Page v. Corvias Grp.
| Decision Date | 13 September 2021 |
| Docket Number | 5:20-CV-336-D |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of North Carolina |
| Parties | SHANE PAGE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CORVIAS GROUP, LLC, et al., Defendants. |
On August 31, 2020, Staff Sergeant Shane Page and Brittany Page ("the Pages"), Specialist Spenser Ganske and Emily Ganske (''the Ganskes"), Sergeant First Class Christopher Wilkes and Ashley Wilkes ("the Wilkeses"), and Corporal Timothy Murphy and Katelyn Murphy ("the Murphys") (collectively "plaintiffs") filed an amended class action complaint against Corvias Group, LLC ("Corvias") Bragg Communities, LLC ("Bragg Communities") Corvias Management-Army, LLC ("Corvias Management"), Bragg-Picerne Partners, LLC ("Bragg-Picerne"), Corvias Military Living, LLC ("Corvias ML"), and Corvias Construction, LLC ("Corvias Construction") (collectively "defendants") [D.E. 30].[1] Plaintiffs allege claims under North Carolina law for (1) breach of contract, (2) breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, (3) negligence, (4) temporary recurrent private nuisance, (5) violations of the North Carolina Residential Rental Agreements Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-38 et seq. ("RRAA"), and (6) violations of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 75-1.1 et seq, ("UDTPA"). See id ¶¶ 224-79, 286-90. Plaintiffs also allege violations of the Residential, Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4851 et seq, ("RLPHRA"). See id ¶¶ 280-85. Plaintiffs seek damages, declaratory relief, and injunctive relief. See Id. at 89-92.
As explained below, the court grants in part and denies in part defendants' motion to dismiss, denies defendants' motion to strike, grants plaintiffs' motion for judicial notice, and grants plaintiffs' motion to supplement the record.
Plaintiffs are military personnel and their families living in defendants' privatized military housing. Plaintiffs' allegations concern the quality and maintenance of their leased housing. See Am. Compl. [D.E. 30] ¶¶ 4-12. Specifically, the Pages moved into 274 Spear Drive, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in August 2016. In May 2020, the Pages relocated to 69 Baltic Circle, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, due to problems in the Spear Drive home. See id ¶¶ 109, 126; [D.E. 34-2] 3. The Ganskes have resided at 246 Castle Drive, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, since September 2018. See Am. Compl. ¶ 129. The Wilkeses moved into 112 Hirsch Circle, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in March 2017. In July 2020, they moved to 39 Viking Court, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, because of unabated problems at the Hirsch Circle residence. See Id. ¶¶ 143-56. The Murphys lived at 21 Galaxy Street, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from February 2019 to October 2019, when they moved off base due to problems with the Galaxy Street home. See Id. ¶¶ 160, 188.
Defendants are corporate entities responsible for building, providing, and maintaining privatized military housing at Fort Bragg under a 50-year lease with the United States (the "Ground Lease"). See id. ¶¶ 13-18, 44. Specifically, Corvias is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in Rhode Island that provides privatized military housing and related services. See id. ¶ 13. Corvias also is the parent company of Bragg-Picerne and Corvias ML. See id Bragg Communities is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. See Id. ¶ 14. Bragg-Picerne and the U.S. Department of the Army are two of its three members, and Bragg-Picerne is Bragg Communities' managing member. See Id. ¶ 14 & nn. 17, 16. At all relevant times, Bragg Communities provided housing, property management, and other services for service members and their families residing in Fort Bragg's privatized military housing. See Id. The parties' lease agreements, known as Residential Occupancy Agreements ("ROAs"), list Bragg Communities as the property "Owner." See Id. ¶ 14.
Corvias Management is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. See Id. ¶15. At all relevant times, Corvias Management provided housing and other services for service members and their families residing in Fort Bragg's privatized military housing. See Id. The parties' ROAs list Corvias Management as the "Property Manager." See Id. Bragg-Picerne is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in Rhode Island. See Id. ¶ 16. Bragg-Picerne is a wholly owned subsidiary of Corvias ML and at all relevant times provided housing and other services for service members and their families residing in privatized military housing at Fort Bragg. See Id. Corvias ML, formerly known as Picerne Military Housing, LLC, is a Rhode Island limited liability company with its principal place of business in Rhode Island. See Id. ¶ 17. At all relevant times, Corvias ML helped develop, construct, manage, and provide other relevant services regarding privatized military housing at Fort Bragg. See Id. Corvias ML's parent company, Corvias, is the company's sole member. See Id. Corvias Construction is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in Rhode Island. See Id. ¶ 18. At all relevant times, Corvias Construction provided housing and other services for service members and their families residing in privatized military housing at Fort Bragg. See id.
