TANYA WALTON PRATT, District Judge.
This matter is before the Court on a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings filed by Defendant Trailer Transit, Inc. ("Trailer Transit"), pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) (
The facts of this case are set forth in detail in the Court's Entry on Trailer Transit's Motion for Summary judgment (
In its Entry on Trailer Transit's Motion for Summary Judgment (
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) permits a party to move for judgment after the parties have filed the complaint and answer. Rule 12(c) motions are reviewed under the same standard as a motion to dismiss under 12(b)(6). Frey v. Bank One, 91 F.3d 45, 46 (7th Cir. 1996). Like a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court will grant a Rule 12(c) motion only if "it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff cannot prove any facts that would support his claim for relief." N. Ind. Gun & Outdoor Shows, Inc. v. City of S. Bend, 163 F.3d 449, 452 (7th Cir. 1998) (quoting Craigs, Inc. v. Gen. Elec. Capital Corp., 12 F.3d 686, 688 (7th Cir. 1993)). The facts in the complaint are viewed in light most favorable to the non-moving party; however, the court is "not obliged to ignore any facts set forth in the complaint that undermine the plaintiff's claim or to assign any weight to unsupported conclusions of law." Id. (quoting R.J.R. Serv., Inc. v. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 895 F.2d 279, 281 (7th Cir. 1989)). "As the title of the rule implies, Rule 12(c) permits a judgment based on the pleadings alone. . . . The pleadings include the complaint, the answer, and any written instruments attached as exhibits." Id. (internal citations omitted).
Trailer Transit argues that because Mr. Walker's Complaint sets forth a single breach of contract theory that the Court has determined is not valid as a matter of law, it is entitled to judgment on the pleadings. Mr. Walker's only response to this assertion is a restatement of his arguments made at summary judgment that the Court has already rejected, and a single-sentence request for the Court to reconsider its ruling. Mr. Walker does not deny that his Complaint is based upon the theory that Trailer Transit charged its customers Add-On Fees in an amount that exceeded the actual out-of-pocket costs to Trailer Transit for providing those services, and that Trailer Transit breached the Lease Agreements by not paying Drivers 71% of the portion of the charge that exceeded Trailer Transit's out-of-pocket costs. See
The Court rejects Mr. Walker's request that the Court reconsider its ruling on the motion for summary judgment for two reasons. First, the request violates Local Rule 7-1, which states "[a] motion must not be contained within a brief, response, or reply to a previously filed motion, unless ordered by the court." S.D. Ind. L.R. 7-1(a). Mr. Walker's motion to reconsider is improperly contained in the response brief to Trailer Transit's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. Second, a motion to reconsider "is not an appropriate forum for rehashing previously rejected arguments or arguing matters that could have been heard during the pendency of the previous motion." Caisse Nationale de Credit Agricole v. CBI Indus., Inc., 90 F.3d 1264, 1270 (7th Cir. 1996). A motion to reconsider is designed to correct manifest errors of law or fact or to present newly discovered evidence. Publishers Resource, Inc. v. Walker-Davis Publications, Inc., 762 F.2d 557, 561 (7th Cir. 1985). For example, a motion for reconsideration is appropriate when: (1) a court has patently misunderstood a party; (2) a court has made a decision outside the adversarial issues presented; (3) a court has made an error not of reasoning but of apprehension; or (4) a change in the law or facts has occurred since the submission of the issue. On the other hand, a motion for reconsideration is an "improper vehicle to introduce evidence previously available or to tender new legal theories." Bally Export Corp. v. Balicar, Ltd., 804 F.2d 398, 404 (7th Cir. 1986).
Mr. Walker does not present any new evidence that was not available at the time the summary judgment motion was briefed, nor does he assert that the Court made a manifest error of law or fact. A court may grant a motion to reconsider only where a movant demonstrates a manifest error of law or fact, but it is not an occasion to make new arguments. In re Prince, 85 F.3d 314, 324 (7th Cir. 1996); Granite St. Ins. Co. v. Degerlia, 925 F.2d 189, 192 n.7 (7th Cir. 1991). Any new or restated arguments by Mr. Walker must be rejected.
The Court's Entry is clear that "Mr. Walker and the Drivers are not entitled to 71% of the portion of Trailer Transit's Add-On Fees that exceed its actual out-of-pocket costs under the terms of the Compensation Provision of the Lease Agreement[.]"
The Court finds that Mr. Walker cannot prove any set of any facts that would support his claim for relief based upon the allegations set forth in his Complaint. Therefore, Trailer Transit's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (