PHILADELPHIA — Four Philadelphia-area companies named in a breach of contract lawsuit have asked a federal court to dismiss the case.
A fifth company, Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation, based in Georgia, is also a defendant in the lawsuit.
Counsel representing Cooper's Ferry Partnership Inc., Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation d/b/a Herschend Family Entertainment, Adventure Aquarium LLC d/b/a Adventure Aquarium and Independence Seaport Museum on April 11 filed a motion to dismiss the case brought by Draw Events LLC, a Minnesota event management company.
Draw Events alleges the five firms refused to pay invoices from the plaintiffs for events held on the Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey, waterfronts in June 2015.
The 23-page filing seeks to drop all charges brought by Draw Events because the lawsuit “fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted or pursuant to the Colorado River Abstention Doctrine.”
Defense attorneys argue all claims against Herschend Family Entertainment, Adventure Aquarium and Independence Seaport Museum should be dropped because they were not parties in the contract between Draw and Cooper’s Ferry Partnership and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation.
The defense argues all claims filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania should be dropped against Cooper’s Ferry Partnership and Delaware River Waterfront Corporation because there is an earlier-filed lawsuit pending in New Jersey Superior Court involving the same parties and contract.
The defense also states the tort claims alleged in the complaint are barred by the economic loss doctrine, which "prohibits plaintiffs from recovering in tort, economic losses to which their entitlement flows only from a contract."
The defendants are represented by Teresa Lentini of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The plaintiff is represented by Josiah Knapp of Ryan, Brown, Berger & Gibbons P.C. in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case number 2:17-cv-01050-MSG