Carpenters Southwest Admin. Corp. v. Thomas & Assocs. Mfg.

• Decision Date: 12 July 2010
• Docket Number: Case No. 2:09–cv–02202–GMN–PAL.
• Citation: 799 F.Supp.2d 1166
• Parties: CARPENTERS SOUTHWEST ADMINISTRATIVE CORP. et al., Plaintiffs, v. THOMAS & ASSOCIATES MANUFACTURING et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Nevada

799 F.Supp.2d 1166

CARPENTERS SOUTHWEST ADMINISTRATIVE CORP. et al., Plaintiffs,

v.THOMAS & ASSOCIATES MANUFACTURING et al., Defendants.

Case No. 2:09–cv–02202–GMN–PAL.

United States District Court, D. Nevada.

July 12, 2010.

Alice Chih–Mei Chen, Daniel M. Shanley, Yan Gershfeld, Decarlo, Connor & Shanley, Los Angeles, CA, for Plaintiffs.

Marek P. Bute, Snell & Wilmer, Las Vegas, NV, for Defendants.

ORDER

GLORIA M. NAVARRO, District Judge.

This case arises out of the failure of a property owner to satisfy allegedly delinquent contributions owed to certain union trust funds by the property owners' general contractor and a subcontractor. Plaintiffs have sued not only the delinquent contractor and subcontractor, but also the property owners, arguing that Nevada law makes the property owner itself liable for the delinquent amount. Pending before the Court is the property owner's Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment (# 9). For the reasons given herein, the Court grants the motion to dismiss.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Defendant Fiesta Palms, LLC owns the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Palms Place, LLC is a condominium hotel and spa on the property. Fiesta Palms entered into a contract with Defendant Thomas & Associates Manufacturing (“Thomas”) for millwork at Palms Place, and Thomas subcontracted with Defendant Mercury Installation Services, Inc. (“Mercury”). Plaintiffs allege that Thomas and Mercury failed to make required payments to certain trust funds.

Plaintiffs sued Thomas, John Roy Thomas, Mercury, and Fiesta Palms and Palms Place (collectively, “Palms”) in this Court on five causes of action, only the fifth of which is pled against Palms: “Damages for Failure to Pay Fringe Benefit Contributions Pursuant to Nevada Revised Statute § 608.150.” Palms has moved to dismiss, or in the alternative, for summary judgment.

II. LEGAL STANDARDSA. Rule 12(b)(6)

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief” in order to “give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) mandates that a court dismiss a cause of action that fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See N. Star Int'l v. Ariz. Corp. Comm'n, 720 F.2d 578, 581 (9th Cir.1983). When considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, dismissal is appropriate only when the complaint does not give the defendant fair notice of a legally cognizable claim and the grounds on which it rests. See Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). In considering whether the complaint is sufficient to state a claim, a court takes all material allegations as true and construes them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See NL Indus., Inc. v. Kaplan, 792 F.2d 896, 898 (9th Cir.1986). The court, however, is not required to accept as true allegations that are merely conclusory, unwarranted deductions of fact or unreasonable inferences. See Sprewell v. Golden State Warriors, 266 F.3d 979, 988 (9th Cir.2001).

“Generally, a district court may not consider any material beyond the pleadings in ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion.... However, material which is properly submitted as part of the complaint may be considered on a motion to dismiss.” Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., 896 F.2d 1542, 1555 n. 19 (9th Cir.1990) (citations omitted). Similarly, “documents whose contents are alleged in a complaint and whose authenticity no party questions, but which are not physically attached to the pleading, may be considered in ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss” without converting the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment. Branch v. Tunnell, 14 F.3d 449, 454 (9th Cir.1994). Under Federal Rule of Evidence 201, a court may take judicial notice of “matters of public record.” Mack v. S. Bay Beer Distribs., Inc., 798 F.2d 1279, 1282 (9th Cir.1986). Otherwise, if the district court considers materials outside of the pleadings, the motion to dismiss is converted into a motion for summary judgment. See Arpin v. Santa Clara Valley Transp. Agency, 261 F.3d 912, 925 (9th Cir.2001).

