Recovery Express and Interstate Demolition (IDEC) are two Boston-based companies with the same business address. Albert Arillotta, who claimed to be a partner at IDEC, sent an e-mail to Leo Whitehead of CSX Transportation about purchasing rail cars for scrap purposes.
The e-mail came from albert@recoveryexpress.com. The two reached an agreement, and Arillotta went to the CSX yard and disassembled rail cars and hauled them away. Mr. Whitehead sent invoices to IDEC for $115,757.36 because he believed Arillotta to be an agent for IDEC and Recovery Express. IDEC has no assets and CSX seeks to recover the amount due from Recovery Express. Recovery Express's CEO said he just allowed IDEC, a new company, to share office space and the e-mail server. Mr. Whitehead says that he assumed from the e-mail and the same address that Arillotta was an agent for Recovery as well. Who is liable? [CSX Transportation, Inc. v Recovery Express, Inc., 415 F. Supp. 2d 6 (D. Mass. 2006)]