In Bank Leumi USA v. Kloss, (A-32-19/083372) (Decided July 21, 2020),the Supreme Court of New Jersey clarified the state’s entire controversy doctrine at the request of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. It held that a party who files a successful motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim is not precluded by the entire controversy doctrine from asserting claims in a later suit that arise from the same transactional facts.
Facts of Bank Leumi USA v. Kloss
In 2011 and 2013, Bank Leumi USA (Bank Leumi) provided Munire Furniture Company, Inc. (Munire) with a $15 million credit line followed by an additional $2 million loan. A pre-condition for both agreements was that Edward J. Kloss, who had also loaned Munire money, sign and reaffirm a subordination agreement. Bank Leumi later discovered that Munire had falsely reported its financial condition, declared the loan due, and brought suit against Munire, which filed for bankruptcy protection. Kloss filed proof of claims in the bankruptcy case, which showed that he had made an additional, undisclosed loan and had been receiving regular payments from Munire on both loans. Bank Leumi sent Kloss a letter demanding reimbursement for the payments he received in violation of the subordination and reaffirmation agreements.
Kloss then filed a complaint in Passaic County Superior Court against Bank Leumi, the president of Munire, and other individuals, alleging that Bank Leumi was negligent for failing to detect fraud by Munire and that it was unjustly enriched by payments it recovered from Munire. Bank Leumi filed a pre-answer motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 4:6-2(e), which the court granted.
In October 2017, Bank Leumi filed suit against Kloss and Kloss Company LLC (collectively “defendants”) in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, claiming breach of contract, fraud, and fraudulent inducement. Defendants asserted the entire controversy doctrine as an affirmative defense in their answer and moved to dismiss, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). The District Court granted defendants’ motion. On appeal, the Third Circuit concluded that the appeal presented an unresolved question of New Jersey law, which it certified to the New Jersey Supreme Court. The New Jersey Supreme Court accepted the question as certified. The question stated:
When a party filed, in lieu of an answer, a motion to dismiss under N.J. Ct. R. 4:6-2(e) for failure to state a claim, and the court dismissed with prejudice, is that party subject to claim preclusion when — in a later suit that it files arising from the same transactional facts — the defendant asserts the entire controversy doctrine as an affirmative defense?
NJ Supreme Court’s Decision in Bank Leumi USA v. Kloss
The Supreme Court of New Jersey answered the certified question in the negative. It concluded that a party who files a successful motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim is not precluded by the entire controversy doctrine from asserting claims in a later suit that arise from the same transactional facts.
In reaching its decision, the court noted that the entire controversy doctrine embodies the principle that the adjudication of a legal controversy should occur in one litigation in only one court; accordingly, all parties involved in a litigation should at the very least present in that proceeding all of their claims and defenses that are related to the underlying controversy. Citing DiTrolio v. Antiles, 142 N.J. 253, 267 (1995), the court further explained that the doctrine has three fundamental purposes: (1) the need for complete and final disposition through the avoidance of piecemeal decisions; (2) fairness to parties to the action and those with a material interest in the action; and (3) efficiency and the avoidance of waste and the reduction of delay.
The court went on to note that the motion resulting in the appeal was made pursuant to Rule 4:6-2, which provides that certain defenses “may at the option of the pleader be made by motion, with briefs” including, as relevant here, “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Rule 4:6-2 also directs that, “if a motion is made raising any of [the listed] defenses, it shall be made before pleading if a further pleading is to be made.” As explained by the court, “the rule thus distinguishes between a motion — including a motion for failure to state a claim — and a pleading.”
According to the court, it is important that Rule 4:6-2 grants litigants two modes of responding to claims perceived as meritless. “Answering the certified question in the positive here would effectively make the second option unavailable to litigants who anticipate they may at some point have an affirmative claim of their own or who simply prefer a cautious approach,” the court wrote. “We decline to create such a strong disincentive for a valid option countenanced by our court rules.”
The New Jersey Supreme Court emphasized that equitable considerations also support its conclusion. As the court explained:
A party that files a motion to dismiss does not have an opportunity to affirmatively assert claims of its own within that motion; therefore, a party whose motion to dismiss is granted will not have had a “fair and reasonable opportunity” to fully litigate its claims. If the party moving to dismiss succeeds on its motion — indicating the failure of the opposing party to raise any claim upon which relief can be granted, even though all inferences are drawn in that party’s favor — it would be profoundly inequitable to then deprive the winning party of the opportunity to assert any claim.
Finally, the court found that fairness dictates that a litigant against whom a deficient complaint has been filed should be able to seek dismissal of baseless claims brought against it without concern that later claims may be barred. “Otherwise, plaintiffs could be incentivized to bring baseless actions in a time and manner most convenient to them in an attempt to prevent defendants from developing more legitimate claims as they see fit,” the court explained. “And defendants would be incentivized to respond with whatever claims they feel they can state at the moment when they might have preferred to pursue other means of resolution.”