Gonzalez v. Caballero

• Decision Date: 27 August 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07 Civ. 4801 (DC).,07 Civ. 4801 (DC).
• Citation: 572 F.Supp.2d 463
• Parties: Luis GONZALEZ, Plaintiff, v. "John" CABALLERO (first name being unknown) and New England Motor Freight Inc., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

Page 463

572 F.Supp.2d 463

Luis GONZALEZ, Plaintiff, v. "John" CABALLERO (first name being unknown) and New England Motor Freight Inc., Defendants.

No. 07 Civ. 4801 (DC).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

August 27, 2008.

Leav & Steinberg, LLP, by Daniel T. Leav, Esq., New York, NY, for Plaintiff.

Abrams, Fensterman, Fensterman, Eisman, Greenberg, Formato & Einiger, LLP, by Todd C. Rubenstein, Esq., Lake Success, NY, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION

CHIN, District Judge.

On September 12, 2005, defendant "John" Caballero, a driver for defendant New England Motor Freight Inc. ("NEMF"), delivered a number of display racks to the Tribeca Soho Animal Hospital (the "Hospital"). Instead of taking the display racks into the Hospital, however, Caballero left them outside on the street. Plaintiff Luis Gonzalez, an employee of the Hospital, attempted to move the display racks into the Hospital by himself because he was the only Hospital employee on duty and Caballero refused to help him. The display racks were extremely heavy, and Gonzalez injured himself in the process.

In this diversity case, Gonzalez sues Caballero and NEMF for damages, claiming that defendants were negligent in their delivery of the display racks. He contends that defendants failed to exercise reasonable care when Caballero left the racks in the street and refused to help him move them into the Hospital. NEMF moves for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) dismissing the complaint, contending that defendants owed Gonzalez no duty of care. For the reasons that follow, the motion is granted and the complaint is dismissed.

BACKGROUND

A. The Facts

The facts alleged in the complaint are assumed to be true for purposes of this motion. They may be summarized as follows:

1. The Parties

At all relevant times, Gonzalez was employed at the Hospital, which is located at 5 Lispenard Street, New York, New York. (Compl. ¶ 6). Gonzalez is a citizen of New York. (Not. of Remov. ¶ 5; Summons at 1).

At all relevant times, Caballero was a driver and deliveryman employed by NEMF. (Comp. ¶¶ 2-4). Caballero is a citizen of New Jersey.¹ NEMF, a federally licensed interstate motor carrier, is a New Jersey corporation with its principal place of business in New Jersey. (Answ. ¶ 4).

2. The Delivery

On September 12, 2005, Gonzalez was waiting at the Hospital for NEMF to deliver the display racks. (Compl. ¶ 21). Gonzalez was the only employee on duty at the Hospital at the time. (Id. ¶ 20).

Caballero arrived at the Hospital with the display racks, each of which weighed more than 100 pounds. (Id. ¶¶ 7-10). Instead of delivering the racks onto the premises of the Hospital as he was supposed to, however, Caballero left them on the "public roadway located on Lispenard Street." (Id. ¶¶ 12-14). Gonzalez asked Caballero to help him take the racks inside, but Caballero refused. (Id. ¶¶ 15-17, 23-26). Caballero then left, without helping Gonzalez. (Id. ¶ 26).

As a consequence, after Caballero left, Gonzalez was forced to move the display racks by himself from the street into the Hospital. (Id. ¶¶ 26-27). As he attempted to do so, he hurt himself, suffering substantial injuries. (Id. ¶¶ 27-28).

B. Prior Proceedings

Gonzalez commenced this action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Bronx County, on February 27, 2007. (Not. of Remov. ¶ 1). The complaint asserts a negligence claim against defendants, contending that, as a result of defendants' "negligence, carelessness and reckless conduct," Gonzalez was forced to move the display racks himself, without the aid of proper equipment, hurting himself in the process. (Compl. ¶ 27). NEMF served its answer on April 10, 2007. (Not. of Remov. ¶ 2).

The complaint did not seek a specified amount of damages, but on May 25, 2007, Gonzalez served a Supplemental Demand pursuant to C.P.L.R. 3107(c) requesting judgment in the amount of $8 million. (Not. of Remov. ¶ 3 & Ex. C). On June 5, 2007, NEMF removed the case to this Court, based on diversity of citizenship of the parties. (Id. ¶ 4).

The parties conducted limited discovery, and at a pretrial conference on December 14, 2007, NEMF requested permission to move for judgment on the pleadings rather than for summary judgment. I permitted it to do so and set a briefing schedule.

This motion followed.

DISCUSSION

First, I discuss the legal standards applicable to a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings. Second, I address the merits of Gonzalez's negligence claim.

A. Motions for Judgment on the Pleadings

Motions pursuant to Rule 12(c) for judgment on the pleadings are governed by the same standards applicable to Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Cleveland v. Caplaw Enter., 448 F.3d 518, 521 (2d Cir.2006). On a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a complaint, the court must accept a plaintiff's factual allegations as true and draw all reasonable inferences in his favor. Bernheim v. Litt, 79 F.3d 318, 321 (2d Cir.1996); see Erickson v. Pardus, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 2200, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (per curiam); Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1965, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007).