If the court grants a motion to dismiss, it must then decide whether to grant leave to amend. The court should “freely give” leave to amend when there is no “undue delay, bad faith[,] dilatory motive on the part of the movant ... undue prejudice to the opposing party by virtue of ... the amendment, [or] futility of the amendment....” Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a); Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182, 83 S.Ct. 227, 9 L.Ed.2d 222 (1962). Generally, leave to amend is only denied when it is clear that the deficiencies of the complaint cannot be cured by amendment. See DeSoto v. Yellow Freight Sys., Inc., 957 F.2d 655, 658 (9th Cir.1992).

B. Rule 56(c)

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide for summary adjudication when “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Material facts are those which may affect the outcome of the case. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute as to a material fact is genuine if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party. See id. A principal purpose of summary judgment is “to isolate and dispose of factually unsupported claims.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323–24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

In determining summary judgment, a court uses a burden-shifting scheme:

When the party moving for summary judgment would bear the burden of proof at trial, it must come forward with evidence which would entitle it to a directed verdict if the evidence went uncontroverted at trial. In such a case, the moving party has the initial burden of establishing the absence of a genuine issue of fact on each issue material to its case.

C.A.R. Transp. Brokerage Co. v. Darden Rests., Inc., 213 F.3d 474, 480 (9th Cir.2000) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). In contrast, when the nonmoving party bears the burden of proving the claim or defense, the moving party can meet its burden in two ways: (1) by presenting evidence to negate an essential element of the nonmoving party's case; or (2) by demonstrating that the nonmoving party failed to make a showing sufficient to establish an element essential to that party's case on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. See Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323–24, 106 S.Ct. 2548. If the moving party fails to meet its initial burden, summary judgment must be denied and the court need not consider the nonmoving party's evidence. See Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 159–60, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970).

If the moving party meets its initial burden, the burden then shifts to the opposing party to establish a genuine issue of material fact. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). To establish the existence of a factual dispute, the opposing party need not establish a material issue of fact conclusively in its favor. It is sufficient that “the claimed factual dispute be shown to require a jury or judge to resolve the parties' differing versions of the truth at trial.” T.W. Elec. Serv., Inc. v. Pac. Elec. Contractors Ass'n, 809 F.2d 626, 631 (9th Cir.1987). In other words, the nonmoving party cannot avoid summary judgment by relying solely on conclusory allegations that are unsupported by factual data. See Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir.1989). Instead, the opposition must go beyond the assertions and allegations of the pleadings and set forth specific facts by producing competent evidence that shows a genuine issue for trial. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

At the summary judgment stage, a court's function is not to weigh the evidence and determine the truth, but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The evidence of the nonmovant is “to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor.” Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. But if the evidence of the nonmoving party is merely colorable or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted. See id. at 249–50, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

III. ANALYSIS

In Nevada, a general contractor is liable for its subcontractors' nonpayment of “indebtedness for labor”:

Every original contractor making or taking any contract in this State for the erection, construction, alteration or repair of any building or structure, or other work, shall assume and is liable for the indebtedness for labor incurred by any subcontractor or any contractors acting under, by or for the original contractor in performing any labor, construction or other work included in the subject of the original contract, for labor, and for the requirements imposed by chapters 616A to 617, inclusive, of NRS.

Nev.Rev.Stat. § 608.150(1). “[E]mployee benefit trust contributions constitute ‘indebtedness for labor,’ and [ ] trustees of employee benefit trusts have standing to sue under NRS 608.150 as representatives of the employees.”

Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. Trs. of Constr. Indus., 125 Nev. 149, 208 P.3d 884, 894 (2009) (citations omitted). The parties dispute whether Palms is a “contractor” to which this statutory liability extends. Chapter 608 does not define “contractor.” However, Chapter 624, entitled “Contractors,” does so in detail:

1. “Contractor” is synonymous...