Wade v. Tiffin Motorhomes, Inc.

• Decision Date: 27 October 2009
• Docket Number: No. 5:05-CV-1458 (GTS/GJD).,5:05-CV-1458 (GTS/GJD).
• Citation: 686 F. Supp.2d 174
• Parties: Dennis WADE; Denise Wade; and Motorists Mutual Insurance Co., Plaintiffs, v. TIFFIN MOTORHOMES, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York

686 F.Supp.2d 174

Dennis WADE; Denise Wade; and Motorists Mutual Insurance Co., Plaintiffs, v. TIFFIN MOTORHOMES, INC., Defendant.

No. 5:05-CV-1458 (GTS/GJD).

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

October 27, 2009.

Cozen O'Connor, Georgia S. Foerstner, Esq., of Counsel, Philadelphia, PA, for Plaintiffs.

Iseman, Cunningham, Riester & Hyde, LLP, Brian M. Culnan, Esq., of Counsel, Albany, NY, for Defendant.

DECISION and ORDER

GLENN T. SUDDABY, District Judge.

Currently pending before the Court in this products liability action filed by Dennis and Denise Wade ("Plaintiffs Wade") and Motorists Insurance Company ("Plaintiff Motorists") is a motion for summary judgment filed by Tiffin Motorhomes, Inc. ("Defendant"). (Dkt. No. 20.) For the reasons set forth below, Defendant's motion is granted in part and denied in part; and Plaintiffs' Complaint is dismissed except for (1) their claim for recovery of $23,436.69 for the loss of the RV's contents under a strict liability theory of liability and/or negligence theory of liability, and (2) their claim for recovery of $81,777.32 for the loss of the RV itself under an implied warranty theory of liability.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Summary of Plaintiffs' Complaint

Liberally construed, Plaintiffs' Complaint (Dkt. No. 1) alleges as follows:

1. In or about 2001, Plaintiffs Wade, residents of Ohio, purchased a recreational vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the "RV") that had been designed, manufactured and sold to them by Defendant in Texas;

2. On or about November 29, 2003, while traveling from Vermont to their home in Ohio, Plaintiffs Wade spent the night in the RV at the Oneida Indian Campground in Verona, New York;

3. While they were at the campground, a fire occurred in the RV that caused damage to both the RV and its contents;

4. The RV was designed, manufactured, assembled, distributed and sold by Defendant in a defective manner that made it unreasonably dangerous to Plaintiffs Wade and their property 5. Since the RV had not been substantially altered subsequent to leaving the possession of Defendant, the dangerous condition existed at that time;

6. The fire, and the damage caused by the fire, was the direct and proximate result of the dangerous and defective RV;

7. At all times relevant hereto, Plaintiff Motorists had a contract with Plaintiffs Wade to insure the RV under one policy, and insure its contents under a separate policy;

8. As a result of the damages sustained by the fire, Plaintiffs Wade made a claim under these policies;

9. Plaintiff Motorists made payments to Plaintiffs Wade in an amount in excess of $75,000 to compensate them for their losses;

10. Plaintiffs Wade suffered additional damages not covered by the insurance policies and seek to recover those damages from Defendant;

11. Pursuant to its contracts with Plaintiffs Wade, Plaintiff Motorists is contractually, legally and equitably subrogated, to the extent of its payments, to Plaintiffs Wade's rights against Defendant; and

12. Because Plaintiffs are all residents of Ohio, and Defendant is a resident of Alabama, and because the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, complete diversity exists between the parties, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

B. Plaintiffs' Theories of Liability

Based on these factual allegations, the Court liberally construes Plaintiffs' Complaint and its attachments as asserting the following four theories of liability against Defendants: (1) strict liability under New York State law based on Defendant's improper, defective, and unreasonably dangerous design and manufacture of the RV; (2) negligence arising from the failure of Defendant and its agents to properly design, manufacture, distribute and inspect the RV, which was the direct and proximate cause of the unreasonably dangerous condition and of the fire; (3) breach of an implied warranty of merchantability; and (4) breach of an express warranty covering, among other things, the RV's propane gas system. (Id.) As a result of the harm that Plaintiffs have suffered, Plaintiffs request a Court-issued judgment awarding the following relief: (1) judgment against Defendant in an amount in excess of $75,000.00; and (2) pre-judgment and post judgment interest, attorney's fees, the costs of this suit and such other relief as the Court may deem "just and equitable." (Id.)