In its recent decision in Bell Atlantic Corp., the Supreme Court announced the "retirement" of the oft-quoted "no set of facts" language from Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957), adopting in its place a "plausibility" standard. Bell Atl. Corp., 127 S.Ct. at 1968-69. As interpreted by the Second Circuit, Bell Atlantic Corp. did not announce a "universal standard of heightened fact pleading, but ... instead requir[es] a flexible `plausibility standard,' which obligates a pleader to amplify a claim with some factual allegations in those contexts where such amplification is needed to render the claim plausible." Iqbal v. Hasty, 490 F.3d 143, 157-58 (2d Cir.2007). The question is whether the pleading alleges "`enough facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.'" Patane v. Clark, 508 F.3d 106, 111-12 (2d Cir.2007) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp., 127 S.Ct. at 1974).²

B. The Merits

1. Applicable Law

A plaintiff bringing a negligence claim under New York law to recover for personal injuries must show that (1) the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of reasonable care; (2) the defendant breached that duty; and (3) the breach proximately caused the plaintiffs injuries. Williams v. Utica College of Syracuse Univ., 453 F.3d 112, 116 (2d Cir.2006) (internal citations omitted); Labajo v. Best Buy Stores, L.P., 478 F.Supp.2d 523, 531 (S.D.N.Y.2007).

Here, the first element is the key. "`[A] duty of reasonable care owed by the tort-feasor to the plaintiff is elemental to any recovery in negligence.'" Lippman v. Island Helicopter Corp., 248 A.D.2d 596, 597, 670 N.Y.S.2d 529 (2d Dep't 1998) (quoting Eiseman v. State of New York, 70 N.Y.2d 175, 187, 518 N.Y.S.2d 608, 511 N.E.2d 1128 (1987)). A defendant is not liable in negligence unless it has assumed a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent foreseeable harm to the plaintiff. Lippman, 248 A.D.2d at 597, 670 N.Y.S.2d 529; see also Espinal v. Melville Snow Contractors, Inc., 98 N.Y.2d 136, 138, 746 N.Y.S.2d 120, 773 N.E.2d 485 (2002).

The existence of a duty of care is usually a question of law for the court. Palka v. Servicemaster Mgmt. Serv. Corp., 83 N.Y.2d 579, 585, 611 N.Y.S.2d 817, 634 N.E.2d 189 (1994); Kazanoff v. United States, 945 F.2d 32, 36 (2d Cir.1991). Once the court has determined the existence of a duty of care, it is then the factfinder's job to determine whether the duty was breached and, if so, whether the breach was the proximate cause of plaintiffs injury. Palka, 83 N.Y.2d at 585, 611 N.Y.S.2d 817, 634 N.E.2d 189; Lombard v. Booz-Allen & Hamilton, 280 F.3d 209, 215-16 (2d Cir.2002).

To prevail, Gonzales must show that NEMF owed a duty of care specifically to him because "without a duty running directly to the injured person there can be no liability in damages, however careless the conduct or foreseeable the harm." Hamilton v. Beretta U.S.A. Corp., 96 N.Y.2d 222, 232, 727 N.Y.S.2d 7, 750 N.E.2d 1055 (2001). Hence, the question is whether NEMF, while under contract to deliver display racks to the Hospital, owed Gonzales—an employee of the Hospital who chose to move the storage racks himself—a duty of reasonable care.

2. Application

I conclude that NEMF did not owe a duty of care to Gonzalez. Even assuming NEMF had a contractual obligation to the Hospital to deliver the racks inside, NEMF did not have a duty to Gonzalez to try to save him from injuring himself. Caballero undertook no duty to protect Gonzalez; his refusal to help Gonzalez created no such duty and therefore he did not breach any duty. See Lippman, 248 A.D.2d at 597, 670 N.Y.S.2d 529; Conte v. Aeolian Corp., 80 A.D.2d 990, 991, 437 N.Y.S.2d 473 (4th Dep't 1981). Instead, after Caballero left, Gonzalez injured himself because he made the unwise decision to try to move several heavy display racks himself, without any help or equipment.

Both Conte and Lippman are instructive. In Conte, the plaintiff and his co-employee arrived at the defendant's loading dock to pick up a piano. They were told that everyone was out to lunch, and that if they wanted help with the piano, they would have to wait until after lunch. Rather than wait, they decided to load the piano onto their truck themselves. The piano fell, injuring the plaintiff. He sued the defendant for negligence. 80 A.D.2d at 991, 437 N.Y.S.2d 473.

The trial court denied defendant's summary judgment motion. The Fourth Department reversed, dismissing the complaint and holding:

Plaintiffs claim that a duty existed, under common law principles, for defendant to assist in loading the piano is without merit. Defendant merely failed to provide assistance during its workers' lunch hour. Such behavior is not the type of inaction that creates a duty....

Plai...