Opinion ID: 4521943
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Summary Judgment in Favor of Michels

Text: We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Jackson v. City of Cleveland, 925 F.3d 793, 806 (6th Cir. 2019) (internal quotations omitted). Summary judgment is appropriate when “no genuine dispute as to any material fact” exists and the moving party “is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). “A genuine dispute of material fact exists ‘if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.’” Peffer v. Stephens, 880 F.3d 256, 262 (6th Cir. 2018) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986)). At the summary judgment stage, “the evidence is construed and all reasonable inferences are drawn in favor of the nonmoving party.” Burgess v. Fischer, 735 F.3d 462, 471 (6th Cir. 2013) (citing Hawkis v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 517 F.3d 321, 332 (6th Cir. 2008)). 11 Nos. 19-5641/5696, Nelson v. Columbia Gas The district court held that, because Nelson’s negligence and trespass claims arose from Michels’s performance of its contract with Columbia, the claims fail as a matter of law. Under Kentucky law, “one who is not a party to the contract or in privity thereto may not maintain an action for negligence which consists merely in the breach of the contract.” Superior Steel, Inc. v. Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge, LLC, 540 S.W.3d 770, 791 (Ky. 2017) (quoting Presnell Constr. Managers, Inc. v. EH Constr., 134 S.W.3d 575, 579 (Ky. 2004)). We find no error in the district court’s judgment. Here, Nelson’s tort claims against Michels—that it negligently blew wood chips off the right of way—are merely contract claims repackaged as tort claims. Michels had a contractual duty to Columbia to dispose of the wood chips. Nelson has identified no duty on Michels’s part independent of its contractual duties to Columbia. Therefore, Nelson cannot maintain an action for negligence against Michels based on the performance of its contract with Columbia. We affirm.