Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. H-11-3272
12-21-2011
SIEMENS WATER TECHNOLOGY CORP., Plaintiff, v. TRANS-UNITED, INC., Defendant.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Plaintiff Siemens Water Technology Corp. filed this lawsuit pursuant to the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 11707, seeking to recover for alleged damage to a Quench Separator Tower during shipment from Wisconsin to Houston. Plaintiff also seeks to recover its attorney's fees. Defendant Trans-United, Inc. filed a Motion to Dismiss Attorney's Fee Claim [Doc. # 8], to which Plaintiff neither filed a response in opposition nor requested additional time to do so. Pursuant to the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, failure to respond to a motion is taken as a representation of no opposition. S.D. TEX. R. 7.3, 7.4.
There is no provision in the Carmack Amendment that authorizes an award of attorney's fees, and the Carmack Amendment preempts any state law basis for the recovery of attorney's fees. See Accura Sys., Inc. v. Watkins Motor Lines, Inc., 98 F.3d 874, 876 (5th Cir. 1996); see also Hauck v. Bekins Van Lines, LLC, 2010 WL 4705264, *3 (S.D. Tex. Nov. 12, 2010) (Rosenthal, J.); Armadillo Glass, Inc. v. Emmegi U.S.A., Inc., 2010 WL 1435159, *6 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 7, 2010) (Harmon, J.). As a result, it is hereby
ORDERED that Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Attorney's Fee Claim [Doc. # 8] is GRANTED and Plaintiff's claim for attorney's fees is DISMISSED.
SIGNED at Houston, Texas, this 21st day of December, 2011.
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Nancy F. Atlas
United States District Judge