C. Summary Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment

In its motion for summary judgment, Defendant argues that Plaintiffs' claims should be dismissed for four reasons: (1) the record before the Court does not contain any admissible evidence establishing, nor does Plaintiffs' Complaint allege facts plausibly suggesting, that any personal injuries have been suffered by Plaintiffs, thus barring Plaintiffs' strict liability and negligence claims under the economic loss rule; (2) the record before the Court does not contain any admissible evidence establishing, nor does Plaintiffs' Complaint allege facts plausibly suggesting, that there is privity of contract between Plaintiff Motorists and Defendant, thus barring Plaintiff Motorists' claim for breach of implied warranties; (3) Plaintiffs Wade's express warranty had expired before the fire occurred in November of 2003, thus barring Plaintiffs' express warranty claims; and (4) should any of Plaintiffs' claims not be dismissed on the aforementioned grounds, Plaintiffs should be sanctioned with dismissal for Plaintiff Motorists' representatives' spoliation of evidence critical to the defense. (Dkt. No. 20, at 9-17 Def.'s Memo. of Law.)

II. APPLICABLE LEGAL STANDARDS

A. Legal Standard Governing Motions for Summary Judgment

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56, summary judgment is warranted if "the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, the Court must resolve all ambiguities and draw all reasonable inferences against the moving party. However, when the moving party has met its initial burden of establishing the absence of any genuine issue of material fact, the nonmoving party must come forward with "specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

What this burden-shifting standard means when a plaintiff has failed to respond to a defendant's motion for summary judgment is that "the fact that there has been no such response . . . does not . . . by itself mean that the motion is to be granted automatically." Champion v. Artuz, 76 F.3d 483, 486 (2d Cir.1996). Rather, practically speaking, the Court must (1) determine what material facts, if any, are disputed in the record presented on the defendants' motion, and (2) assure itself that, based on those undisputed material facts, the law indeed warrants judgment for the defendants. Champion v. Artuz, 76 F.3d 483, 486 (2d Cir.1996); Allen v. Comprehensive Analytical Group, Inc., 140 F.Supp.2d 229, 232 (N.D.N.Y.2001) (Scullin, C.J.); N.D.N.Y. L.R. 7.1(b)(3). However, the plaintiff's failure to respond to the defendant's motion for summary judgment lightens the defendant's burden on the motion.

More specifically, where a plaintiff has failed to properly respond to a defendant's factual assertions contained in its Statement of Material Facts (a/k/a its "Rule 7.1 Statement"), the factual assertions contained in that Rule 7.1 Statement will be accepted as true to the extent that (1) those facts are supported by the evidence in the record, and (2) the non-moving party, if he is proceeding pro se, has been specifically advised of the potential consequences of failing to respond to the movant's motion for summary judgment. Vermont Teddy Bear Co., Inc. v. 1-800 Beargram Co., 373 F.3d 241, 243 (2d Cir. 2004); Champion, 76 F.3d at 486; N.D.N.Y. L.R. 7.1(a)(3); N.D.N.Y. L.R. 56.2.

Similarly, where a plaintiff has failed to respond to a defendant's properly filed and facially meritorious memorandum of law (submitted in support of its motion for summary judgment), the plaintiff is deemed to have "consented" to the legal arguments contained in that memorandum of law under Local Rule 7.1(b) (3).¹ Stated another way, where a defendant has properly filed a memorandum of law (in support of a properly filed motion for summary judgment), and the plaintiff has failed to respond to that memorandum of law, the only remaining issue is whether the legal arguments advanced in the defendant's memorandum of law are facially meritorious.² A defendant's burden in making legal arguments that are facially meritorious has appropriately been characterized as "modest."³

Implied in the above-stated standard is the fact that, where a non-movant fails to respond to a motion for summary judgment, a district court has no duty to perform an independent review of the record to find proof of a factual dispute.⁴ In the event the district court chooses to conduct such an independent review of the record, any verified complaint filed by the plaintiff should be treated as an affidavit. Patterson v. County of Oneida, 375 F.3d 206, 219 (2d Cir.2004). That having been said, to be sufficient to create a factual issue for purposes of a summary judgment motion, an affidavit (or verified complaint) must, among other things, be based "on personal knowledge." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)(1). In addition, such an affidavit (or verified complaint) must not be conclusory. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(e)(2).

B. Legal Standard Governing Motions to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim

To the extent that a defendant's motion for summary judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 is based entirely on the plaintiff's complaint, such a motion is functionally the same as a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). As a result, "where appropriate, a trial judge may dismiss for failure to state a cause of action upon ...