ProTradeNet, LLC v. Predictive Profiles, Inc.

369 F. Supp. 3d 788
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedJanuary 23, 2019
DocketW-18-CV-00038-ADA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 369 F. Supp. 3d 788 (ProTradeNet, LLC v. Predictive Profiles, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
ProTradeNet, LLC v. Predictive Profiles, Inc., 369 F. Supp. 3d 788 (W.D. Tex. 2019).

Opinion

ALAN D ALBRIGHT, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Came on for consideration ProTradeNet, LLC and Dwyer Franchising, LLC's Motion to Dismiss Predictive Profile, Inc.'s First Amended Complaint, (ECF No. 4 in case no. 6:18-CV-39 entitled Predictive Profiles, Inc., v. Protradenet, LLC et al ("Member Case") ), and Predictive Profiles, Inc.'s First Amended Complaint, (ECF No. 2 in Member Case). The Court has also considered all responses and replies to the Motion to Dismiss. After careful consideration, the Court is of the opinion that the Motion should be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

BACKGROUND

This suit arises out of a Distributor Vendor Relations Agreement ("Agreement") between ProTradeNet, LLC ("ProTradeNet") and Predictive Profiles, Inc. ("Predictive").1 Both sides agree the Agreement was formalized in February of 2017. Pl.'s Am. Compl. ¶ 2, ECF No. 2 in Member Case; Defs.' Mot. Dismiss at 2, ECF No. 4 in Member Case. Under the terms of the Agreement, Predictive agreed to post jobs for Defendants' franchisors by use of Predictive's web-based employee application system. Pl.'s Am. Compl. ¶ 2, ECF No. 2 in Member Case; Defs.' Mot. Dismiss at 2, ECF No. 4 in Member Case. In return, ProTradeNet agreed to recommend Predictive to its franchisors' franchisees and encourage those franchisees to use Predictive's services. Pl.'s Am. Compl. ¶¶ 39-40, ECF No. 2 in Member Case.

Plaintiff claims that just a few months after Predictive and Protradenet formalized the Agreement, ProTradeNet breached *790that Agreement by, among other things, failing to recommend Predictive to its franchisors' franchisees. Pl.'s Am. Compl. ¶¶ 40-41, 55, ECF No. 2 in Member Case. Plaintiff also alleges that ProTradeNet specifically told franchise owners to stop using Predictive and that Dwyer pushed ProTradeNet to unilaterally terminate the Agreement. Id. at ¶¶ 40-42, 58-61, 70-73. Finally, Plaintiff alleges that Dwyer and ProTradeNet interfered with the prospective contracts Plaintiff had a reasonable probability of entering into with other franchisees in Dwyer's system. Id. ¶¶ 64-66.

After the dispute over the Agreement arose, ProTradeNet filed its Original Petition in state court on January 12, 2018. Notice Removal at 1, ECF No. 1 in Lead Case. ProTradeNet sought a declaratory judgment from the court declaring that the Agreement did not create a partnership relationship between it and Predictive. Pl.'s Pet. at 3, ECF No. 1-1 in Lead Case. Predictive removed the case to this Court on February 9, 2018. Notice Removal, ECF No. 1 in Lead Case. The same day Predictive removed the case, Predictive filed its Original Complaint in the Member Case seeking affirmative relief against Defendants. Pl.'s Am. Compl., ECF No. 1 in Member Case. On April 24, 2018, Defendants filed their Motion to Dismiss. Defs.' Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 4 in Member Case. On August 23, 2018, Magistrate Judge Manske ordered that the Member Case and the Lead Case be consolidated and that the current case becomes the Lead Case. Order at 5, ECF No. 20 in Lead Case. Defendants' Motion to Dismiss in the Member Case remains pending.

LEGAL STANDARD

To survive a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a plaintiff must plead enough facts to state a claim to relief that is both legally cognizable and plausible on its face, but the court should not evaluate the plaintiff's likelihood of success. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ; Lone Star Fund V (U.S.), L.P. v. Barclays Bank PLC , 594 F.3d 383, 387 (5th Cir. 2010). When the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to reasonably infer that the defendant is liable for the alleged misconduct, then the claim is plausible on its face. Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ; Harold H. Huggins Realty, Inc. v. FNC, Inc. , 634 F.3d 787, 796 (5th Cir. 2011) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted).

The plausibility standard, unlike the "probability requirement," requires more than a sheer possibility that a defendant acted unlawfully. Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. The pleading standard does not require detailed factual allegations, but it does demand greater specificity than an unadorned, "the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation." Id. ; Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). A pleading that offers "labels and conclusions," "naked assertion[s]" devoid of "further factual enhancement," or "a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action" will not suffice. Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ; see also Taylor v. Books A. Million, Inc. , 296 F.3d 376, 378 (5th Cir. 2002). Evaluating the plausibility of a claim is a context specific process that requires a court to draw on its experience and common sense. Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

DISCUSSION

Plaintiff filed numerous claims against Defendants based on the Agreement. The Court dismisses Plaintiff's claim against Dwyer for tortious interference with the Agreement for the reasons set forth below.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
369 F. Supp. 3d 788, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/protradenet-llc-v-predictive-profiles-inc-txwd-2019.