N Presidio v. Lowe's Home Centers

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 19-11259

NORTH PRESIDIO, L.L.C.,

Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

LOWE'S HOME CENTERS, L.L.C.,

Defendant - Appellee

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. 4:19-CV-222

Before DENNIS, ELROD, and COSTA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
North Presidio, L.L.C., a real estate development company, sued Lowe’s
Home Centers, L.L.C. after Lowe’s backed out of a prospective ground lease
with North Presidio as the site of a Lowe’s store. After allowing North Presidio
to amend its complaint, the district court granted Lowe’s motion to dismiss for
failure to state a claim. Despite North Presidio’s substantial development
costs ahead of closing on the lease and accompanying agreements, the district

*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5
TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
June 9, 2020

Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
Case: 19-11259 Document: 00515446326 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/09/2020

No. 19-11259
2
court determined that it failed to plausibly state a claim for anything other
than the $50,000 in earnest money plus accrued interest, which was set out by
the parties in the Agreement to Enter into Ground Lease as the limit on
damages for breach of that agreement. The existence of this same agreement,
moreover, barred North Presidio’s non-contractual claims for promissory
estoppel, quantum meruit, and fraud by non-disclosure. Once Lowe’s turned
over the $50,000 plus accrued interest, the district court entered judgment
dismissing the action.
After careful review of the record in this case and full consideration of
the parties’ briefs and oral arguments, we AFFIRM the district court’s
judgment for essentially the reasons assigned by that court.
Case: 19-11259 Document: 00515446326 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/09/2020