United States District Court,

S.D. Texas,

Houston Division.

SIEMENS WATER TECHNOLOGY CORP., Plaintiff,

v.

TRANS–UNITED, INC., Defendant.

 

Civil Action No. H–11–3272.

Dec. 21, 2011.

 

Iliaura Hands, Miller & Williamson LLC, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff.

 

Vic Houston Henry, Katherine Johnson Knight, Henry Oddo Austin & Fletcher, P.C., Dallas, TX, for Defendant.

 

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

NANCY F. ATLAS, District Judge.

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,(S.D.Tex. Nov.12, 2010) (Rosenthal, J.); Armadillo Glass, Inc. v. Emmegi U.S.A., Inc., 2010 WL 1435159,(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.