SANDRA L. TOWNES, District Judge.
Plaintiff Orly Industry, Inc. ("Orly Industry" or "Plaintiff'), brings this diversity action against Defendant Rite Aid Hdqtrs. Corp. ("Rite Aid" or "Defendant"), alleging state law claims for breach of contract, quantum meruit, and unjust enrichment with regard to the sale of plastic trash bags. Defendant has moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3) and 12(b)(6). For the reasons set forth below, the motion is granted in part and denied in part.
The following facts are taken from the complaint and other submissions, which, if offered or unopposed by Plaintiff, are assumed to be true for purposes of this motion unless otherwise indicated.
Plaintiff is a New York corporation with its Def. Mot.principal place of business in Brooklyn, New York, engaged in the selling and supplying plastic bags. (Compl. ¶¶ 1, 3, 4). Rite Aid is a Delaware company with its principal place of business in Pennsylvania. (Compl. ¶ 2).
On August 1, 2010, Orly Plastic Enterprise, Inc. ("Orly Plastic")
(Torkeih Decl. ¶ 6; Def. Mot. Ex. B ¶ 2.8) (emphasis added). The parties did not provide mutual written consent to extend the Master Agreement. (Torkeih Decl. ¶ 6).
On July 27, 2011, Orly Plastic was dissolved. (Torkeih Decl. ¶ 7; Def. Mot. Ex. H). On July 29, 2011, Torkeih, President of Orly Plastic, sent an email notifying Rite Aid that he had formed a new entity, Orly Industry, where he held the same role. (Torkeih Decl. ¶ 8, Ex. A). On August 1, 2011, O'Brien, Senior Buyer for Rite Aid, responded by email that he would "put through the request" and that he needed "something on the new company letterhead to attach to the accounting request." (Torkeih Decl. ¶ 9, Ex. B). Torkeih provided the document the same day via email. (Torkeih Decl. 10, Ex. C).
Between July 28 and October 4, 2011, Rite Aid faxed Plaintiff's sales representative 34 separate purchase orders for specific quantities of merchandise. (Compl. ¶ 6). Each purchase order contained terms for price, delivery and payment. (Compl. ¶ 6). Plaintiff furnished and Rite Aid received all of the merchandise covered by the 34 purchase orders. (Compl. ¶ 7). Rite Aid refused, however, to pay Plaintiff for this merchandise, valued at a total of $158,193.28 under the purchase orders. (Compl. ¶ 10). Five of the purchase orders are dated July 27, 2011, prior to the Master Agreement's expiration date.
Rite Aid has submitted, and Plaintiff references, several emails exchanged by the parties after July 31, 2011. By email dated October 26, 2011, Plaintiff wrote that it had been notified of Rite Aid's "claim that the products do not conform with [its] specifications," and that "according to your contract in section 2.6, we have `30 days' to correct this problem." (Def. Mot. Ex. F). On November 1, 2011, Plaintiff proposed via email a two-year agreement between the parties with regard to the liners "at the quantity on the current bid." (Def. Mot. Ex. C). By email dated November 17, 2011, Rite Aid received a proposal from Plaintiff, acknowledging that Plaintiff "did ship cases that were light weight & short count," offered to rebate $2,500 monthly to Rite Aid, and suggested a price list going forward. (Def. Mot. Ex. E at 2). Plaintiff also noted that it could have "raised the price of the bags with the resin market during 2011, as the agreement allowed for." (Def. Mot. Ex. E at 2). By email dated November 28, 2011, Plaintiff noted that Rite Aid had "a couple of orders in house . . . currently on hold until our payments are released. .. . Please advise on the next step, so that we know how to proceed." (Def. Mot. Ex. D).
By letter dated December 19, 2011, O'Brien wrote to Torkeih that Rite Aid "has determined product shipped by [Orly] has been below specifications, as detailed in our [Master Agreement] . . . for the past 12 months." (Def. Mot. Ex G). O'Brien further indicated that "in accordance with Section 6.5 [of the Master Agreement], Rite Aid requests the commencement of mediation proceeding to address Orly's breach of the Agreement." (Def. Mot. Ex. G).
On February 1, 2012, Plaintiff commenced this action in the Supreme Court of New York, Kings County. (Docket No. 1 ¶ 1). On February 22, 2012, Rite Aid removed the action to this Court based on diversity jurisdiction. (Docket No. 1 ¶¶ 3-7). Rite Aid thereafter sought permission to file a motion to dismiss, (Docket No. 3), and on April 18, 2012, the Court held a pre-motion conference to discuss Rite Aid's request. The Court determined that the threadbare complaint was "simply not sufficient under the law," but allowed Plaintiff to file an amended complaint. (Docket No. 16 at 7).
On May 15, 2012, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint, seeking to recover $158,193.28 for 34 allegedly unpaid purchase orders on theories of breach of contract, quantum meruit, and unjust enrichment. (Compl. ¶¶ 12-24). On September 14, 2012, Rite Aid filed its motion to dismiss, arguing that (1) if Plaintiff is seeking to enforce its rights under the Master Agreement, it must comply with the ADR and venue provisions; and (2) if Plaintiff contends it is not a party to the Master Agreement, it lacks capacity to sue. (Def. Mot. at 2). Plaintiff in opposition presents a third option, contending that not only was it never a party to the Master Agreement, but that its claims are based on 34 transactions that occurred after the Master Agreement had expired. (Pl. Opp. at 1).
Rite Aid has moved to dismiss for improper venue pursuant to Rules 12(b)(3) and 12(b)(6).
Rule 12(b)(3) allows a court considering a venue challenge to "consider evidence outside the four corners of the complaint, including affidavits and other documentary evidence."
There is a strong presumption in favor of upholding the enforceability of a forum selection clause unless, for example, "enforcement is shown by the resisting party to be unreasonable under the circumstances."
Where a contract has expired, as Plaintiff alleges, "a forum selection clause may still be enforceable," though "only if the suit arises under the contract."
Plaintiff argues and Rite Aid concedes that no such written consent was executed by the parties. Accordingly, viewing the facts in a light most favorable to Plaintiff, the Master Agreement expired by its terms on July 31, 2011, and 29 of the 34 transactions at issue in this case are simply not covered by the Master Agreement or its forum selection clause.
Plaintiff has, however, muddied the waters by including in this action five purchase orders from Rite Aid dated July 27, 2011 — prior to the Master Agreement's expiration. (Compl. Ex. A at 1, 2, 3, 6, 13). Plaintiff argues that these transactions are not covered by the Master Agreement because, by the date of delivery, Rite Aid knew that Orly Plastic had dissolved and that it was dealing with Plaintiff Orly Industry, which was not a signatory. (Torkeih Decl. ¶ 11; Pl. Opp. at 10). In response, Rite Aid asserts that Plaintiff, a non-signatory, is bound by the forum selection clause because it is closely related to Orly Plastic. (Def. Reply at 5).
A party's "non-signatory status does not, as a general matter, prevent it from being bound by the forum selection clause."
In this case, the submissions show that after Orly Plastic dissolved, Plaintiff maintained the same owner, products, and vendor number, and without interruption filled the July 27, 2011, purchase orders initially addressed to Orly Plastic. Indeed, it seems incongruous for Plaintiff to seek recovery on purchase orders initiated by Orly Plastic under the contract without also accepting the obligations of that entity. Applying
For the reasons set forth above, Defendant's motion to dismiss (Docket No. 18) is GRANTED without prejudice as to the five transactions dated July 27, 2011, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3). The motion is DENIED in all other respects.