Nippon Yusen Kaisha v. Fil Lines USA Inc.

977 F. Supp. 2d 343, 2014 A.M.C. 553, 2013 WL 5663080, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150257
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedOctober 18, 2013
DocketNo. 12 Civ. 6643(GWG)
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 977 F. Supp. 2d 343 (Nippon Yusen Kaisha v. Fil Lines USA Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nippon Yusen Kaisha v. Fil Lines USA Inc., 977 F. Supp. 2d 343, 2014 A.M.C. 553, 2013 WL 5663080, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150257 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GABRIEL W. GORENSTEIN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Plaintiff Nippon Yusen Kaisha, a.k.a. NYK Line (“Nippon” or “NYK”), brought this action against defendant FIL Lines USA Inc. (“FIL”) to recover freight charges incurred in the transport of cargo from ports in India to Los Angeles and New York. Nippon now moves for summary judgment against FIL.1 Nippon also seeks entry of a final judgment under Rule 54(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The parties have consented to having this matter decided by a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).

I. BACKGROUND

A. Procedural History

Nippon filed the original complaint in this action on August 30, 2012. See Complaint, filed Aug. 30, 2012 (Docket # 1) (“Compl.”). After FIL answered, it filed a third-party complaint against LCL Shipping Services Pvt. Ltd. (“LCL”) and Freight India Logistics Pvt. Ltd. (“Freight India”), both of which FIL alleges are liable in indemnity and/or contribution for the amounts Nippon seeks. See Third Party Complaint Pursuant to Rule 14(c), filed March 29, 2013 (Docket # 8) (“Third Party Compl.”). To date, no affidavit of service has been filed as to either third-party defendant. Shortly after moving for summary judgment, Nippon filed an amended complaint that alleged additional charges that had accrued against FIL. See First Amended Complaint, filed June 11, 2013 (Docket # 18) (“Am. Compl.”).

B. Facts

The following facts are undisputed unless otherwise stated.

Nippon is an “an ocean common carrier of goods in the foreign commerce of the United States” and is licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission. Am. Compl. ¶ 2. FIL is a nonvessel operating common carrier and is also licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission. Def. 56.1 Stat. ¶ 6. There are 24 bills of lading at issue, which reflect the carriage of goods [347]*347between ports in India and either Los Angeles or New York. See Bills of Lading (annexed as Ex. D to Bertot Deck).2 On each of the bills of lading, FIL’s name is listed in the spaces labeled “Consignee.” Id. FIL also appears in the space labeled “Notify Party.” Id. In the space labeled “Shipper/Exporter,” the name of either LCL or Freight India appears. Id.

Clause 23(6) on the reverse side of the bill of lading reads: “The parties defined herein as the Merchant shall be jointly and severally liable to the Carrier for payment of all freight and charges and for the performance of the obligation of each of them thereunder.” See Reverse Side Terms and Conditions, (annexed as Ex. F to Bertot Deck), Clause 23(6). The “Definition” section on the reverse side defines “Merchant” as “the Shipper, consignor, consignee, owner and receiver of the Goods, and the holder of this Bill and any other person acting on their behalf.” Id., Clause 1.

Nippon sent FIL 24 invoices for shipping charges based on the bills of lading. See Invoices (annexed as Ex. E to Bertot Deck). None of these invoices contain the names of LCL or Freight India. Each invoice contains a bill of lading number that matches one of the bills of lading. See Invoices (annexed as Ex. E to Bertot Deck); Bertot Deck ¶ 6. FIL’s name is listed in these invoices in the space labeled “Invoice To.” Id. The invoices were sent to FIL by email. Id. FIL paid $1,499.00 toward one of the invoices. Id. ¶ 15; Schedule of Charges (affixed as Ex. C to Bertot Deck). Nippon has “no record that [FIL] ever disputed the amounts due.” Id. 1111. “Rather, it pleaded cash flow problems and asked for additional time to pay----” Id. $66,750.02 remains due to Nippon for the shipments. See Schedule of Charges (affixed as Ex. C to Bertot Deck). FIL’s managing director, Ramesh Krishnan, states that any payments were made “as agent for and on behalf of the shippers, LCL and [India] Freight.” Krishnan Deck ¶ 15.

FIL did not take actual delivery of any of the materials shipped and assumes they were accepted by the “ultimate consignees,” Krishnan Deck ¶ 14 — that is, LCL and India Freight. FIL states that “NYK was aware at all material times that FIL was not the receiver or the ultimate consignee of any of the goods.” Id. ¶ 13. Krishnan also states that Nippon was aware that FIL was “only a nominal consignee and notify party on behalf of LCL and [India] Freight....” Id. ¶ 13. The basis for Krishnan’s statements is the fact that the “ship to” and “customer” boxes entered on NYK’s invoices contain the phrase “DO NOT USE Fil Lines USA.” Id.; see also Invoices (affixed as Ex. E to Bertot Deck).

II. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION

28 U.S.C. § 1333(1) provides original and exclusive federal court jurisdiction over “[a]ny civil case of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction.” To ascertain whether a contract comes within maritime jurisdiction, courts look at the “nature and character of the contract” and ask “whether it has reference to maritime service or maritime transactions.” Norfolk S. Ry. Co. v. Kirby, 543 U.S. 14, 24, 125 S.Ct. 385, 160 L.Ed.2d 283 (2004) (citations omitted). A contract is maritime in nature when its “primary objective is to accomplish the [348]*348transportation of goods by sea” from a foreign port to a port in the United States. Id. Here, the relevant contracts — Nippon’s bills of lading- — govern shipments of cargo from India to Los Angeles and New York. Thus, they are maritime in nature and Nippon has properly invoked this Court’s subject matter jurisdiction. See, e.g., Thypin Steel Co. v. Asoma Corp., 215 F.3d 273, 277 (2d Cir.2000) (“A bill of lading for ocean carriage is a maritime contract.”); Korea Exp. USA, Inc. v. K.K.D. Imp., Inc., 103 F.Supp.2d 682, 686 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) (finding maritime jurisdiction over suit for unpaid freight charges based on bills of lading).

III. LAW APPLICABLE TO MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Rule 56(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states that summary judgment is appropriate when “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.” A genuine issue of material fact exists “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, “[t]he evidence of the non-movant is to be believed” and the court must draw “all justifiable inferences” in favor of the nonmoving party. Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citing Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co.,

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977 F. Supp. 2d 343, 2014 A.M.C. 553, 2013 WL 5663080, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nippon-yusen-kaisha-v-fil-lines-usa-inc-nysd-2013.