Campbell v. Freshbev LLC

322 F. Supp. 3d 330
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJuly 2, 2018
Docket1:16–cv–7119(FB)(ST)
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 322 F. Supp. 3d 330 (Campbell v. Freshbev LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Campbell v. Freshbev LLC, 322 F. Supp. 3d 330 (E.D.N.Y. 2018).

Opinion

FREDERIC BLOCK, Senior United States District Judge

Plaintiff Gerard Campbell brings this class action based on diversity jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act1 pursuant to *334New York General Business Law ("GBL") §§ 349 and 350 and common law fraud, alleging defendants Freshbev LLC ("Freshbev") and Whole Foods Market Group, Inc. ("Whole Foods") sell several juice products with misleading labels. Defendants move to dismiss Campbell's Third Amended Complaint ("TAC") under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), (2) and (6), alleging lack of subject matter and personal jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Defendants' motion is granted in part and denied in part.

I

Plaintiff allegedly bought several juices manufactured and sold by Freshbev at a store operated by Whole Foods,2 including bottles of Ripe Craft Juice 12.2 Northeast Blend Cranberry Apple ("Cranberry Apple juice"), Ripe Craft Juice 12 Cranberry Unsweetened ("Cranberry juice") and Fresh Juice Pineapple ("Pineapple juice") for $4.99, $3.50 and $7.99, respectively.3 Plaintiff claims these prices represented a premium based on several purported misrepresentations: (1) that the juices were unpasteurized; (2) that the juices were cold-pressed; (3) that the juices were fresh; and (4) that the Cranberry Apple juice had more cranberry juice than apple juice.

The labels are as follows:4

*335*336II

A. Out-of-State Class Members

Defendants argue that this Court lacks personal jurisdiction over plaintiff's proposed out-of-state class members following the holding in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Sup. Ct. of Cal. , --- U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 1773, 1781-82, 198 L.Ed.2d 395 (2017). In Bristol-Myers s, the Supreme Court held that under the Fourteenth Amendment, state courts lacked personal jurisdiction for claims by out-of-state plaintiffs against an out-of-state defendant that had no connection to the forum state. 137 S.Ct. at 1781-82. However, the Court explicitly left open whether the same logic would extend to federal courts under the Fifth Amendment. Id. at 1783-84. Furthermore, as Justice Sotomayor's dissent points out, the Court also left open whether its holding applied to nationwide class actions. Id. at 1789 n.4 (dissenting).

*337Some district courts have declined to extend the logic of Bristol-Myers . See Sloan v. General Motors LLC , 287 F.Supp.3d 840, 858-59 (N.D. Cal. 2018) (holding Bristol-Myers does not preclude federal jurisdiction over out-of-state claims); Casso's Wellness Store & Gym, L.L.C. v. Spectrum Lab. Prods., Inc. , 2018 WL 1377608, at *5 (E.D. La. Mar. 18, 2018) (holding Bristol-Myers does not preclude personal jurisdiction over nationwide class actions); Molock v. Whole Foods Market, Inc. , 297 F.Supp.3d 114, 124-27 (D.C. Cir. 2018) (holding Bristol-Myers precluded federal jurisdiction over out-of-state mass tort claims but not nationwide class actions).

In any event, plaintiff has not yet brought a motion to certify a nationwide class. Until he does so, the issue is not squarely before the Court. Given the unsettled nature of the law following Bristol-Myers , the Court will defer on this question until the plaintiff brings a motion for class certification, if he chooses to do so.5

B. Standing for Injunctive Relief

Defendants argue plaintiff lacks standing for injunctive relief because he now knows the truth about the juice and therefore cannot be fooled again. For plaintiff to have Article III standing, he "must have (1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision." Spokeo v. Robins , --- U.S. ----, 136 S.Ct. 1540, 1547, 194 L.Ed.2d 635 (2016). Plaintiffs have standing to pursue injunctive or declaratory relief only where they are able "to establish a 'real or immediate threat' of injury." Nicosia v. Amazon.com, Inc. , 834 F.3d 220, 239 (2d Cir. 2016) (quoting City of Los Angeles v. Lyons , 461 U.S. 95, 111-12, 103 S.Ct. 1660, 75 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983) ). Past injuries are insufficient "unless the plaintiff can demonstrate that she is likely to be harmed again in the future in a similar way." Id. While the alleged harm must be "certainly impending," Whitmore v. Arkansas , 495 U.S. 149, 158, 110 S.Ct. 1717, 109 L.Ed.2d 135 (1990), "it is not the materialization of the feared risk itself that must be 'certainly impending,' " Baur v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
322 F. Supp. 3d 330, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/campbell-v-freshbev-llc-nyed-2018.