Opinion ID: 1451642
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The district court employed the correct standard of review in examining the Complaint.

Text: In reviewing a district court's dismissal of a case pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b), we, like the district court, take all well-pled allegations as true. Greenberg, 177 F.3d at 515. However, we, like the district court, need not accept as true legal conclusions or unwarranted factual inferences. Murphy v. Sofamor Danek Group, Inc. (In re Sofamor Danek Group, Inc.), 123 F.3d 394, 400 (6th Cir.1997). [W]e conduct essentially the same analysis as the district court in that `we take the plaintiff's factual allegations as true and if it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of its claims that would entitle it to relief, then... dismissal is proper.' Greenberg, 177 F.3d at 515 (quoting Weiner v. Klais & Co., 108 F.3d 86, 88 (6th Cir.1997)). The district court cannot grant a motion to dismiss based on its disbelief of the plaintiff's factual allegations. Murphy, 123 F.3d at 400. [W]hen an allegation is capable of more than one inference, it must be construed in the plaintiff's favor. Sinay v. Lamson & Sessions Co., 948 F.2d 1037, 1039-40 (6th Cir.1991). After reviewing both the Complaint and the Dismissal Order, it is clear that the district court applied the correct standard of review, accepting as true Winget's allegations. The district court conducted a thorough analysis of Winget's claims and determined that even taking the allegations as true, the claims were either barred by res judicata or were premature. Such determinations did not rest on a disbelief of Winget's factual allegations or failure to accept them as true; rather, the determinations were the only possible legal conclusions the court could reach after accepting Winget's facts as pled. For instance, even accepting as true that the Defendants did engage in a scheme to devalue Deluxe and force Winget to accept the Defendants' terms, any litigation resulting from the scheme was barred by res judicata. Further, accepting as true Winget's allegation that the Defendant's actions devalued collateral, such claims are premature until the Defendants attempt to collect on that collateral. Under any analysis the Complaint could not have survived the motions to dismiss. Winget argues that the district court erred in not drawing all inferences in its favor. Specifically, Winget contends that the district court should have construed the Sale Order so as not to bar Winget's claims, namely that the district court should have determined that the Sale Order was not a final order. Winget conducts a lengthy examination of the Sale Order to support its argument, but to no avail. To hold that the Sale Order was not a final order would require a legal conclusion on the district court's part. Winget asks us to hold that the district court was required to accept Winget's legal conclusions as true, and we, like the district court, are not required to do so and do not err in a refusal. See Murphy, 123 F.3d at 400. Further, any interpretation of the language of the Sale Order is also a question of law, thereby necessarily requiring a legal conclusion on the part of the district court. See Brady, 101 F.3d at 1168. Because Winget was not entitled to have all of its allegations accepted as true, the district court did not err in refusing to accept as true Winget's legal conclusions. Furthermore, it is clear that there is no set of facts that Winget could prove that would entitle it to relief. See Greenberg, 177 F.3d at 515. Regardless of what facts Winget might have pled and the district court accepted as true, Winget's claims were continuously barred by res judicata or premature for the reasons stated below.