Starboard Holdings Ltd. v. ABF Freight Sys., Inc.

• Decision Date: 16 February 2017
• Docket Number: Case No. 15–22047–Civ–TORRES
• Citation: 235 F.Supp.3d 1363
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida
• Parties: STARBOARD HOLDINGS LTD. and Starboard Cruise Service, Inc., f/u/b/o SIACI, Plaintiffs, v. ABF FREIGHT SYSTEMS, INC., and Sentry Security Services, Inc. n/k/a/ Electric Guard Dog, LLC, Defendants.

235 F.Supp.3d 1363

STARBOARD HOLDINGS LTD. and Starboard Cruise Service, Inc., f/u/b/o SIACI, Plaintiffs,

v.ABF FREIGHT SYSTEMS, INC., and Sentry Security Services, Inc. n/k/a/ Electric Guard Dog, LLC, Defendants.

Case No. 15–22047–Civ–TORRES

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

Signed February 16, 2017

Alfred J. Will, Badiak & Will, LLP, Mineola, NY, William Edward Cassidy, Christian Enrique Rodriguez, Cassidy & Black, P.A., Miami, FL, for Plaintiffs.

Barry N. Gutterman, Barry N. Gutterman & Associates, P.C., Bedford Hills, NY, Heidi M. Roth, Coral Gables, FL, Carlos A. Garcia, Robert Chanderline Bauroth, Wicker Smith O'Hara McCoy Ford, P.A., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, for Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

EDWIN G. TORRES, United States Magistrate Judge

This matter is before the Court on ABF Freight Systems, Inc.'s ("ABF" or "Defendant") motion for summary judgment ("Motion") against Starboard Holdings LTD and Starboard Cruise Services, Inc. (collectively, "Plaintiffs"). [D.E. 79].¹ Having reviewed the Motion, response, reply, related authorities submitted by the parties, and the record in this case, ABF's Motion is GRANTED.

I. BACKGROUND

This action arises from the theft of Plaintiffs' goods from ABF's warehouse on March 2, 2014 in Miami–Dade County, Florida. [D.E. 41 at 1]. Plaintiffs, incorporated in the state of Delaware, and its wholly owned subsidiary, sell watches and other merchandise, which were stored in ABF's warehouse. [D.E. 27 at 1–2].

Plaintiffs hired ABF to transport Plaintiffs' high valued shipments of watches and jewelry from Dallas, Texas to Miami, Florida.² The retail value of the cargo was $935,069,000. ABF picked up the initial shipment on Dallas on February 24, 2014, arrived at ABF Freight's Miami warehouse, and unloaded the items on February 26, 2014. ABF picked up the second shipment in Dallas on February 26, 2014, arrived at ABF Freight's Miami warehouse, and unloaded it on Friday, February 28, 2014. Upon arrival in Miami, Florida, ABF broke down the consolidated shipment and transferred Plaintiffs' cargo into two storage trailers at ABF's Miami warehouse until ABF secured an appointment to deliver it to Plaintiffs' warehouse.

On or about March 1, 2014 or March 2, 2014, the shipments were stolen from ABF Freight's Miami warehouse by unknown persons. ABF Freight's Miami terminal maintained security measures, including: complete perimeter coverage by Sentry Security Services, Inc. n/k/a Electric Guard Dog, LLC's ("EGD")³ electric fence system, chains and padlocks, and a 360 degree chain link fence with padlocks.

Shortly after the theft, the Miami–Dade Police Department's Report noted that the point of entry and exit was the ABF Miami terminal's entry gate and the thieves' method of entry was cutting the chain and locks with bolt cutters. ABF's security report further indicated that unknown suspects cut/removed a lock from the driver's gate, forced entry on the dock by damaging a dock door and used forklifts to remove the goods from the two trailers containing Starboard's goods. Plaintiffs claim they unsuccessfully attempted to recover the stolen merchandise and lost more than $75,000, including a $25,000 deductible as a result of the theft. Id. at 3.

