Manhattan Motorcars, Inc. v. Automobili Lamborghini

244 F.R.D. 204, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49641, 2007 WL 1988144
District Court, S.D. New York·Decided July 9, 2007·No. No. 07 Civ. 978(SAS)·Published·Cited by 65 cases

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

SHEINDLIN, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Manhattan Motorcars, Inc. (“Manhattan”) brings this diversity action1 against Automobili Lamborghini, S.p.A. (“Lamborghini” or “Defendant”) claiming common-law fraud, breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent misrepresentation, violation of the New York Franchised Motor Vehicle Dealer Act, and account stated.2 The claims arise from the circumstances surrounding Manhattan’s operation of a Lamborghini dealership and its attempts to expand dealership operations into Westhampton, New York. Manhattan seeks over fifty million dollars in damages, as well as five million dollars in punitive damages. Lamborghini now moves to dismiss all claims brought against it for failure to satisfy Rules 9(b) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Manhattan opposes this motion. For the following reasons, defendant’s motion to dismiss is granted in part and denied in part.

II. BACKGROUND3

A. The Parties

Manhattan, a New York corporation,4 “is a dealer and seller of expensive, unique and top of the line automobiles including Rolls [210]*210Royce, Bentley, Porsche, and Lamborghini, with its primary showroom located at 270 Eleventh Avenue, New York .5 Lamborghini is an Italian-based company which manufactures and sells the Lamborghini automobile through dealerships located throughout the world, including New York.6

B. The 1996 Agreement

In 1996, Lamborghini sought to induce Manhattan to enter into a dealer agreement with it for the marketing and sale of Lamborghini automobiles from plaintiffs Manhattan showroom.7 In order to induce Manhattan to become a dealer, Lamborghini, through its representatives, advised Manhattan’s president and owner, Brian Miller, that if Manhattan became a dealer, it would have “an exclusive territory in and throughout New York State for the marketing and sale of Lamborghini vehicles for as long as [Manhattan] acted as a dealer.”8 According to Manhattan, this representation was a necessary inducement due to the unique nature of the Lamborghini automobile, which bears a price tag “well in excess of $150,000”9 as well as high insurance and maintenance costs.10 These factors result in a limited market for the Lamborghini automobile.11 In fact, competition is so “stiff’ among dealers that a reduction in sales volume of even a few vehicles has the potential to “significantly impair the revenues and profitability” of a Lamborghini dealership.12 Moreover, Lamborghini allegedly requires its dealers to satisfy “exacting design, construction and showroom standards in order to maintain the prestige and special image of the Lamborghini.”13 The costs of compliance with these standards, which are borne by the dealers, are “substantial.”14 As a result of these considerations, Lamborghini allegedly must offer potential dealers an exclusive territory in order to persuade them to enter into dealer agreements, which would likely be unprofitable otherwise.15

Manhattan alleges that without the assurance of exclusivity in New York, it would not have entered into a dealer agreement with Lamborghini.16 In 1996, in reliance upon Lamborghini’s alleged representations regarding exclusive territory in New York, Manhattan entered into a written dealer agreement with Lamborghini (“1996 Agreement”).17 The 1996 Agreement, however, makes no mention of exclusivity or territory.18 Between 1996 and 2005, Manhattan served as the sole Lamborghini dealer in New York State.19

Since the 1996 Agreement was originally entered into by the parties, it has been renewed from time to time.20 The most recent incarnation of the Agreement was entered into on September 1, 2005 (“2005 Agreement”).21 The 2005 Agreement contains an integration clause, which states: “[t]his Agreement is the entire and sole agreement and understanding between the parties [and] terminates and supersedes any and all other [211]*211prior agreements between the parties, whether oral or in writing.”22

C. The Westhampton Facility

On January 16, 2004, Manhattan and Lamborghini entered into a written Letter of Intent, in which Lamborghini “consented” to Manhattan’s construction of a new facility in Westhampton, New York for the sale and service of Lamborghini automobiles.23 The Letter of Intent designated the new facility as a satellite of plaintiffs Manhattan dealership,24 and stated that “an addendum to the main contract would be drafted and signed to reflect Lamborghini’s acceptance of the proposed additional location in Long Island.”25 Lamborghini represented to Miller, both before and after the signing of the Letter of Intent, that plaintiffs Westhampton facility would “be the sole dealership selling Lamborghinis in Long Island____”26 Manhattan relied on these representations in that it would not have signed the Letter of Intent had it known that it would not have exclusive dealer rights on Long Island.27

After signing the Letter of Intent, Manhattan “expended several million dollars to renovate a temporary facility for the Westhampton dealership and then to build a new, permanent facility in Westhampton ----”28 Lamborghini was aware of these expenditures since 2004.29 In September 2005, Lamborghini “changed course” and “insisted” that the Westhampton facility be operated as a separate dealership by Manhattan, rather than as a satellite facility of the Manhattan dealership.30

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Manhattan Motorcars, Inc. v. Automobili Lamborghini, 244 F.R.D. 204, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49641, 2007 WL 1988144 (S.D.N.Y. 2007).

244 F.R.D. 204 (Manhattan Motorcars, Inc. v. Automobili Lamborghini) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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