The Mark on 287 Owner LLC v. Croft LLC

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedAugust 20, 2024
Docket3:23-cv-02730
StatusUnknown

This text of The Mark on 287 Owner LLC v. Croft LLC (The Mark on 287 Owner LLC v. Croft LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
The Mark on 287 Owner LLC v. Croft LLC, (N.D. Tex. 2024).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS DALLAS DIVISION

THE MARK ON 287 OWNER, LLC, § § Plaintiff, § § v. § CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:23-CV-2730-B § CROFT, LLC, § § Defendant. §

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Before the Court is Defendant Croft, LLC (“Croft”)’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 14). For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Croft’s Motion. I. BACKGROUND1 This case is about windows. Plaintiff The Mark on 287 Owner, LLC (“Mark”) owns an apartment complex in Waxahachie, Texas. Doc. 13, Am. Compl., ¶ 6. Croft is a company that sells windows and doors. Id. ¶ 7. Mark alleges that it entered into a contract with Croft for the purchase and installation of windows at Mark’s apartment complex. Id. ¶¶ 9, 24. Mark also alleges that its contract with Croft included two express warranties. Id. ¶¶ 13–14. The first warranty, the Insulated Glass Lifetime Warranty (“Lifetime Warranty”), provides the following: Each unit of insulated glass is warranted on a pro rata basis from the date of manufacture. Croft warrants that under normal conditions of use and service, moisture condensation of the inner surfaces due to leakage of the unit at the sealed

1 The Court derives the factual background from Mark’s Amended Complaint, documents Mark refers to in the Amended Complaint, and public records. “[A] court ruling on a 12(b)(6) motion may rely on the complaint, its proper attachments, documents incorporated into the complaint by reference, and matters of which a court may take judicial notice.” Innova Hosp. San Antonio, Ltd. P’ship v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Georgia, Inc., 892 F.3d 719, 726 (5th Cir. 2018) (citation omitted). edges will not occur. . . . This Warranty shall extend only to and is limited to the purchaser of the unit from Croft and the original homeowner and/or occupant of the building in which the unit has been installed and is not transferrable.

Id. ¶ 13 (ellipsis in original); see also Doc. 16, Def.’s App’x, 29.

The second warranty, the Limited Warranty, provides that: Croft, LLC guarantees that under normal use, products supplied hereunder will not rot, crack, split, or rust for as long as the original purchaser owns the single family home in which the products were initially installed. In addition, other components, hardware, and paint are warranted under normal use, to be free of manufacturing defects for a period of one year from date of purchase. . . . The warranty may be exercised by the original homeowner only and is not transferrable to subsequent owners.

Doc. 13, Am. Compl., ¶ 14 (ellipsis in original); see also Doc. 16, Def.’s App’x, 27. Both warranties include express disclaimers of both the implied warranty of merchantability and the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. Doc. 16, Def.’s App’x, 27, 29.2 Mark alleges that the windows installed by Croft included defects and defective materials. Doc. 13, Am. Compl., ¶¶ 15, 22. Although the Complaint does not allege when the windows were installed, beginning in June 2023, Mark began experiencing problems with the windows installed by Croft. Id. ¶ 15. Specifically, the window frames began “cracking, splitting, and separating.” Id. Mark claims that these problems were partly caused by “water leaking through the faulty seal between the window and the frame.” Id. Mark initiated this lawsuit and asserts five claims. First, Mark alleges that Croft breached the parties’ contract by delivering nonconforming goods. Id. ¶¶ 23–26. Second, Mark asserts a breach of express warranty claim, arguing that Croft breached the Limited Warranty and the Lifetime

2 These warranties are considered part of the pleadings because Mark references these documents and quotes part of their language in its Amended Complaint. See Innova Hosp. San Antonio, Ltd. P’ship, 892 F.3d at 726. Warranty. Id. ¶¶ 27–35. Third and fourth, Mark asserts claims for breach of the implied warranty of merchantability and the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. Id. ¶¶ 36–50. Fifth and finally, Mark asserts that Croft violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“DTPA”) by

committing misleading acts when selling the windows. Id. ¶¶ 51–57. Croft moves to dismiss each claim asserted by Mark. Doc. 14, Mot., 1. The Court considers the Motion below. II. LEGAL STANDARD Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Rule 12(b)(6) authorizes a court

to dismiss a plaintiff’s complaint for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6). In considering a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, “the Court must accept all well- pleaded facts as true, and view them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Walker v. Beaumont Indep. Sch. Dist., 938 F.3d 724, 735 (5th Cir. 2019) (alteration in original) (citation omitted). But the Court will “not look beyond the face of the pleadings to determine whether relief should be granted based on the alleged facts.” Spivey v. Robertson, 197 F.3d 772, 774 (5th Cir. 1999).

To survive a motion to dismiss, plaintiffs must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. “The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’

but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). When well-pleaded facts fail to meet this standard, “the complaint has alleged—but it has not shown—that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Id. at 679 (alteration in original) (citation omitted).

III. ANALYSIS The Court first concludes that Mark has failed to plead a breach of contract claim because Mark accepted the allegedly nonconforming windows. Additionally, Mark failed to state a claim for breach of an express warranty because Croft’s Limited Warranty does not apply to apartment complexes and Mark has not alleged facts showing that Croft breached the Lifetime Warranty. The

Court next concludes that the parties’ alleged contract included provisions expressly disclaiming the implied warranties of merchantability Mark raises. Lastly, Mark’s DTPA claim survives Croft’s narrow argument for dismissal. A. Mark Has Failed to Adequately Plead a Breach of Contract Claim. Under Texas law, a breach of contract claim has the following elements: “(1) a valid contract; (2) the plaintiff performed or tendered performance; (3) the defendant breached the contract; and (4) the plaintiff was damaged as a result of the breach.” Brooks v. Excellence Mortg., Ltd., 486 S.W.3d

29, 36 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2015, pet. denied). At the outset, the Court notes that it is not entirely clear what contract Mark alleges it entered with Croft. While Mark refers to several documents in its Complaint, such as the two express warranties at issue, Doc. 13, Am. Compl., ¶¶ 13–14, Mark never alleges the existence of any written contract or any other document containing the terms of the alleged agreement between Mark and Croft.

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