Hubbard v. All States Relocation Servs.

Hubbard v. All States Relocation Servs.

Opinion

 [*1375] ORDER

Before this Court is Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. (Doc. 2). Defendants assert that under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. For the reasons stated herein, Defendants' motion is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. After careful consideration, this Court finds that all claims for damages to goods are preempted by the Carmack Amendment and to the extent that Plaintiff has filed claims [**2]  for such damage other than under the Carmack Amendment, those claims are dismissed. This Court also finds that claims that are not for damages to goods, such as some claims for infliction of emotional distress, are not preempted by the Carmack Amendment. Therefore, any claims by Plaintiff that remedy a separate harm than damages to goods are not dismissed. Plaintiff is ORDERED to amend his complaint within 10 days to allege a clear Carmack Amendment claim and to  [*1376]  allege any claims not based on damage to his goods.

BACKGROUND

In his complaint, Plaintiff describes what seemed like a typical household move; however, that move went terribly wrong. Plaintiff alleges that in 1998 he contracted with the Defendants for the packing, storing and moving of his household goods from Savannah, Georgia to Minneola, Florida. Although Plaintiff's belongings were in fact packed and loaded, they never arrived at Plaintiff's new home. According to Plaintiff, Defendants either lost the goods or converted them for their own use, and despite their repeated promises to remedy Plaintiff's loss, the Defendants have failed to do so. As a result, Plaintiff claims that he has suffered damages [**3]  to his goods and severe emotional distress. He filed a complaint in the State Court of Chatham County, Georgia, seeking recovery under state tort and contract law on February 14, 2000.

On March 22, 2000, Defendants filed Notice of Removal with this Court. Defendants asserted that because the claim arose from interstate shipping, the action comes under the Carmack Amendment of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. § 13101 et seq. Since this is a federal law, the Court has original subject matter jurisdiction to hear this dispute.

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