Bekins v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP

239 F. Supp. 3d 1220, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58846, 2017 WL 1291506
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedMarch 7, 2017
DocketCase No.: 16cv2732-MMA (MDD)
StatusPublished

This text of 239 F. Supp. 3d 1220 (Bekins v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bekins v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, 239 F. Supp. 3d 1220, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58846, 2017 WL 1291506 (S.D. Cal. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

Hon. Michael M. Anello, United States District Judge

On November 3, 2016, Plaintiff Cindi Bekins filed this product liability action against Defendants AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and AstraZeneca LP, which Defendants subsequently removed to this Court. See Doc. No. 1. On December 23, 2016, Defendants AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and AstraZeneca LP filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint, in part arguing that Plaintiffs action is barred by the applicable statute of limitations. For the following reasons, the Court agrees that Plaintiff fails to allege that this action is timely, and GRANTS Defendants’ motion to dismiss.

Background

Plaintiff alleges Defendants manufactured “Nexium and/or other Nexium branded products and PPIs.” Compl. ¶ 14. She alleges she “ingested Nexium and/or other Nexium branded products and PPIs1 from approximately 2003-2016,” and never took more than the recommended dosage, per the label and packaging of the products. Compl. ¶ 13. Plaintiff alleges she “suffered Acute Kidney Failure in approximately 2011,” which she claims was caused by her use of Defendants’ drugs. Compl. ¶¶ 12, 14. Based on these allegations, Plaintiff asserts causes of action for negligence, strict product liability based on a manufacturing defect, strict product liability based on design defect, strict product liability for failure to warn, and breach of implied warranty.

Legal Standard

A Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss tests the sufficiency of the complaint. Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir. 2001). A pleading must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief_” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). However, plaintiffs must also plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6); Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The plausibility standard thus demands more than a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action, or naked assertions devoid of further factual enhancement. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 [1224]*1224L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Instead, the complaint “must contain allegations of underlying facts sufficient to give fair notice and to enable the opposing party to defend itself effectively.” Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202, 1216 (9th Cir. 2011).

In reviewing a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), courts must assume the truth of all factual allegations and must construe them in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Cahill v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 80 F.3d 336, 337-38 (9th Cir. 1996). The court need not take legal conclusions as true merely because they are cast in the form of factual allegations. Roberts v. Corrothers, 812 F.2d 1173, 1177 (9th Cir. 1987). Similarly, “conclusory allegations of law and unwarranted inferences are not sufficient to defeat a motion to dismiss.” Pareto v. FDIC, 139 F.3d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1998).

In determining the propriety of a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal, courts generally may not look beyond the complaint for additional facts. United States v. Ritchie, 342 F.3d 903, 908 (9th Cir. 2003). “A court may, however, consider certain materials—documents attached to- the complaint, documents incorporated by reference in the complaint, or matters of judicial notice— without converting the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment.” Id.; see also Lee v. City of Los Angeles, 250 F.3d 668, 688 (9th Cir. 2001). Where dismissal is appropriate, a court should grant leave to amend unless the plaintiff could not possibly cure the defects in the pleading. Knappenberger v. City of Phoenix, 566 F.3d 936, 942 (9th Cir. 2009).

Discussion

As one basis for dismissal, Defendants argue Plaintiffs action is time-barred. Defendants point out that Plaintiffs alleged injury—kidney failure—occurred in 2011, yet Plaintiff did not file the instant action until November 2016. Defendants contend the statute of limitations for a personal injury action is two years in California. See Doc. No. 8 (citing Cal. Code. Civ. P. §§ 312, 335.1).2 Thus, Defendants argue that because Plaintiffs causes of action began to- accrue when her injury occurred in 2011, Plaintiff had to have filed this action within two years of that date. Defendants contend that Plaintiffs action is accordingly untimely by approximately three years, and that Plaintiff does not sufficiently allege that either the delayed discovery rule or the doctrine of fraudulent concealment apply to render Plaintiffs action timely. Plaintiff does not dispute that a two-year statute of limitations applies to her claims, but rather she argues her action is timely under the doctrines of delayed discovery and fraudulent concealment.3 The Court addresses the sufficiency of Plaintiffs aliegations as to each of these doctrines in turn.

A. California’s Delayed Discovery Rule

Typically* under California law, a claim “accrues when the claim is complete with all of its elements,” which “ordinarily occurs on the date of the plaintiffs injury.” Seé Slovensky v. Friedman, 142 Cal.App.4th 1518, 1528, 49 Cal.Rptr.3d 60 [1225]*1225(2006). However, “the discovery rule delays accrual of claims only when a plaintiff has no reason to suspect wrongdoing and can not discover his or - her claims with reasonable diligence.” Plumlee v. Pfizer, Inc., 664 Fed.Appx. 661 (9th Cir. 2016). Thus, it only “delays accrual until the plaintiff has, or should have, inquiry notice of the cause of action.” See Fox v. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., 36 Cal.4th 797, 27 Cal.Rptr.3d 661, 110 P.3d 914, 920 (2005). In other words, a plaintiff is “charged with presumptive knowledge of an injury”— meaning both the physical or economic injury and its negligent cause—“if they have information of circumstances to put them on inquiry or if they have the opportunity to obtain knowledge from sources open to their investigation.” See Fox, 27 Cal.Rptr.3d 661, 110 P.3d at 920 (internal quotations, citations, and alterations omitted); see also Parsons v. Tickner, 31 Cal.App.4th 1513, 1526, 37 Cal.Rptr.2d 810 (1995) (stating that a plaintiff has presumed knowledge where they have “the opportunity to obtain knowledge from sources open to [their] investigation (such as public records or corporation books)”).

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Bluebook (online)
239 F. Supp. 3d 1220, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58846, 2017 WL 1291506, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bekins-v-astrazeneca-pharmaceuticals-lp-casd-2017.