Clark v. Aaron's, Inc.

914 F. Supp. 2d 1301, 2012 WL 4468747, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139172
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedSeptember 26, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 1:11-CV-04283-RWS
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 914 F. Supp. 2d 1301 (Clark v. Aaron's, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clark v. Aaron's, Inc., 914 F. Supp. 2d 1301, 2012 WL 4468747, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139172 (N.D. Ga. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

RICHARD W. STORY, District Judge.

This case comes before the Court on Defendant Aaron’s, Inc.’s (“Defendant”) Partial Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs “Second Amended Complaint and Class Action Complaint” (“Def.’s Partial Mot. to Dismiss”) [9]. After reviewing the record, the Court enters the following Order.

Background

Plaintiff Judith Clark (“Clark”) initiated this litigation in the Superior Court of Fulton County, raising various claims stemming from Defendant’s alleged failure to allow her to take advantage of a “120 day same as cash offer” (the “120-day offer”) contained in several contracts between the parties for the lease1 of several items of household furniture. (Compl., Dkt. [1].) Defendant timely removed the action to this Court on the basis of diversity of citizenship (Notice of Removal, Dkt. [1]) and now moves to dismiss eight of Plaintiffs eleven claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 12(b)(6). (Def.’s Partial Mot. to Dismiss, Dkt. [9] at 1-2.)

The facts underlying this case are as follows.2 On September 30, 2010, Clark [1305]*1305entered into a contract with Defendant “for the purchase of a bedroom set” (the “September Bedroom Contract”). (Second Am. Compl. and Class Action Compl. (“Second Am. Compl.”), Dkt. [6] ¶ 9.) This contract included “a 120-day offer to purchase [the] bedroom set at the ‘Cash Price’ listed in the contract.”3 (Id.) On October 7, 2010, Clark entered into another contract with Defendant for two pieces of furniture that Defendant failed to include in the September Bedroom Contract (the “October Bedroom Contract”). (/¿.¶ 10.) The October Bedroom Contract also included the 120-day offer. (Id.) On November 6, 2010, Clark entered into a third contract with Defendant for the purchase of a living room set (the “November Living Room Contract”), which contract also included the 120-day offer. (IcLh 11.)

At the beginning of January 2011, Clark requested that Defendant mail her a payoff statement showing the remaining amount due on her account so she could take advantage of the 120-day offer. (Id. ¶ 12.) Defendant refused to mail her a statement or provide her with a payoff amount on the telephone. (Id.) Clark alleges that Defendant’s representatives told her that “they could not modify her account or allow her to pay it off unless and until she renewed her lease for another six months.” (Id. ¶ 14.) Therefore, on March 31, 2011, Clark renewed and consolidated the September Bedroom Contract and October Bedroom Contract into a new six month lease (the “March Bedroom Renewal Contract”). (Id. ¶ 13.) Clark also renewed the November Living Room Contract “for another six months” (the “March Living Room Renewal Contract”).4 (Id. ¶ 14.)

After renewing these leases, the store manager told Clark that the district manager would come to the store the following day and “correct her account at that time to allow for the payoff amount to be tendered by crediting her new leases with all the payments from the previous leases.” (/¿.¶ 15.) Clark called the following day and was told that the district manager had not come to the store but would work on her account the following week. (Id.) [1306]*1306Clark called the following week and was told the district manager still had not come in. (Id.) Defendant never corrected Clark’s account or provided her with a payoff amount to take advantage of the 120-day offer. (Id-¶ 16.) As a result, “[Clark] has paid much more than she should have and yet still does not own the furniture at issue.” (Id.)

Based on the foregoing allegations, Clark filed an eleven-count Second Amended Complaint and Class Action Complaint against Defendant. Defendant now moves to dismiss eight of those counts for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). (See generally Def.’s Partial Mot. to Dismiss, Dkt. [9].) The Court sets out the legal standard governing a Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss before considering Defendant’s motion on the merits.

Discussion

I. Legal Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires that a pleading contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” While this pleading standard does not require “detailed factual allegations,” “labels and conclusions,” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). In order to withstand a motion to dismiss, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955). A complaint is plausible on its face when the plaintiff pleads factual content necessary for the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the conduct alleged. Id.

It is important to note that while the factual allegations set forth in the Complaint are to be considered true at the motion to dismiss stage, the same does not apply to legal conclusions set forth in the Complaint. Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co., 578 F.3d 1252, 1260 (11th Cir.2009) (citing Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. The court does not need to “accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

II. Analysis

As stated in the Background section, supra, Defendant moves to dismiss eight of the eleven Counts of the Second Amended Complaint. In particular, Defendant moves to dismiss the following: Count II (False Advertising), Count V (Breach of Good Faith and Fair Dealing), Count VI (Unjust Enrichment), Count VII (Unconscionability), Count VIII (Civil Usury), Count IX (Criminal Usury), Count X (Georgia’s Retail Installment and Home Solicitation Sales Act (“RISA”)), and Count XI (Violation of Retail Installment Statutes from Other States). Using the legal standard articulated above, the Court considers Defendant’s motion as to each Count.

A. Count II (False Advertising)

In Count II, Clark alleges that Defendant engaged in false advertising in violation of O.C.G.A. § 10-1-420, which provides that “[n]o person, firm, or corporation shall offer for sale merchandise ... with intent, design, or purpose not to sell the merchandise ...

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Bluebook (online)
914 F. Supp. 2d 1301, 2012 WL 4468747, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139172, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clark-v-aarons-inc-gand-2012.