Jones v. Mill

• Decision Date: 06 November 2017
• Docket Number: Case No. 7:15-cv-00661-TMP
• Parties: CHRISTOPHER JONES, et al., Plaintiffs, v. SCOTT DAVIS CHIP MILL, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama

CHRISTOPHER JONES, et al., Plaintiffs, v. SCOTT DAVIS CHIP MILL, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 7:15-cv-00661-TMP

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA WESTERN DIVISION

November 6, 2017

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Pending before the court are multiple motions for summary judgment. (Docs. 69, 74, and 76). The motions have been fully briefed, and the parties have consented to dispositive jurisdiction by a United States magistrate judge in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). Accordingly, the undersigned enters the following Memorandum Opinion.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiffs Kenneth Jackson ("Jackson") and Christopher Jones ("Jones") (together "plaintiffs") filed the original Complaint in this action on April 21, 2015, and named as defendants Scott Davis Chip Mill ("the Chip Mill"), Brett Davis ("Davis"), McMillan Trucking, Mike McMillan ("McMillan"), and Jamie Brasher ("Brasher"). (Doc. 1). Defendants Davis and the Chip Mill filed a Motion to Dismiss (doc. 6), which was followed by a Motion to Dismiss filed by defendants Brasher, McMillan, and McMillan Trucking (doc. 9). On June 24, 2015, the plaintiffs moved to file an Amended Complaint. The motion was granted, and the plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint on July 2, 2015. (Doc. 24). Due to the filing of the Amended Complaint, the previous Motions to Dismiss were denied as moot. (Doc. 25).

The parties consented to dispositive jurisdiction by a magistrate judge on July 7, 2015. (Doc. 26). The court filed an Initial Order in the case on the following day. (Doc. 27). On July 16, 2015, Motions to Dismiss were filed by defendant Brasher (doc. 28) and defendants McMillan and McMillan Trucking (doc. 30). On the same day, defendants Davis and the Chip Mill filed an Answer to the Amended Complaint.¹ (Doc. 31). The court entered an order granting in part and denying in part the Motions to Dismiss (docs. 28, 30), but allowing the plaintiffs to file a Second Amended Complaint "to supply any additional factual or missing allegations necessary to state claims in this action." (Doc. 42, p. 37). The plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint on February 4, 2016. (Doc. 45). The court entered a Memorandum Opinion and Order determining that the following claims remain pending:

• As to defendants Davis and the Chip Mill: Count One - Race Discrimination in Contract under 42 U.S.C. § 1981; Count Two - Civil Conspiracy; Count Three - Racketeering; Count Four - Violation of Civil Rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1982; Count Five - Conspiracy to Deprive the Plaintiffs of Civil Rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1985; Count Six - Unjust Enrichment; and Count Seven - Fraud and Deceit.

• As to defendants McMillan and McMillan Trucking: Count One - Race Discrimination in Contract under 42 U.S.C. § 1981; Count Two - Civil Conspiracy; and Count Three - Racketeering.

• As to defendant Brasher - Count One - Race Discrimination in Contract under 42 U.S.C. § 1981; Count Two - Civil Conspiracy; Count Three - Racketeering; and Count Six - Unjust Enrichment only as to plaintiff Jackson. (Doc. 56, pp. 17-18).

Following entry of the court's order, defendants Davis and the Chip Mill filed a Motion to Dismiss Counts IV through VII (doc. 57), which the court denied. (Doc. 58). Defendant Brasher filed an Answer to the Second Amended Complaint on July 13, 2016. (Doc. 59). Defendants McMillan and McMillan Trucking filed an Answer to the Second Amended Complaint on July 21, 2016, followed by an Amended Answer on August 4, 2016. (Docs. 61, 64). Defendants Davis and theChip Mill filed an Answer to the Second Amended Complaint on August 4, 2016. (Doc. 63).

