SOCAR v. Boeing Co.

144 F. Supp. 3d 391, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153206
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedNovember 12, 2015
DocketNo. 14-CV-5130 (SJF)(ARL)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 144 F. Supp. 3d 391 (SOCAR v. Boeing Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
SOCAR v. Boeing Co., 144 F. Supp. 3d 391, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153206 (E.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER

FEUERSTEIN, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Societe Cameroonaise d’Assurance et de Reassurance, n/k/a SOCAR Liquidation (“SOCAR” or “Plaintiff’), files this subrogation action against The Boeing Company (“Boeing”) and Pratt & Whitney (“P & W”) for damages arising out of a 1984 aircraft incident in the Republic of Cameroon. Boeing and P & W (collectively, “Defendants”) had manufactured and sold a plane to Cameroon Airlines that later caught fire in a Cameroonian airport. SOCAR, as the insurer of Cameroon Airlines, now seeks indemnification from Defendants for SOCAR’s insurance payments that arose out of the aircraft incident.

Defendants have moved to dismiss, arguing that SOCAR’s suit is untimely pursuant to two (2) New York statutes of limitations; SOCAR contends that its action is timely pursuant to a Cameroonian statute of repose. The motion to dismiss is granted, and the action is dismissed with prejudice.

I. Background1

A. The Parties

SOCAR is “a parastatal corporation now under liquidation renamed SOCAR Liqui[394]*394dation in Cameroon. Plaintiff is also a Cameroonian Corporation with its registered office in Douala[,] Cameroon.”2 [DE 21, Am. Compl., at ¶ 3]. It was the insurer of Cameroon Airlines at the time of a 1984 aircraft incident. [DE 32-4, PL’s Mem. of Law (“PL’s Opp’n Br.”), at 2].3

Boeing is incorporated in Delaware and “at such times as are relevant hereto, was doing business in the State of New York.” [DE 21, Am. Compl., at ¶ 4], Counsel for Boeing represents that the company is incorporated in Delaware and has its principal place of business in Illinois. [DE 32-1, Defs.’ Op. Br., at 3]. Boeing manufactured and sold the Boeing Model 737200 aircraft with registration number TJCBD that caught fire on August 30, 1984 at the Cameroonian airport (the “Boeing Plane”). [DE 21, Am. Compl., at ¶¶ 6,10].

P & W is incorporated in Delaware and “at such times as are relevant hereto, was doing business in the State of New York.” Id. at ¶ 5. Counsel for P & W indicates that it is incorporated in Delaware and has its principal place of business in Connecticut. [DE 32-1, Defs.’ Op. Br., at 2-3]. P & W manufactured and sold the JT8D-15 jet engines that were incorporated into the Boeing Plane. [DE 21, Am. Compl., at ¶ 7].

B. Factual Background

On August 30, 1984, Cameroon Airlines was using the Boeing Plane for a commercial flight from Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon to Yaoundé, Cameroon. Id. at ¶ 9. While preparing for take off, the Boeing Plane caught on fire, killing three (3) passengers and injuring another seventy-two (72) (the “Aircraft Fire”). Id. at ¶¶ 10-11. The fire started when “fragments of one of the PW JT8D-15 jet engines ... ruptured the wing fuel tank of the” Boeing Plane. Id. at ¶ 12. SOCAR was the insurer of Cameroon Airlines at the time of the incident. See supra note 3.

C. Procedural History

On August 29, 2014, SOCAR filed the present action seeking one-hundred-fifty-four million dollars ($154 million) in subro-gation for the insurance payments that it paid on behalf of Cameroon Airlines to the victims of the Aircraft Fire and for property damage to the Boeing Plane. [DE 1, Compl.]. Defendants have jointly moved to [395]*395dismiss, arguing that the action is untimely under New York’s statutes of limitations. [DE 28, Joint Mot. to Dismiss].

II. Discussion

A. Standard of Review

On a motion to dismiss, this Court accepts all factual allegations in the amended complaint as true and draws all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. Wendell Bail Bonding Co. No. 0811 v. Cuomo, No. 10-cv-4022, 2011 WL 5546929, at *1 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 10, 2011). The Court’s review is limited to the factual allegations contained in the operative complaint, documents attached to the complaint as exhibits or incorporated by reference, matters of which judicial notice may be taken, and documents within the plaintiffs possession or of which the plaintiff had knowledge and relief on in bringing suit. Pompey v. Imagistics Pitney Bowes Office Sys., No. 04-cv-3923, 2005 WL 1320153, at *1 (E.D.N.Y. May 26, 2005) (citing Brass v. Am. Film Techs., Inc., 987 F.2d 142, 150 (2d Cir.1993)).

B. Equitable Subrogation Doctrine

“Subrogation is the right one party has against a third party following payment, in whole or in part, of a legal obligation that ought to have been met by the third party.” Allstate Ins. Co. v. Mazzola, 175 F.3d 255, 258 (2d Cir.1999) (internal citation omitted). The doctrine of equitable subrogation allows insurers to “stand in the shoes” of their insured to seek indemnification by pursuing any claims that the insured may have had against third parties legally responsible for the loss. Id. (internal citation omitted); United States v. California, 507 U.S. 746, 756, 113 S.Ct. 1784, 123 L.Ed.2d 528 (1993). Under New York law, an insurer’s subrogation claim is subject to the same statute of limitations applicable to the original underlying claim (such as a breach of contract claim) that gave rise to the derivative subrogation claim. Stewart v. Atwood, 834 F.Supp.2d 171, 181 (W.D.N.Y.2012); Allstate Ins. Co. v. Stein, 1 N.Y.3d 416, 420-21, 775 N.Y.S.2d 219, 807 N.E.2d 268 (N.Y.2004).

C.Statute of Limitations

A complaint may be dismissed as untimely under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) when a plaintiffs factual allegations demonstrate that relief would be barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Ines Figueroa v. Ponce De Leon Fed. Bank, No. 11-cv-7633, 2012 WL 3264552, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 10, 2012) (citing Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 214-15, 127 S.Ct. 910, 166 L.Ed.2d 798 (2007)). In diversity cases, a federal court located in New York will generally apply the choice-of-law rules and statute of limitations of the law of the forum state, not the law of the state in which the action accrued. Morson v. Kreindler & Kreindler, LLP, 814 F.Supp.2d 220, 225 (E.D.N.Y.2011); Stuart v. Am. Cyanamid Co., 158 F.3d 622, 626-27 (2d Cir.1998). The general rule, however, is subject to a statutory exception: New York’s “borrowing statute,” or C.P.L.R. § 202 (“Section 202”). Stuart, 158 F.3d at 627; N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 202.

Pursuant to Section 202, where a plaintiff, not a resident of New York, sues upon a cause of action that arose outside of New York, a district court must apply the shorter limitations period of either: 1) New York; or 2) the state where the cause of action “accrued.”

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Bluebook (online)
144 F. Supp. 3d 391, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153206, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/socar-v-boeing-co-nyed-2015.