DONALD C. NUGENT, District Judge.
This case is currently before the Court on Defendant M3 Motors, Inc.'s. Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. (ECF # 12). M3 Motors moves for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12©. Plaintiff filed a Brief in Opposition to the motion (ECF # 14), and M3 Motors filed a Reply Brief in support of its motion. (ECF #15). The matter is now fully briefed and ready for disposition. Having reviewed the briefs and fully analyzed the facts and law applicable in this case, Defendant M3 Motor's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.
The standard of review applicable to a motion for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12© is the same standard as a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under 12(b)(6). Ziegler v. IBP Hog Market, Inc., 249 F.3d 509, 511-12 (6
On a motion brought under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), this Court's inquiry is limited to the content of the complaint, although matters of public record, orders, items appearing in the record of the case, and exhibits attached to the complaint may also be taken into account. See Chester County Intermediate Unit v. Pennsylvania Blue Shield, 896 F.2d 808, 812 (3rd Cir. 1990). When a claim is based upon a contract attached to the complaint, Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 10© provides that the document is "part of the complaint for all purposes, including the purpose of determining what the complaint alleges." Realtek Indus., Inc. V. Nomura Sec., 939 F.Supp. 572, 575 n.1 (N.D. Ohio 1996). If a plaintiff fails to attach an instrument or contract to his complaint, "[d]ocuments that a defendant attaches to a motion to dismiss are considered part of the pleadings if they are referred to in the plaintiff's complaint and are central to [his] claim." Weiner, D. P.M. v. Klais and Co., 108 F.3d 86, 89 (6
In evaluating a motion for dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6), the district court must "consider the pleadings and affidavits in a light most favorable to the [non-moving party]." Jones v. City of Carlisle, Ky., 3 F.3d. 945, 947 (6th Cir. 1993) (quoting Welsh v. Gibbs, 631 F.2d 436, 439 (6th Cir. 1980)). However, though construing the complaint in favor of the non-moving party, a trial court will not accept conclusions of law or unwarranted inferences cast in the form of factual allegations. See City of Heath, Ohio v. Ashland Oil, Inc., 834 F.Supp. 971, 975 (S.D. Ohio 1993). "A plaintiff's obligation to provide the `grounds' of his `entitle[ment] to relief' requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Bell Atl' Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)(quoting Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 92 L. Ed. 2d 209 (1986)). "Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Twombly at 555. In deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, this Court must determine not whether the complaining party will prevail in the matter but whether it is entitled to offer evidence to support the claims made in its complaint. See Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 (1974).
Plaintiff, Debra Fox Benton, purchased and financed a used car from Defendant M3 Motors, doing business as Airport Infiniti, on February 14, 2014. She signed a Retail Installment Sale Contract ("RISC") which identified Airport Infiniti as the Creditor-Seller and included Federal Truth in Lending Disclosures. Her father, Plaintiff Eulace Fox, co-signed the on the loan. Approximately one month after signing the RISC, M3 Motors contacted Ms. Benton and told her that it was revoking its extension of credit and that she has to bring the vehicle back or enter into a new agreement with different terms. After entering into the agreement, after Ms. Benton sold her prior vehicle, and just prior to the due date of her first payment under the installment agreement, M3 Motors placed several calls to her telling her she had to return the newly purchased car. M3 Motors threatened repossession and "other trouble" if Plaintiff did not return the car or enter into a revised RISC with different financing terms.
Ms. Benton, believing she had no other option, returned the car to M3 Motors, and this car was re-sold to another customer. M3 Motors originally refused to return Ms. Benton's down payment of $5,000.00. After she retained counsel and incurred expenses including attorneys fees, rental car costs and losses related to the sale of her prior vehicle, Defendants finally returned the down payment money. She now brings claims against M3 Motors for violations of the Truth in Lending Act ("TILA"), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA"), the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act ("OCSPA"), and the Ohio Uniform Commercial Code ("U.C.C."). She seeks actual and statutory damages, plus attorney fees, punitive damages and costs.
The Complaint included a copy of the Retail Installment Sale Contract which identifies the Plaintiff as buyer, her father as co-buyer, and Airport Infinity as the Creditor-Seller. The contract includes a provision that states "if checked, a limited right to cancel applies." This box does not appear to be checked. The limited right to cancel provision, when applicable gives the seller the right to cancel the contract within a stated amount of time if they are unable to assign the contract. The contract marks this provision "N/A." The contract indicates that the "seller assigns its interest in the contract to Ally Financial," without or with limited recourse. Nothing in the contract appears to indicate that this statement is either provisional or conditional.