After the parties notified the court of their willingness to engage in mediation, the court, on December 1, 2016, ordered the parties to proceed with mediation through a mediator of their choice. (Doc. 66). Mediation proved unsuccessful, however, and defendants Davis and the Chip Mill filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on December 19, 2016. (Doc. 69). The court held a telephone conference with the parties and set a schedule for the filing and briefing of motions for summary judgment by the other parties. Defendant Brasher filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on January 13, 2017. (Doc. 74). Defendants McMillan and McMillan Trucking filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on January 18, 2017. (Doc. 76). The plaintiffs filed a Response in opposition to the pending Motions for Summary Judgment on February 8, 2017. (Doc. 79). The plaintiffs' Response was met with Motions to Strike by defendants Brasher (doc. 81) and McMillan and McMillan Trucking (doc. 80) and motions to join those Motions to Strike by defendants Davis and the Chip Mill (docs. 84, 85). Reply briefs were filed by defendant Brasher (doc. 82) and defendants McMillan and McMillan Trucking (doc. 83) on February 22, 2017. Defendants Davis and the Chip Mill did not file a reply brief.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a), summary judgment is proper "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The party asking for summary judgment "always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of 'the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any' which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 47 U.S. 317, 323 (1986) (quoting former Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)). The movant can meet this burden by presenting evidence showing there is no dispute of material fact or by showing that the nonmoving party has failed to present evidence in support of some element of its case on which it bears the ultimate burden of proof. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-23. There is no requirement, however, "that the moving party support its motion with affidavits or other similar materials negating the opponent's claim." Id. at 323.

Once the moving party has met its burden, Rule 56 "requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by her own affidavits, or by the 'depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions of file,' designate 'specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Id. at 324 (quoting former Fed. R.Civ. P. 56(e)). The nonmoving party need not present evidence in a form necessary for admission at trial; however, he may not merely rest on his pleadings. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324. "[T]he plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Id. at 322.

After the plaintiff has properly responded to a proper motion for summary judgment, the court "shall" grant the motion if there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The substantive law will identify which facts are material and which are irrelevant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). A dispute is genuine "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Id. at 248. "[T]he judge's function is not himself to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Id. at 249. His guide is the same standard necessary to direct a verdict: "whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law." Id. at 251-52; see also Bill Johnson's Restaurants, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 461 U.S. 731, 745 n. 11 (1983).

However, the nonmoving party "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586 (1986). The evidence supporting a claim must be "substantial," Marcus v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co., 651 F.2d 379 (5th Cir., Unit B, 1981); a mere scintilla of evidence is not enough to create a genuine issue of fact. Young v. City of Palm Bay, 358 F.3d 859, 860 (11th Cir. 2004); Kesinger ex rel. Estate of Kesinger v. Herrington, 381 F.3d 1243, 1249-50 (11th Cir. 2004). If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249 (citations omitted); accord Spence v. Zimmerman, 873 F.2d 256 (11th Cir. 1989). Furthermore, the court must "view the evidence presented through the prism of the substantive evidentiary burden," so there must be sufficient evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 254; Cottle v. Storer Communications, Inc., 849 F.2d 570, 575 (11th Cir. 1988). Nevertheless, credibility determinations, the weighing of evidence, and the drawing of inferences from the facts are the function of the jury, and therefore the evidence of the non-movant is to be believed and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255. The non-movant need not be given the benefit of every inference but only of every reasonable inference. Brown v. City of Clewiston, 848 F.2d 1534, 1540 n. 12 (11th Cir. 1988).

III. FACTS

For purposes of summary judgment the courts are directed to view the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. However, in the instant case, portions of the non-moving plaintiffs' Statement of Facts have been stricken and will not be considered in this Memorandum Opinion. (See doc. 90). Accordingly, the following facts are relevant to the instant Motions for Summary Judgment.

Plaintiffs Jones and Jackson, during the relevant period, worked in the trucking business in...