Pike v. Nick's English Hut, Inc.

937 F. Supp. 2d 956, 2013 WL 1311149, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43179
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedMarch 27, 2013
DocketNo. 1:11-cv-01304-MJD-WTL
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 937 F. Supp. 2d 956 (Pike v. Nick's English Hut, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pike v. Nick's English Hut, Inc., 937 F. Supp. 2d 956, 2013 WL 1311149, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43179 (S.D. Ind. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [DKT. 59]

MARK J. DINSMORE, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Plaintiff Jon Pike. [Dkt. 59.] For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART Mr. Pike’s Motion.

BACKGROUND AND UNDISPUTED MATERIAL FACTS

This case involves a class action suit brought under the Electronic Funds transfer Act (“EFTA”). Plaintiff Jon Pike alleges that Defendant Nick’s English Hut, Inc. (“Nick’s”) failed to post a required notice on an ATM that charged a fee for transactions for the period of time between September 26, 2010 and September 26, 2011, when the Complaint was filed. The Court certified the class on January 14, 2013, and appointed Mr. Pike the class representative.

The following facts are undisputed. On or about September 27, 2010,' Mr. Pike used the ATM inside Nick’s, located at 423 E. Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, Indiana 47408 (“the ATM”), in order to withdraw cash for personal use. [Plaintiffs Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, Pike v. Nick’s English Hut, Inc., No. l:ll-cv-1304MJD-WTL (S.D.Ind. Nov. 2, 2012), ECF No. 60 (hereinafter Dkt. 60) at 60-2 at ¶¶ 4, 7.] Nick’s owned the ATM.1

The EFTA in effect at the time of the alleged acts relevant here, required that a notice informing a consumer of the fact that a fee is imposed and the amount of any such fee “shall be posted in a prominent and conspicuous location on or at the [ATM],...” 15 U.S.C. § 1693b(d)(3)(B)(i).2 The EFTA prohibited collecting a fee for which the required notice was not provided. 15 U.S.C. § 1693b(d)(3)(C). On September 27, 2010, the ATM did not have a fee notice sign affixed to it or in close proximity to it informing Mr. Pike that use of the ATM will or may result in an ATM surcharge. [Dkt. 60-2 at ¶ 5.] Mr. Pike was charged a $1.50 ATM surcharge fee for withdrawing cash from the Nick’s ATM. [Id. at ¶ 6.]

Nick’s has no photographs of the ATM during the class period. [Dkt. 60-6 at 10-11J

[959]*959 STANDARD OF REVIEW

A motion for summary judgment asks that the Court find that a trial based on the uncontroverted and admissible evidence is unnecessary because, as a matter of law, it would conclude in the moving party’s favor. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. To survive a motion for summary judgment, the non-moving party must set forth specific, admissible evidence, showing that there is a material issue for trial. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(e); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

As Rule 56 makes clear, whether a party asserts that a fact is undisputed or genuinely disputed, the party must support the asserted fact by citing to particular parts of the record, including depositions, documents, or affidavits. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(A). A party can also support a fact by showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute or that the adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(B) (2010). Affidavits or declarations must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show that the affiant is competent to testify on matters stated. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(4). Failure to properly support a fact in opposition to a movant’s factual assertion can result in the movant’s fact being considered undisputed, and potentially the grant of summary judgment. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). However, “entry of a summary judgment motion as unopposed does not automatically give rise to a-grant of summary judgment. Instead ‘the district court [is] still obliged to consider the motion on its merits, in light of the record as constituted, in order to determine whether judgment would be legally appropriate.’ ” Aguiar-Carrasquillo v. Agosto-Alicea, 445 F.3d 19, 25 (1st Cir.2006) (citing Mullen v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 972 F.2d 446, 452 (1st Cir.1992) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)).

The Court need only consider the cited materials and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has “repeatedly assured the district courts that they are not required to scour every inch of the record for evidence that is potentially relevant to the summary judgment motion before them.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)(3); Johnson v. Cambridge Indus., Inc., 325 F.3d 892, 898 (7th Cir.2003) (citations omitted). Furthermore, reliance on the pleadings or conclusory statements backed by inadmissible evidence is insufficient to create an issue of material fact on summary judgment. Johnson, 325 F.3d at 901.

The key inquiry, then, is whether admissible evidence exists to support a plaintiffs claims or a defendant’s affirmative defenses, not the weight or credibility of that evidence, both of which are assessments reserved for the trier of fact. See Schacht v. Wis. Dep’t of Corrections, 175 F.3d 497, 504 (7th Cir.1999). When evaluating this inquiry, the Court must give the nonmoving party the benefit of all reasonable inferences from the evidence submitted and resolve “any doubt as to the existence of a genuine issue for trial ... against the moving party.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 330, n. 2, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (citation omitted).

DISCUSSION

Mr. Pike argues that summary judgment should be entered in favor of the class members because Nick’s has failed to show there are genuine issues of material fact concerning various affirmative defenses related to liability that fail as a matter of law. [Dkt. 60 at 1-2.] Mr. Pike also seeks an entry of summary judgment as to liability.

[960]*960A. Congressional Amendment to the EFTA.

On December 20, 2012, Congress eliminated the exterior fee notice requirement of the EFTA related to automated teller machine fees by Public Law 112-216. Title 15 U.S.C. § 1693b now provides:

(B) Notice requirement

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Bluebook (online)
937 F. Supp. 2d 956, 2013 WL 1311149, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43179, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pike-v-nicks-english-hut-inc-insd-2013.