Riviera Finance of Texas, Inc. v. Capgemini U.S., LLC

855 F. Supp. 2d 179, 2012 WL 1132209, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48524
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 30, 2012
DocketNo. 10 Civ. 5489(VM)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 855 F. Supp. 2d 179 (Riviera Finance of Texas, Inc. v. Capgemini U.S., LLC) 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
Riviera Finance of Texas, Inc. v. Capgemini U.S., LLC, 855 F. Supp. 2d 179, 2012 WL 1132209, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48524 (S.D.N.Y. 2012).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

VICTOR MARRERO, District Judge.

Plaintiff Riviera Finance of Texas, Inc. (“Riviera”) brings this action against defendant Capgemini U.S., LLC (“Capgemini”) advancing claims of breach of contract, book account and unjust enrichment. Riviera and Capgemini have each moved for summary judgment (see Docket Nos. 10, 11) and have submitted several letter briefs on disputed issues of law. Because there is no dispute as to any material fact and Riviera is entitled to judgment in its favor as a matter of law for the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS Riviera’s motion and DENIES that of Capgemini.

I. BACKGROUND1

Capgemini is an information technology services and consulting company located in New York City. On October 1, 2007, Capgemini entered into a services contract (the “Original Agreement”) with EC Manage, Inc. (“EC”) under which EC was to pay technology contractors working for Capgemini’s clients. Per the terms of the Original Agreement, Capgemini was to pay EC directly and EC, in turn, was responsible for compensating the contractors.

Two years later, on October 2, 2009, EC entered into a factoring agreement with Riviera (the “Factoring Agreement”). Under the Factoring Agreement, EC assigned to Riviera its right to receive from Capgemini payments owed to EC under the Original Agreement. EC and Riviera sent written notification of the assignment to Capgemini and Capgemini began making the payments prescribed by the Original Agreement to Riviera.

Shortly after Capgemini received notice of the Factoring Agreement, it also began receiving reports from contractors complaining that EC was not timely remitting payments to them. When Capgemini raised this issue with EC, EC repeatedly assured Capgemini that payments to the contractors had been or would be made.

When contractors continued to lodge similar complaints with Capgemini during the late fall and early winter of 2009 Capgemini insisted on additional assurances from EC that the contractors would be paid. Two months after EC and Riviera entered into the Factoring Agreement, on December 2, 2009, EC and Capgemini entered into a letter agreement (the “Letter Agreement”), under which EC acknowledged its failure to make prompt payments to contractors and further agreed to release certain contractors from their agreements with EC so that Capgemini could arrange for these contractors to be paid through an alternative intermediary. The [181]*181Letter Agreement further provided that EC would use any monies it received from Capgemini to pay Capgemini contractors. After the execution of the Letter Agreement, Capgemini continued to remit payments to Riviera under the terms of the Original Agreement as modified by the Factoring Agreement.

Despite the Letter Agreement, Capgemini continued to receive reports from contractors complaining of EC’s failure to make payments. According to Capgemini procurement executive Arvind Kumar, EC informed some contractors that it failed to make timely payments because of Capgemini’s failure to pay EC. Some contractors also threatened to sever their relationships with Capgemini. To avoid the loss of the services of valuable and knowledgeable contractors, Capgemini began making payments directly to contractors. In making such direct payments, Capgemini and an affiliated entity expended over $1.3 million. On December 18, 2009, Capgemini notified Riviera that EC had failed to make payments to contractors and that Capgemini had begun to make direct payments to contractors in an effort to mitigate damages caused by EC s failure to make timely payments.

When Capgemini began paying contractors directly, it ceased paying Riviera. Undisputed evidence — in the form of Riviera’s Capgemini Account Statement appended to the Complaint — shows that Capgemini did not make $442,855.42 in outstanding payments to Riviera.

On March 18, 2010, Capgemini filed suit for breach of contract against EC in the Southern District of New York. (See Complaint, Capgemini U.S., LLC v. EC Manage, Inc. et al., No. 10 Civ. 2486, filed March 18, 2010 (Docket No. 1).) EC, however, never appeared to defend itself in that litigation and, accordingly, the District Court entered default judgment in Capgemini’s favor against EC. (See Order, Capgemini U.S., LLC v. EC Manage, Inc. et al., No. 10 Civ. 2486, filed October 14, 2010 (Docket No. 14).) Riviera was not a party to that suit.

In this action, Riviera seeks to recover $442,855.42, which it asserts Capgemini owes under the Original Agreement as assigned to Riviera by the Factoring Agreement.

II. DISCUSSION

A. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Pursuant to Rule 56, a court may grant summary judgment if, on the record before it, there exists “no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); Alabama v. North Carolina, — U.S. -, 130 S.Ct. 2295, 2306, 176 L.Ed.2d 1070 (2010). In determining whether disputed issues of material fact exist, a court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and draw all reasonable inferences in that party’s favor. See, e.g., Shapiro v. New York Univ., 640 F.Supp.2d 411, 418 (S.D.N.Y.2009) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)).

The role of a court in ruling on such a motion “is not to resolve disputed issues of fact but to assess whether there are any factual issues to be tried, while resolving ambiguities and drawing reasonable inferences against the moving party.” Knight v. U.S. Fire Ins. Co., 804 F.2d 9, 11 (2d Cir.1986) (citations omitted). The moving party bears the burden of proving that no genuine issue of material fact exists, or that, because the paucity of evidence presented by the non-movant, no rational jury could find in favor of the non-moving party. See Gallo v. Prudential Residential [182]*182Servs., LP, 22 F.3d 1219, 1223-24 (2d Cir. 1994). When deciding cross-motions for summary judgment, the standard to be applied “is the same as that for individual motions for summary judgment and a court must consider each motion independent of the other.” Schultz v. Stoner, 308 F.Supp.2d 289, 298 (S.D.N.Y.2004) (quotation omitted).

B. ANALYSIS

Though it advances multiple legal theories, Capgemini’s fundamental position is simple: Because EC breached the Original Agreement, Capgemini owes nothing to Riviera. Riviera’s points of law are similarly branches emanating from a single trunk: After Capgemini received notice of EC’s assignment of payments under the Original Agreement to Riviera, EC’s breach — and any attendant damages — is irrelevant to Riviera’s claims for payment from Capgemini because such breach and damages did not arise from the transaction governed by the Original Agreement.

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

Related

Riviera Finance of Texas, Inc. v. Capgemini US, LLC
511 F. App'x 92 (Second Circuit, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
855 F. Supp. 2d 179, 2012 WL 1132209, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48524, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/riviera-finance-of-texas-inc-v-capgemini-us-llc-nysd-2012.