JAY C. ZAINEY, District Judge.
The following motions are before the Court:
For the reasons that follow, both motions are DENIED.
Plaintiff seeks reconsideration of two dispositive rulings that the Court entered on January 4, 2018 (Rec. Docs. 27, 28). That same day the Court entered a final judgment in favor of all defendants. (Rec. Doc. 29). The rulings derived from separate motions to dismiss filed by the Griggers Defendants and the Ruth's Defendants. In one ruling, the Court dismissed all claims against the Griggers Defendants without prejudice due to lack of personal jurisdiction. (Rec. Doc. 27). In the other ruling, the Court dismissed all claims against the Ruth's Defendants with prejudice for failure to state a claim. (Rec. Doc. 28).
The Rule 59 motion was filed on February 1, 2018, and is therefore timely. See Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 59(e) ("A motion to alter or amend a judgment must be filed no later than 28 days after the entry of the judgment.").
The Motion for Leave to Amend was filed on February 22, 2018, which was two days after Plaintiff sought leave to file a reply in support of her Rule 59 motion, ten days after all defendants had filed their oppositions to the Rule 59 motion, fifty days after the entry of a final judgment, and nearly four months after the first motion to dismiss was filed.
A Rule 59(e) motion "calls into question the correctness of a judgment." Templet v. HydroChem Inc., 367 F.3d 473, 478-79 (5
While Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) endows a district court with "virtually unlimited discretion" to allow amendments before entry of judgment, that discretion narrows considerably after entry of judgment. Vielma v. Eureka Co., 218 F.3d 458, 468 (5
Plaintiff asserts that the Court's ruling that the Griggers Defendants are not subject to personal jurisdiction in Louisiana is based on a manifestly erroneous application of the rules governing specific personal jurisdiction. Plaintiff argues that the Court's analysis fails to properly apply the effects test of Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783 (1984), fails to recognize that a single act can support personal jurisdiction, Wien Air Alaska, Inc. v. Brandt, 195 F.3d 208 (5
By way of background, this action arose out of the sale of shares in four companies that franchise Ruth's Chris Steakhouse Restaurants in Missouri (one restaurant) and Indiana (three restaurants). Plaintiff is a passive investor in the businesses. The four contracts that govern the ownership interests in the restaurant companies each include two sections that govern should a shareholder wish to sell any of his shares. First, the shareholder must deliver written notice of the proposed sale to the other shareholders and the notice must specify inter alia the consideration per share that the buyer is offering. (Rec. Doc. 1-1 at 16 (ex.: Palomar Indy § 1.3)). Then, the contracts provide the existing shareholders a first option right to purchase the shares for the same consideration/terms/conditions specified in the notice. (Rec. Doc. 1-1 at 16 (ex.: Palomar Indy § 1.4)).
Plaintiff alleges that the Griggers Defendants acted in concert to defeat her contractual right of first refusal by lying to her about the price that Ryan Rans was willing to pay to purchase the shares thereby pricing the shares out of her financial reach. Plaintiff claims that Defendants' conduct gives rise to claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation, and fraud.
Every argument that Plaintiff made in her opposition to the Griggers Defendants' motion to dismiss based on personal jurisdiction was foreclosed by well-established precedent and need not be revisited. Plaintiff never cited much less discussed Calder, Wien Air, or Guidry v. United States Tobacco Co., 188 F.3d 619 (5
Ignoring that Plaintiff offers no credible justification for her failure to raise this argument when opposing the Griggers Defendants' motion to dismiss,
Because Plaintiff's tort claims are based on conduct that occurred completely outside of Louisiana, her reliance on Calder, Wien Air, and Guidry is misplaced. These cases do not stand for the proposition that intentional tortious conduct performed outside of the forum equals jurisdiction in the forum when the injury is experienced by a resident of the forum. See Sangha v. Navig8 Shipmgt. Priv. Ltd., 882 F.3d 96, 102 (5
The mailing of the notice for each contract is the sole instance of case-related contact that Plaintiff has identified between the Griggers Defendants and this state. Plaintiff's contention that there are multiple directed acts in this case that support jurisdiction is factually unsupported. (Rec. Doc. 30-1, Memo at 9). None of the business activities at issue occurred in this state and none of the conduct that supports Plaintiff's claims occurred in this state. The notices did not create a substantial connection with Louisiana so as to subject the Defendants to the jurisdiction of a Louisiana court for committing a tort in this state. Plaintiff cannot establish a prima facie case of personal jurisdiction as to the Griggers Defendants. Plaintiff's attempt to amend her complaint is not only unforgivably late
For the foregoing reasons, both the Rule 59 motion and the motion to amend as to the Griggers Defendants are denied.
Plaintiff asserts that the Court's ruling that the Ruth's Defendants are not liable under any legal theory is manifestly erroneous because valid tort actions against them exist under Louisiana law. Plaintiff points out that Indiana and Florida law may apply and this judgment in this case would foreclose those claims. Plaintiff argues that if the original petition did not have sufficient factual allegations to establish her right to recovery, she should have been granted leave to amend her complaint in order to properly allege these claims.
In her opposition to the Ruth's Defendants' motion to dismiss, Plaintiff argued repeatedly that she had alleged sufficient detail to support her claims. The Motion for Leave to Amend was filed on February 22, 2018, which was two days after Plaintiff sought leave to file a reply in support of her Rule 59 motion, ten days after all defendants had filed their oppositions to the Rule 59 motion, fifty days after the entry of a final judgment, and nearly four months after the first motion to dismiss was filed. Plaintiff's "bare bones" reference in a footnote regarding her desire to amend should the Court find the factual detail to be lacking was insufficient to preserve her right to amend. See Edionwe v. Bailey, 860 F.3d 287 (5
Relief under Rule 59 is also denied. Reasonably believing that Plaintiff's claims purported to arise under Louisiana law, the Ruth's Defendants filed a comprehensive Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss that was extensively briefed under Louisiana law. (Rec. Doc. 14-1, Memo in Support). Responding to that motion, Plaintiff's opposition unequivocally and expressly confirmed that her claims were based on Louisiana law. (Rec. Doc. 22 at 1-2) ("Defendants fail to perceive that the claims against them are for negligence under Louisiana Civil Code article 2315 and conspiracy under Louisiana Civil Code article 2324."). If Plaintiff believed that she had a legal basis to assert claims under another state's laws then she should have raised that in December of last year when she filed her opposition to the motion to dismiss. At the very least, the issue should have been raised prior to entry of a final judgment.
Accordingly, and for the foregoing reasons;
As filed, the Motion for Leave to Amend was noticed for submission before the assigned magistrate judge. But given that this motion is related to Plaintiff's Rule 59 Motion to Amend or Alter Judgment and/or for Reconsideration or New Trial, and given that leave to amend cannot be granted by the magistrate judge in the absence of Rule 59 relief by the district judge, the Court vacated the referral to take up the motion for leave to amend in conjunction with its disposition of Plaintiff's Rule 59 motion. (Rec. Doc. 41, Order of 3/7/18 vacating referral).