Missouri River Historical Development, Inc. v. Penn National Gaming, Inc.

283 F.R.D. 501, 83 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 285, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99055, 2012 WL 2921509
District Court, N.D. Iowa·Decided July 17, 2012·No. No. 12-CV-4007-LRR·Published

Opinion

ORDER

LINDA R. READE, Chief Judge.

[503] TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION........................................................503

II. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND ..........................................503

III. STANDARDS OF REVIEW...............................................503

IV. FACTUAL BACKGROUND ...............................................504

A. Players .............................................................504

B. Operating Agreement.................................................504

C. Renewal Negotiations................................................505

D. Penn’s Communications with Other Operators..........................505

V. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION......................................505

A. Failure to Join an Indispensable Party................................506

1. Necessary party..................................................506

a. Parties’arguments ...........................................506

b. Applicable law................................................506

c. Discussion...................................................507

2. Whether nonparty can be joined...................................508

3. Whether action can continue in equity and good conscience..........508

a. Rule 19(b) factors.............................................509

b. Additional factors.............................................511

B. Failure to Plead Jurisdictional Amount................................511

IV. FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM .... .....................................511

VII. CONCLUSION.................... .....................................511

I. INTRODUCTION

The matter before the court is Defendant Penn National Gaming, Inc.’s (“Penn”) “Motion to Dismiss” (“Motion”) (docket no. 17).

II. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On January 12, 2012, Plaintiff Missouri River Historical Development, Inc. (“MRHD”) filed a Complaint (docket no. 2). Count I of the Complaint alleges that Penn interfered with MRHD’s prospective business relationship with other casino operators. Count II of the Complaint alleges that Penn engaged in unfair competition with other casino operators. Count III of the Complaint asks the court to enter a preliminary injunction against Penn enjoining Penn from interfering with MRHD’s prospective business advantage with other casino operators and from engaging in efforts to exclude competition with other casino operators.

On February 3, 2012, Penn filed the Motion on the grounds that MRHD failed to join an indispensable party, failed to plead the requisite amount in controversy to support diversity jurisdiction and failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. On February 21, 2012, MRHD filed a Resistance (docket no. 22). On March 2, 2012, Penn filed a Reply (docket no. 23). The parties did not request a hearing on the Motion and the court finds that a hearing is unnecessary. The matter is fully submitted and ready for decision.

III. STANDARDS OF REVIEW

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) provides for dismissal on the basis of “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a “complaint must contain sufficient factual matter ... to ‘state a claim to 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 Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)); accord B & B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Indus., Inc., 569 F.3d 383, 387 (8th Cir.2009). When considering a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Coons v. Mineta, 410 F.3d 1036, 1039 (8th Cir.2005) (“When ruling on a motion to dismiss, the court must accept the allegations contained in the complaint as true and draw [504] all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party.”).

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) provides that a party may raise the defense of “lack of subject-matter jurisdiction” in a motion before answering the complaint filed in any action. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). As subject matter jurisdiction is a threshold consideration, the court has “ ‘broader power to decide its own right to hear the ease than it has when the merits of the ease are reached.’ ” Bellecourt v. United States, 994 F.2d 427, 430 (8th Cir.1993) (quoting Osborn v. United States, 918 F.2d 724, 729 (8th Cir.1990)). When considering a Rule 12(b)(1) motion for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the court does not grant the same deference to the nonmoving party and has broader power to decide jurisdictional issues than when considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). “Jurisdictional issues, whether they involve questions of law or fact, are for the court to decide.” Osborn, 918 F.2d at 729.

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Missouri River Historical Development, Inc. v. Penn National Gaming, Inc., 283 F.R.D. 501, 83 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 285, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99055, 2012 WL 2921509 (N.D. Iowa 2012).

283 F.R.D. 501 (Missouri River Historical Development, Inc. v. Penn National Gaming, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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