To procure housing from the defendants, each plaintiff entered into an ROA. In exchange for the service members' basic allowance for housing ("BAH"), defendants agreed to provide quality housing. See id ¶¶ 1, 87-89. The ROAs listed plaintiffs as the "Resident[s]" and Bragg Communities as the "Owner." See, e.g., [D.E. 34-2] 3. The ROAs also listed Corvias Management as the property manager responsible for managing "[t]he Home and all matters relating to this [ROA]." Id. The ROAs also contained choice-of-law and lead-based paint hazard disclosures. The ROAs' choice-of-law provision states:
This Agreement will be governed by the laws of the State in which the Home is located (the "Applicable State Law") to the maximum extent that the Applicable State Law applies to leased premises and the courts of such State have jurisdiction over the Home, as well as any applicable Federal laws, any applicable military rules, regulations and/or guidelines, and the [Owner's Resident Responsibility Guide], all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Id. at 26, 34, 45, 65 (emphasis omitted).
The ROAs' lead-based paint hazard disclosure states that the resident has received a copy of a booklet regarding lead-based paint hazards if the residence was built before 1978, and disclosures related to these hazards. See, e.g., Id. at 7. Although defendants had detailed knowledge of the lead-based paint hazards in housing at Fort Bragg, see Am. Compl. ¶¶ 67-86, the ROAs failed to disclose lead-based paint contamination at each of the plaintiffs' homes. See, e.g., [D.E. 34-2] 21-22, 40-41, 61-62, 83-84.
Defendants marketed "high-quality housing" to service members and their families, including plaintiffs. Am. Compl.¶ 3. However, plaintiffs experienced numerous problems with the residences they leased from defendants. As for the Pages' residence, defendants failed to disclose problems, such as ineffective moisture and air barriers before the Pages moved into their residence. See Id. ¶ 109. After moving into the residence, the Pages encountered numerous problems including water damage, insect infestations, structural damage, wood rot, mold, a defective HVAC system, and lead- based paint contamination. See Id. ¶¶ 109-28. Although the Pages made numerous repair requests, defendants failed to abate these problems. See Id. Eventually, defendants relocated the Pages, classifying the move as a "rank eligibility move," rather than one caused by the home's maintenance problems, despite telling the Pages they did not qualify for a rank eligibility move. Id. ¶ 126.
Defendants also failed to disclose problems to the Ganskes before they moved into their residence. See id. ¶ 130. Nonetheless, after moving into the residence, the Ganskes discovered preexisting rodent infestations, mold, water damage, structural problems, and nonfunctioning electrical outlets. See Id. ¶¶ 130-31. Although the Ganskes contacted defendants about making appropriate repairs, defendants failed to do so. See id ¶¶ 129-42. One repair worker told Mrs. Ganske that his employer would fire him if he told residents that mold was present in their homes. See Id. ¶ 138.
The story is much the same for the Wilkeses. Before moving into their residence, defendants disclosed no problems. Nonetheless, after moving into their residence, the Wilkeses soon encountered problems with mold, wood rot, the structure, lead-based paint, and overall disrepair. See Id. ¶¶ 144-56. For instance, the roof was so unsound that a repair worker fell through the roof, causing the interior ceiling to collapse and nearly land on members of the family. See Id. ¶ 152. Although the Wilkeses submitted 33 repair requests, defendants failed to properly abate these problems. See Id. ¶¶ 144-56. Eventually, defendants relocated the Wilkeses. See Id. ¶ 156. After 1 moving into their new residence at 39 Viking Court, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the Wilkeses discovered numerous problems with that residence, including water damage and potential lead-based paint contamination. See id. ¶¶ 156-57.
As for the Murphys, defendants also failed to disclose problems with their residence before the Murphys moved into their residence. After moving into their residence, the Murphys discovered problems with water damage, wood rot, the structure, mold, the HVAC...
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