Moore v. Walter Coke, Inc.

294 F.R.D. 620, 86 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1149, 2013 WL 5519508, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140984
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedSeptember 30, 2013
DocketNo. 2:11-cv-1391-SLB
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 294 F.R.D. 620 (Moore v. Walter Coke, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moore v. Walter Coke, Inc., 294 F.R.D. 620, 86 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1149, 2013 WL 5519508, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140984 (N.D. Ala. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SHARON LOVELACE BLACKBURN, Chief Judge.

This case is before the court on defendant, Walter Coke, Inc.’s Motion for Partial Dismissal of Plaintiffs Second Amended Class Action Complaint, (doc. 22), and plaintiff, Louise Moore’s Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint, (doc. 26).1 Upon consideration of the motions, the supporting and opposing memoranda, arguments of counsel and the relevant law, the court finds, for the reasons stated below, that defendant’s Motion is due to be denied and plaintiffs Motion is due to be granted.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

A defendant may move to dismiss a complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) if the plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. To survive a 12(b)(6) motion, the complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations;” however, the “plaintiffs obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (internal citations omitted).2 “Factual allegations [623]*623must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).” Id. The plaintiff must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570,127 S.Ct. 1955.

“When considering a motion to dismiss, all facts set forth in plaintiffs complaint ‘are to be accepted as true and the court limits its consideration to the pleadings and exhibits attached thereto.’” Grossman v. Nationsbank, N.A., 225 F.3d 1228, 1231 (11th Cir.2000) (per curiam) (quoting GSW, Inc. v. Long Cnty., 999 F.2d 1508, 1510 (11th Cir. 1993)). All “reasonable inferences” are drawn in favor of the plaintiff. St. George v. Pinellas Cnty., 285 F.3d 1334, 1337 (11th Cir.2002). “[U]nsupported conclusions of law or of mixed fact and law have long been recognized not to prevent a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal.” Dalrymple v. Reno, 334 F.3d 991, 996 (11th Cir.2003) (quoting Marsh v. Butler Cnty., Ala., 268 F.3d 1014, 1036 n. 16 (11th Cir.2001)).

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a resident citizen of Jefferson County, Alabama, and defendant is a Delaware Corporation that operates facilities in Jefferson County, Alabama, where it produces “furnace and foundry coke and slag fiber.” (doc. 20 ¶ 7). Plaintiff alleges that as a result of its manufacturing operations, defendant has deposited “various waste substances” 3 onto her property and has caused these substances to migrate onto her land through air emissions, surface water, and discharge into waterways. (Id. ¶¶ 10-12.) She claims that as a result, her property has been contaminated and its value has been reduced. (Id. ¶ 14.) Therefore, she requests, on behalf of herself and the class she seeks to represent, (id. ¶4), damages “for the time period from March 2, 1995 to the present,” (id. ¶ 15). She further alleges that remediation is needed “to remove the hazardous substances referenced herein,” (id. ¶ 14), because they “remain on [her] property and continue to cause damage,” (id. ¶ 15).

Procedural Background

This is the second Motion to Dismiss in this case. Originally, on June 6, 2011, plaintiff, on behalf of herself and a proposed class, filed her first Amended Class Action Complaint, asserting the same state law claims of negligence, wantonness, nuisance, trespass, and a claim for injunctive relief. (See doc. 6 1HI24h-48.) Defendant subsequently moved to dismiss the Complaint for (1) untimeliness under Alabama’s twenty-year common law rule of repose; (2) failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23; and (3) failure to meet the pleading standards of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2). (Doc. 9 at 1-2.) This court granted defendant’s motion on the grounds that plaintiff failed to sufficiently plead an ascertainable class in accordance with the requirements of Rule 23. (See doc. 18 at 2.) However, the court explicitly gave plaintiff leave to amend her class allegation. (Id.) Notably, the court did “not address defendant’s argu[624]*624ment addressing whether plaintiff satisfied] the four explicit Rule 23 requirements.” (Doc. 18 at 31.)4

The court also dismissed plaintiffs injunctive relief count because it failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted (specifically, the court said that plaintiff had not pled the elements of injunctive relief — namely, inadequate remedy at law and irreparable harm). (Id. at 40.) The Order entered contemporaneously with the Memorandum Opinion stated that “[defendant’s Motion to Dismiss on the basis of plaintiffs failure to sufficiently plead an ascertainable class is GRANTED,” and that “[djefendant’s Motion to Dismiss regarding plaintiffs claim for injunctive relief is GRANTED. Plaintiffs claim for injunctive relief is DISMISSED.” (Doc. 19 at 1-2.) It further stated that “[pjlaintiff is granted leave to amend her Complaint and is DIRECTED to file a complete and fully integrated complaint----” (Doe. 19 at 2.) This has apparently created some confusion as to whether the court allowed plaintiff to replead her injunctive relief claim. In accordance with the court’s instructions, plaintiff filed her Second Amended Complaint on October 29, 2012, again asserting the same state law claims of negligence, wantonness, nuisance, trespass, and a claim for injunctive relief. (Doc. 20 ¶ 1.)

Defendant’s Motion for Partial Dismissal

Defendant has filed a Motion for Partial Dismissal of Plaintiffs Second Amended Class Action Complaint, (doe. 22), and brief in support, (doc. 22-1), alleging that (1) plaintiff has again failed to plead an ascertainable class; (2) plaintiff has failed to plead a class that meets the substantive requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b) (focusing on predominance); (3) plaintiff has again failed to allege any of the Rule 23(a) requirements; and (4) plaintiffs injunctive relief claim should be dismissed because the court never granted her leave to replead that particular count, and because she only added a formulaic recitation of the elements to the claim. (Doc. 22 at 1-2; doc. 22-1 at 5,12,19, 20.) Plaintiff conceded in her Opposition, (doc. 25 at 20), that she did not ask the court for leave to replead her claim for injunctive relief, and simultaneously filed a Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint, (doc. 26), regarding the injunctive relief claim. Defendant has filed a Response in Opposition to the Motion for Leave to Amend. (Doc. 27.)

DISCUSSION

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294 F.R.D. 620, 86 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1149, 2013 WL 5519508, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140984, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moore-v-walter-coke-inc-alnd-2013.