United States v. Dawn Properties, Inc.

64 F. Supp. 3d 955, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165946, 2014 WL 6686702
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Mississippi
DecidedNovember 26, 2014
DocketCause No. 1:14CV224-LG-JCG
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 64 F. Supp. 3d 955 (United States v. Dawn Properties, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Dawn Properties, Inc., 64 F. Supp. 3d 955, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165946, 2014 WL 6686702 (S.D. Miss. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER (1) GRANTING MOTIONS TO DISMISS THIRD-PARTY COMPLAINT FILED BY THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANTS AND DISMISSING ALL THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANTS; (2) DENYING MOTION FOR JOINDER FILED BY THIRD-PARTY PLAINTIFFS; AND (3) DENYING AS MOOT JOINT MOTION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS

LOUIS GUIROLA, JR., Chief Judge.

BEFORE THE COURT are the following Motions to Dismiss filed by Third-party Defendants pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6): [70] Motion to Dismiss filed by Greg Stewart and Nosidam, LLC; [76] Motion to Dismiss filed by City of Ridgeland, Mississippi; [80] Motion to Dismiss filed by Harrison County, Mississippi; [85] Motion to Dismiss filed by Jackson County, Mississippi; [94] Motion to Dismiss filed by Drace Construction Corp.; [110] Motion to Dismiss filed by City of Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and [134] Motion to Dismiss filed by Harry Baker Smith Architects, II, LLC. These Third-party Defendants ask the Court to dismiss the Third-party Complaint filed against them by Defendants/Third-party Plaintiffs Dawn Properties, Inc.; Southern Cross Construction Company, Inc.; The Beach Club, LLC; the Beach Club II, LLC; The Belmont of Lamar, LLC; Grand Biscayne Apts., LLC; and Sealnn, LLC (“Defendants” or “Third-party Plaintiffs”).

Also before the Court is the [126] Motion .for Joinder in which the Defendants/Third-party Plaintiffs, anticipating that the Court may grant the Motions to Dismiss, seek to join the Third-party De[958]*958fendants pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19, or, alternatively, Rule 20.

The Court has considered the submissions of the parties and the applicable law and finds that the Motions to Dismiss should be granted because (1) there is no right to indemnity or contribution under the federal laws at issue; (2) any state law indemnity claim is preempted by federal law; (3) Mississippi law does not allow for contribution claims against the Third-party Defendants; and, (4) regardless, any state law claim for contribution is preempted by federal law. The claims against the cities and counties should be dismissed for the additional reason that they owed no duty to the Third-party Plaintiffs. The Court finds that the claims against the remaining Third-party Defendants, Gerald James Hopkins and the City of Long Beach, should be dismissed sua sponte.1 The Court likewise dismisses sua sponte the claims against Gerald James Hopkins and the City of Ridgeland asserted by Third-party Plaintiff Ridgeland Construction One, LLC (“Ridgeland Construction”) in its [154] Third-party Complaint filed on November 21, 2014.2

Furthermore, the Court is of the opinion that joinder pursuant to Rule 19 is unwarranted because the Court can accord complete relief among the United States and the current Defendants without the presence of the Third-party Defendants. The current Defendants cannot use Rule 20 to join additional parties as defendants.

The Court denies as moot the [83] Joint Motion to Stay Proceedings filed by Third-party Defendants Greg Stewart, Nosidam, LLC, and City of Ridgeland.

BACKGROUND

The United States filed this .action against Defendants Dawn Properties, Inc.; Southern Cross Construction Company, Inc.; Ridgeland Construction One, LLC; The Beach Club, LLC; the Beach Club II, LLC; The Belmont of Lamar, LLC; Grand Biscayne Apts., LLC; and Sealnn, - LLC. The United States alleges that the Defendants were the owners, developers, and builders of several local residential apartment complexes and seeks to hold them liable for purported violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Defendants (except for Ridgeland Construction, which filed a Motion to Dismiss) filed a Third-Party Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 14 against Greg Stewart; Nosidam, LLC; Gerald James Hopkins; Harry Baker Smith Architects, II, LLC; Drace Construction Corp.; City of Ridgeland; City of Long Beach; Jackson County; City of Pass Christian (which has since been voluntarily dismissed); and John Does 1-100. They thereafter amended their Third-party Complaint to add Harrison County. These Third-party Plaintiffs claim , that if they are found liable in this action, then the Third-party Defendants “should also be held liable and/or should otherwise contribute for all or part of the United States’ claims found to have merit .... ” (1st Am. Compl. 2, ECF No. 48).

After this Court denied Third-party Plaintiff Ridgeland Construction’s Motion to Dismiss the United States’ Complaint against it, Ridgeland Construction filed its Answer and Third-party Complaint against [959]*959Gerald James Hopkins and the City of Ridgeland on November 21, 2014. The substance of Ridgeland Construction’s claims against Hopkins and the City of Ridgeland are no different than the claims against those parties brought by the other Third-party Plaintiffs.

Multiple Third-party Defendants have moved to dismiss the claims against them for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. They argue that there is no right to indemnity or contribution under the FHA and ADA, and, further, that any state law indemnity or contribution claim is preempted by federal law. The cities and counties also argue that they cannot be liable because they did not have any duty to the Third-party Plaintiffs to ensure compliance with the FHA and ADA.

The Third-party Plaintiffs argue that even if the Court dismisses their Rule 14 claims against the Third-party Defendants, the Court must still join those entities in this action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19(a)(1)(A), or, alternatively, may join those entities under Rule 20(a)(2).

Discussion

Motions to Dismiss

“Under the Rule 12(b)(6) standard of review, th[e] court accepts ‘all well-pleaded facts as true and construes the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.’ ” Jaso v. Coca Cola Co., 435 Fed.Appx. 346, 351 (5th Cir.2011) (citation omitted). “A claim may not be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) ‘unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.’ ” Nottingham v. Richardson, 499 Fed.Appx. 368, 372 (5th Cir.2012) (citation omitted). Applying this standard, the Court finds that all claims against the Third-party Defendants should be dismissed.

The Third-party Defendants correctly argue that there is no right to indemnity or contribution under the FHA or the ADA. See United States v. Bryan Co., No. 3:11-cv-302-CWR-LRA, 2012 WL 2051861, at *5 (S.D.Miss. June 6, 2012). Therefore; any claim by the Third-party Plaintiffs pursuant to those federal statutes fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted.

The Third-party' Plaintiffs argue that they can still assert claims for contribution under Mississippi state law. They do not argue that they can assert claims for state law indemnity, and, regardless, any claim for state law indemnity would be preempted by federal law. See id. at *3-6.

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Bluebook (online)
64 F. Supp. 3d 955, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165946, 2014 WL 6686702, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-dawn-properties-inc-mssd-2014.