Opinion ID: 1094082
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Unjust Enrichment/Restitution

Text: ¶ 25. In support of its unjust enrichment/restitution argument, Owens Corning relies on Fordice Construction Company v. Central States Dredging Company, 631 F.Supp. 1536. (S.D.Miss.1986), in which the federal district court denied a summary judgment motion against Fordice's unjust enrichment claim. The defendant in Fordice submitted the winning bid for a government contract that was to be awarded only to a qualified small business. Fordice alleged that but for defendant's misrepresentation as to its status as a small business, Fordice would have won the bid; thus the defendant was unjustly enriched by the profit it would make from the job. The district court, sitting in diversity and applying Mississippi law, concluded that the unjust enrichment claim was viable under Mississippi law: Mississippi law provides that, in an action for unjust enrichment, the plaintiff need only allege and show that the defendant holds money which in equity and good conscience belongs to the plaintiff. The requirements of proof of unjust enrichment are neither technical nor complicated and, [plaintiff] can state a claim against Defendants on the basis that [defendants] were unjustly enriched because they received the profits [which] they should not have been permitted to [receive]. Id. at 1538-39 (citations omitted). Based on this, Owens Corning states that summary judgment denying its claims was plainly wrong. Owens Corning fails to mention that the Fordice court also made it clear that in order to prevail on its claim for unjust enrichment Fordice would have to prove both that defendants were unjustly enriched, and that Fordice was entitled to the contract award. Id. at 1539. In the present case, Owens Corning would have to prove that Tobacco Defendants were liable for injuries suffered by the asbestos claimants, for which the claimants have been compensated by Owens Corning. As stated previously, Tobacco Defendants could not be held liable, based on our decision in Lane, 853 So.2d at 1144. ¶ 26. Owens Corning also relies on Omnibank of Mantee v. United Southern Bank, 607 So.2d 76 (Miss.1992), in which United Southern Bank (USB) brought an unjust enrichment action against Omnibank. USB purchased the assets of a branch bank from Omnibank. A bank officer who worked first for Omnibank at the branch, then for USB, made several improvident loans after becoming an officer of USB, which loans were later written off. The proceeds of one of these loans was paid to Omnibank. This Court held that USB did not have a cause of action against Omnibank, because Omnibank was not unjustly enriched by the officer's actions. Citing Restatement of Restitution § 14(1) (1936), the Court also noted that in the absence of a showing of wrongdoing, the plaintiff's cause is not unjust enrichment, and redress must be brought through subrogation or some such theory. Id. at 92. Again, this is a direct injury case with no discussion of causation. Even if Omnibank had fraudulently procured payment from USB through USB's loan officer, this would have been a direct injury to USB by Omnibank. There was no third-party injury, therefore the issue of remoteness was never reached. ¶ 27. Finally, with regard to unjust enrichment/restitution, Owens Corning appeals to ideas of what justice demands, claiming that it has borne legal and medical costs for injuries caused by Tobacco Defendants' misconduct, and that affirming the trial court's judgment will reward Tobacco Defendants' dishonesty. It is this Court's view that a remedy of the magnitude requested here, based on this and other, possibly good, public policy reasoning is a task for Congress.