long, Andy Miller did not instruct him to use such a device.

On March 3, 2013, Michael Mongold called M & M to repair a tire on his truck and spoke to Andy Miller. Andy Miller dispatched Tyler Long to perform this job. The job required that Tyler Long mount a tire on a single-piece rim wheel. Tyler Long did not use a cage or other restraining device when doing so. When he was mounting the tire, the tire exploded and severely injured him.

Due to this incident, Tyler Long was hospitalized and underwent physical rehabilitation. His parents, Christopher Emmett Long (“Emmett Long”) and Edy Long, cared for him during this time. The Plaintiffs allege that Emmett and Edy Long directed the Miller Defendants to not contact Tyler Long, but the Miller Defendants did anyway by telephone and social media, through a hospital employee, and by visiting the place of Tyler Long’s physical rehabilitation. The Plaintiffs maintain that the Miller Defendants sought to dissuade Tyler Long from making any claims regarding the incident. On April 3, 2013, after these alleged events, the Plaintiffs’ counsel sent the Miller Defendants a letter directing them to not contact Tyler Long.

Based on the foregoing events, Tyler Long, Emmett Long, and Edy Long initiated this case against M & M, Miller & Sons, and the Miller Defendants. Their complaint raised deliberate intent, negligence, and outrage claims and allegations concerning loss of consortium, respondeat superior, joint venture, civil conspiracy, and veil piercing.

On November 27, 2013, M & M and the Miller Defendants filed a motion for partial judgment on the pleadings. On January 7, 2014, Miller & Sons filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, and the Plaintiffs moved for leave to file an amended complaint. The Plaintiffs sought to add a conversion claim concerning property of Tyler Long, to add the Miller Defendants to the deliberate intent claim, and to revise their respondeat superior, joint venture, civil conspiracy, and veil piercing allegations.

[641]*641On April 30, 2014, the Court granted in part the motion for leave to file an amended complaint and denied the motions for judgment on the pleadings as moot. The Court held that amending the respondeat superior and veil piercing allegations was futile. As such, the Court denied the motion to amend those allegations and ordered the Plaintiffs to file an amended complaint consistent with the Court’s Order by May 14, 2014.

Because April 30, 2014 was also the dispositive motions deadline, the Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and the Defendants filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. On May 14, 2014, the Plaintiffs filed their amended complaint. Their complaint raises the following claims and allegations: (1) deliberate intent under West Virginia Code § 23-4-2(d)(2)(ii) against M & M and the Miller Defendants; (2) negligence against all Defendants except Peggy Miller; (3) outrage against the Miller Defendants; (4) conversion and civil theft against the Miller Defendants; (5) loss of consortium; (6) joint venture; and (7) civil conspiracy.

On June 20, 2014, the Court granted the parties leave to file revised motions for summary judgment. The Court found good cause to do so because, as the motions deadline passed before the Plaintiffs filed their amended complaint, the parties did not have an opportunity to move for summary judgment as to the conversion claim and deliberate intent claim against the Miller Defendants. The Defendants then filed a Revised Motion for Summary Judgment. The Plaintiffs did not file a revised motion.

II. Standard of Review

A court should grant summary judgment “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A genuine issue exists “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Thus, a court determines “whether there is the need for a trial-whether, in other words, there are any genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party.” Id. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

The party opposing summary judgment “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). That is, once the movant has met its burden to show an absence of material fact, the non-moving party must come forward with affidavits or other evidence demonstrating there is indeed a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56; Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. “If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citations omitted).

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Bluebook (online)
44 F. Supp. 3d 636, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123916, 2014 WL 4388337, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/long-v-m-m-transportation-llc-wvnd-2014.