Rote v. Zel Custom Manufacturing LLC

816 F.3d 383, 2016 WL 861111
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMarch 7, 2016
Docket15-3156
StatusPublished
Cited by114 cases

This text of 816 F.3d 383 (Rote v. Zel Custom Manufacturing LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rote v. Zel Custom Manufacturing LLC, 816 F.3d 383, 2016 WL 861111 (6th Cir. 2016).

Opinions

KEITH, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which CLAY and WHITE, JJ., joined. WHITE, J. (pp. 397-98),= delivered a separate concurring opinion.

OPINION

DAMON J. KEITH, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff Troy Rote injured his right hand when a round exploded as he loaded a rifle at a residence in Sunbury, Ohio. The round that exploded was allegedly manufactured by Defendant Fabrica Militar Fray Luis Beltran a/k/a Dirección General Fabricaciones Militares (“DGFM”). Rote and his wife (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed this negligence and produets-liability suit against several defendants, including DGFM.

DGFM moved to dismiss the Third Amended Complaint (or, “Complaint”) for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), In support of' its motion, DGFM argued that, as an instrumentality of the Republic of Argentina, it is immune from suit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA” or “Act”), 28 U.S.C. § 1602 et seq. In response, Plaintiffs argue that the “commercial activity” exception to the Act applies, and hence, DGFM is not immune. The district court denied the 12(b)(1) motion and DGFM appeals. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the district court’s decision denying the motion.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY A. Plaintiffs’ Allegations in the Complaint.

For purposes of reviewing DGFM’s Rule 12(b)(1) motion, we take note of the following relevant allegations in the Complaint:

Troy Rote was invited to Gary and Judith Buyer’s house, located in Sunbury, Ohio. (Third Am. Compl. ¶¶ 21-22.) On or about September 10, 2011, Rote, along with twelve to fifteen other guests, arrived at -the Buyers’ home. (Id. ¶ 21.) One of those guests, Edward Grimm, brought a rifle, consisting of a “.50 caliber upper and AR-15 lower receiver,” as well as some ammunition. (Id. ¶23.) Grimm assembled the 0.50 caliber upper receiver and the lower receiver at the residence. (Id. ¶ 24.)

[387]*387At Grimm’s invitation, five or six guests fired the rifle. (Id. ¶25.) Grimm also invited and encouraged Rote to fire the rifle and provided loading and firing instructions. (Id. ¶ 27.) As Rote loaded the rifle, and before the bolt moved into a closed-and-secured position, the round exploded and a “loud sound” was heard. (Id. ¶¶ 28, 29.) Rote “sustained severe damage to his right hand.” (Id. ¶¶28, 84.) The round that exploded came from a “box of ammunition bearing marks identifying it as being manufactured by [DGFM].” (Id. ¶ 34.) The allegedly defective ammunition was purchased online through á New Jersey-based company, Ammoman. (Id. ¶¶ 8, 33.) The Complaint does not indicate from whom Ammoman purchased the ammunition.

Plaintiffs allege that DGFM “designed, manufactured, and sold and/or otherwise introduced into the stream of commerce” the ammunition. (Id. ¶ 62.) Plaintiffs also allege that DGFM’s wrongful acts consisted of defectively designing and manufacturing the rounds to have a “protruding primer.” (See id. ¶ 106.)' Plaintiffs further allege that DGFM failed to provide adequate warnings about the dangerous condition posed by this protruding primer. (Id. ¶¶ 90-93.)

Plaintiffs assert the following claims against DGFM: (1) product liability under Ohio Rev.Code Ann. §§.2307.74, 2307.75, and 2307.77; (2) supplier liability under Ohio Rev.Code Ann. § 2307.78; arid (3) loss of consortium.

B. District court decision.

DGFM moved to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), arguing that, as an instrumentality of the Republic of Argentina, it is immune from suit under the Act. The district Court denied the motion. Rote v. Zel Custom Mfg., No. 2:13-cv-1189, 2015 WL 570973, at *10 (S.D.Ohio Feb. 11, 2015). In support of its ruling, the. court held that the design and-manufacture of the ammunition qualified as “commercial activity,” Id. at *6-7. The court also noted that DGFM’s actions .caused a “direct effect” in. the United States. Id. at *10. Thus, the commercial-activity exception to the. FSIA applied and DGFM was not immune from suit. Id. at ‡1. DGFM timely appealed.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

An order denying a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) is reviewed de novo. Westfield v. Fed. Republic of Germany, 633 F.3d 409, 413 (6th Cir.20Íl). Rule 12(b)(1) motions “come in two varieties: a facial attack ‘ or a’ factual attack.” O’Bryan v. Holy See, 556 F.3d 361, 375 (6th Cir.2009) (citation and quotation marks omitted). A facial attack—like the one DGFM mounts . here—“questions merely the sufficiency of the pleading.” Id. (citation and quotation marks omitted). In reviewing the facial attack, courts must accept all allegations as true, id., and when reviewing the complaint, we look for a “short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 8(a); see also Owens v. Republic of Sudan, 531 F.3d 884, 894-95 (D.C.Cir. 2008). “[C]onclusory allegations- or legal conclusions masquerading as factual conclusions- will not suffice to prevent a motion to dismiss.” O’Bryan, 556 F.3d at 376 (citation omitted). If the allegations in the Complaint establish- federal- claims, the exercise of subject-matter jurisdiction is proper. Id.

III. ANALYSIS

A. Statutory framework: FSIA and its exceptions.

The FSIA provides the “sole basis” for the exercise of jurisdiction over a for[388]*388eign state, including its instrumentalities.1 Republic of Argentina v. Weltover, 504 U.S. 607, 611, 112 S.Ct. 2160, 119 L.Ed.2d 394 (1992) (citation omitted); see also 28 U.S.C. §§ 160B(a)-(b), 1604. Under the Act, a foreign state is “immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States and of the States” unless one of the statutory exceptions applies. 28 U.S.C. § 1604. At issue in this case is the commercial-activity exception, codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(2).

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816 F.3d 383, 2016 WL 861111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rote-v-zel-custom-manufacturing-llc-ca6-2016.