Plaintiffs initially filed this action in state court against ABF on May 7, 2015. [D.E. 1–1]. On September 25, 2015, Plaintiffs filed their Motion for Leave to file their First Amended Complaint naming EGD as an additional named Defendant. [D.E. 25]. The Court granted Plaintiffs' Motion on October 5, 2015 [D.E. 26] and Plaintiffs filed their First Amended Complaint on October 8, 2015. [D.E. 27]. The First Amended Complaint alleged "[t]hat Defendant, [EGD], was negligent and further breached its contract obligation to provide security for and properly safeguard Plaintiffs' merchandise being stolen ...." [D.E. 27 at 6]. EGD filed its Motion to Dismiss Count V of Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint [D.E. 41] on November 20, 2015. By an Omnibus Order, the Court granted EGD's Motion to Dismiss Count V of Starboard's First Amended Complaint with leave to refile "in the event that there are additional facts that can be pleaded in good faith to survive dismissal." [D.E. 57 at 6].

Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint [D.E. 58] seeks damages from ABF based on four causes of action: bailment, negligence, breach of contract, and conversion. On December 8, 2016, ABF filed its Motion for summary judgment against Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs responded on January 17, 2017 [D.E. 88] and Defendants replied on February 7, 2017. [D.E. 93]. Therefore, this Motion is ripe for adjudication.

II. APPLICABLE PRINCIPLES AND LAW

"The court shall grant summary judgment 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).

A party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must support the assertion by: (A) citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials; or (B) showing that materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.

FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c)(1). "On summary judgment the inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion." Matsushita Electric Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 597, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting another source).

In opposing a motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party may not rely solely on the pleadings, but must show by affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions that specific facts exist demonstrating a genuine issue for trial. See FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c) ; Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 323–24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The existence of a mere "scintilla" of evidence in support of the nonmovant's position is insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the nonmovant. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "A court need not permit a case to go to a jury ... when the inferences that are drawn from the evidence, or upon which the non-movant relies, are ‘implausible.’ " Mize v. Jefferson City Bd. o f Educ. , 93 F.3d 739, 743 (11th Cir. 1996) (citing Matsushita , 475 U.S. at 592–94, 106 S.Ct. 1348 )).

At the summary judgment stage, the Court's function is not to "weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson , 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505. In making this determination, the Court must decide which issues are material. A material fact is one that might affect the outcome of the case. See id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505 ("Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment. Factual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary will not be counted."). "Summary judgment will not lie if the dispute about a material fact is ‘genuine,’ that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Id .

III. ANALYSIS

A. Summary Judgment

The purpose of ABF's Motion is to seek summary judgment—or in the alternative partial summary judgment—against Plaintiffs. As set forth above, this action arises out of two separate interstate shipments transported by ABF from Texas to Florida pursuant to a pricing schedule and bills of lading dated February 24, 2014 and February 26, 2014. ABF's primary argument is that Plaintiffs' only available remedy is the Carmack Amendment because before the goods at issue were stolen while in interstate commerce, ABF contends they were still in transit and thus had not been delivered. Because Plaintiffs only filed suit against ABF asserting state law claims (which are allegedly preempted by the Carmack Amendment if the goods were still in transit), ABF contends that Plaintiffs have failed to state a valid claim against ABF and that ABF is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. We will discuss the parties' arguments in turn.

1. The Carmack Amendment

The basis of ABF's primary argument in support of its Motion for summary judgment is that the Carmack Amendment to the Interstate Commerce Commission Act (the "Carmack Amendment")—49 U.S.C. § 14706, et seq. —governs this action. The Eleventh Circuit has made clear that the Carmack Amendment is broad in scope because it "creates a uniform rule for carrier liability when goods are shipped in interstate commerce. To accomplish the goal of uniformity, the Carmack Amendment preempts state law claims arising from failures in the transportation and delivery of goods." Smith v. United Parcel Serv. , 296 F.3d 1244, 1246 (11th Cir. 2002) (internal citations omitted); see also Adams Express Co. v. Croninger, 226 U.S. 491, 506, 33 S.Ct. 148, 57 L.Ed. 314 (1913) ("Almost every detail of the subject is covered so completely that there can be no rational doubt but that Congress intended to take possession of the subject, and supersede all state regulation with reference to it.") (emphasis added); North Am. Van Lines, Inc. v. Pinkerton Sec. Sys., Inc., 89 F.3d 452, 456 (7th Cir. 1996) (explaining that the Carmack Amendment "preempts all state or common law remedies available to a shipper against a carrier for loss or damage to interstate shipments"). Thus, courts have uniformly found that "the Carmack amendment preempts the field and supersedes all state common law rights" because "the federal government entered and pre-empted the field of liability for interstate shipments." United Van Lines, Inc. v....