Vestring v. Halla

920 F. Supp. 2d 1189, 2013 WL 391171, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12479
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedJanuary 30, 2013
DocketCase No. 12-4094-JTM
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 920 F. Supp. 2d 1189 (Vestring v. Halla) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vestring v. Halla, 920 F. Supp. 2d 1189, 2013 WL 391171, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12479 (D. Kan. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

J. THOMAS MARTEN, District Judge.

The court has before it several motions to dismiss by the defendants. Defendants United Agricultural Cooperative, Inc., f/k/a/ Farmers Cooperative of El Campo, and Eagle Lake General Store (incorrectly sued as “Eagle Creek General Store”) (collectively referred to herein as “defendants” or “United Ag”), filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue (Dkt. 16) as well as a [1191]*1191motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim (Dkt. 19). Defendant H Bar also filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue (Dkt. 21), which defendant Carl “Bunge” Halla incorporated in his own motion to dismiss (Dkt. 23). The court grants all of the defendants’ motions to dismiss for the reasons below.

I. Factual Background

Plaintiffs Anna Graves Vestring and Robert Vestring are Kansas residents who claim to have entered into a contract in September 2011 with defendant Carl “Bunge” Halla, a Texas resident and employee of defendant United Ag. Plaintiffs were in Kansas when they accepted Halla’s offer over the phone. Under the contract, Halla agreed to provide agricultural services and serve as a bailee for certain lightweight cattle purchased by plaintiffs. All of the cattle were bought in Texas.

After the cattle were purchased, they were sheltered at facilities owned and operated by H Bar Cattle Company in Texas. At the H Bar facilities, the cattle suffered a death rate of 25%, which plaintiffs claim is significantly higher than the industry average. Plaintiffs allege that Halla and H Bar caused them damage by breaching the duty to properly care for, feed, and maintain the cattle in a reasonable and workmanlike manner. Plaintiffs ask this court to hold Halla and H Bar jointly and severally liable for damages in excess of $75,000 and to order recoupment of all plaintiffs’ payments.

Additionally, to pay for the services associated with the purchase and care of these cattle, plaintiffs obtained a $350,000 line of credit from the Cooperative Finance Association, Inc., a corporation located in Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Vestring completed, signed, and faxed an application to United Ag for an account to acquire goods on store credit. United Ag set up a store account for Mr. Vestring. Plaintiffs instructed Bunge not to incur expenses exceeding $350,000 in caring for, feeding, and maintaining the cattle. Plaintiffs claim that notwithstanding their instruction, Bunge had defendants H Bar, Eagle Lake, Farmers Cooperative, and United Ag bill plaintiffs for a total substantially in excess of the line of credit for services, materials, and supplies for the cattle. Plaintiff asks this court to enter judgment against defendants for (1) an accounting of all amounts claimed to arise out of the care, feeding, and maintenance of the cattle and (2) an accounting of cattle purchased and sold including all cattle which died while in defendants’ care and control.

Defendant United Ag challenges the sufficiency of the pleadings set forth in the complaint. All defendants challenge whether Kansas has personal jurisdiction over them and whether venue is proper. Alternatively, they request the case be transferred to the Southern District of Texas.

II. Failure to State a Claim

A. Legal Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) provides that a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” The complaint must give the defendant adequate notice of what the plaintiffs claim is and the grounds of that claim. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002).

“In reviewing a motion to dismiss, this court must look for plausibility in the complaint.... Under this standard, a complaint must include enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Corder v. Lewis Palmer Sch. Dist. No. 38, 566 F.3d 1219, 1223-24 (10th [1192]*1192Cir.2009) (internal quotations and citations omitted). In addition to the allegations contained in the complaint, the court may consider attached exhibits and documents incorporated into the complaint, so long as the parties do not dispute the documents’ authenticity. See Smith v. United States, 561 F.3d 1090, 1098 (10th Cir.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.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (clarifying and affirming Twombly’s probability standard). Allegations that raise the specter of mere speculation are not enough. Corder, 566 F.3d at 1223-24.

While the factual allegations need not be detailed, the claims “must set forth the grounds for plaintiffs’ entitlement to relief through more than labels, conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” In re Motor Fuel Temperature Sales Practices Litig., 534 F.Supp.2d 1214, 1216 (D.Kan.2008). The court must assume that all allegations in the complaint are true. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 589, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “The issue in resolving a motion such as this is ‘not whether [the] plaintiff will ultimately prevail, but whether the claimant is entitled to offer evidence to support the claims.’ ” Bean v. Norman, No. 008-2422, 2010 WL 420057, at *2 (D.Kan. Jan. 29, 2010) (quoting Swierkiewicz, 534 U.S. at 511, 122 S.Ct. 992).

B. Analysis

In this case, the complaint fails to allege sufficient facts to state a plausible claim against United Ag. First, the complaint alleges that Halla owns an interest in all or part of the United Ag entities and serves as an employee and manager for United Ag. Second, the complaint alleges that at Halla’s request and without plaintiffs’ authorization, United Ag billed plaintiffs for an amount in excess of a line of credit Halla knew plaintiffs had established with Cooperative Finance Association, Inc. To state a claim for relief, plaintiffs must connect these two facts in a way that would make United Ag liable. Although a connection is not found in the complaint, plaintiff Robert Vestring’s affidavit provides one, and the court may rely on this. See Smith, 561 F.3d at 1098. In his affidavit, Vestring alleges that during his phone calls with Halla, Halla “was acting on his own behalf as well as an agent for” United Ag. Vestring also states that Halla is a manager of one of the United Ag entities “and thus is an agent of United Ag.” However, Vestring’s conclusory statements cannot provide a proper basis for pleading agency.

A claim alleging an agency cause of action must allege that the agent had authority — actual or apparent — to act on the principal’s behalf. See Mulholland v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 546 F.Supp.2d 1231, 1235 (D.Kan.2008); see also Bridgewater v.

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Bluebook (online)
920 F. Supp. 2d 1189, 2013 WL 391171, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12479, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vestring-v-halla-ksd-2013.