Defendant's Motion to Dismiss relies in part on the language contained in a "Buyer's Order" allegedly signed on the same day as the RISC attached to the Complaint. The Buyers Order is not attached to the Complaint, however, Defendants argue that it should be considered because it forms "the basis for the transaction at issue." The Buyer's Order, however, constitutes evidence outside the complaint and is not appropriately considered by the Court at this stage in the litigation. Further, it is silent on the financing terms and agreements which form the basis of the Plaintiffs' claims. Although "[d]ocuments that a defendant attaches to a motion to dismiss are considered part of the pleadings if they are referred to in the plaintiff's complaint and are central to [his] claim," Plaintiffs refers to the Buyers Order only in passing in their Complaint,
Defendant argues that the Plaintiffs' Truth in Lending Claim fails as a matter of law because the Complaint alleges a subsequent act or occurrence rendered the TILA disclosures inaccurate.
Looking at the Complaint and RISC in this case, there does not appear to be any such express condition based on the face of these documents. The Complaint clearly states a cause of action under TILA, and considering the pleadings in a light most favorable to the Plaintiffs nothing in the Complaint or the documents attached to the Complaint shows as a matter of law that such a claim is without merit. Therefore, Plaintiffs are entitled to offer evidence to support the TILA claims made in their Complaint.
M3 Motors contends that as an automobile dealership, it can only be liable under the anti-discrimination and anti-discouragement provisions of the ECOA. It bases this argument on court holdings which have found that "when a dealership acts as a liaison between consumers and lenders, referring credit applications to lenders, the dealership in that capacity is a creditor under the ECOA only with respect to the anti-discrimination and anti-discouragement provisions." Salvagne v. Fairfield Ford, Inc., 794 F.Supp.2d 826, 836-8367 (S.D. Ohio 2010)(citing 12 C.F.R. Pt. 202, Supp. I; Treadway, 362 F.3d at 979-80; Chastain, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65258, 2009 WL 1971621 at *7).
The Complaint, however, alleges that in this case M3 Motors was a creditor and not simply a liaison between Plaintiffs and a lender. The RISC attached to the Complaint also lists Defendant as the creditor. Defendant's assertion that M3 Motors did not fit the definition of creditor under the ECOA because it did not regularly extend, renew, or continue credit, and did not regularly participate in a credit decision, including setting the terms of the credit, is a factual allegation that contradicts the allegations in the Complaint and must, therefore, be disregarded for purposes of deciding a motion for judgment on the pleadings. Defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings with regard to Plaintiffs' ECOA claim is, therefore, denied.
Defendant, M3 Motors seeks dismissal of Plaintiffs' OCSPA because it claims the Buyer's Order "specifically explained the parties' obligations in the event that financing failed." (ECF #12 at 11). As explained above, however, the Buyer's Order is evidence that cannot be considered at this stage of the litigation. Further, even if the Buyer's Order becomes relevant to the issues in this case, the terms of the Buyer's Order, read in conjunction with the RISC does not undisputedly establish on its face that there were any contingency in the financing offer or that any obligations remained on the part of the buyer after the financing agreement was signed. Therefore, Defendant's motion for judgment on Plaintiffs OCSPA claim is denied.
Plaintiff has raised a claim under O.R.C. § 1309.601, which governs the procedures that must be followed when a secured party seeks to recover goods following a default by a creditor, and/or when collateral is disposed of following repossession. Defendant argues that the uniform commercial code claims are inapplicable to this case based on the allegations set forth in the Complaint, and that because Ms. Benton returned the car there cannot be a repossession only a "cancelled transaction." The return of the car, or an collateral, by a creditor, following threats of repossession and "other trouble" as alleged in the Complaint, can be a repossession and does not necessarily equate to a voluntary cancellation of the transaction. That said, not every reclaiming of goods falls under the provisions of the U.C.C.
The Complaint does not allege any default that would justify repossession or otherwise trigger the application of the U.C.C.'s collateral disposal provisions. It does, however, allege that Defendants were a secured creditor, that they threatened repossession of the vehicle in order to induce Ms. Benton into returning the car, that Defendants disposed of the car without providing proper notifications in violation of the law, and that this caused Ms. Benton to suffer actual financial damages. They do not allege that the "repossession" was the result of a real or perceived default under the terms of the financing or purchase agreement, or that the "repossession" was aimed at recovering collateral under the terms of a U.C.C. agreement. At one point Plaintiffs argue that the U.C.C. claim should survive because Defendants' "repossession" was "an inappropriate conversion of property." This may be an more accurate description of the actual harm alleged. There is, however, no claim for conversion in the Complaint, and the allegations do not fall within the scope of the transactions covered by the U.C.C. requirements for disposition of collateral. The U.C.C. claim is, therefore, dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which Plaintiffs are entitled to relief.
For the reasons set forth above, Defendant, M3 Motors, Inc.'s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (ECF #12) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The U.C.C. claim set forth in Count Four of the Complaint is dismissed. All other claims remain pending. The status conference previously set for November 4, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. is re-scheduled for November 18, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. IT IS SO ORDERED.