Comprehensive Health Care Systems of the Palm Beaches, Inc. v. M3 USA Corp.

232 F. Supp. 3d 1239, 2017 WL 108029, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4058
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJanuary 11, 2017
DocketCase No. 16-cv-80967-BLOOM/Valle
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 232 F. Supp. 3d 1239 (Comprehensive Health Care Systems of the Palm Beaches, Inc. v. M3 USA Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Comprehensive Health Care Systems of the Palm Beaches, Inc. v. M3 USA Corp., 232 F. Supp. 3d 1239, 2017 WL 108029, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4058 (S.D. Fla. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS AND MOTION TO STAY

BETH BLOOM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon Defendant M3 USA Corporation’s (“Defendant”) Motion to Dismiss Second Amended Class Action Complaint, ECF No. [46] (“Motion to Dismiss”). Defendant also filed a Motion to Stay Discovery, ECF No. [48] (“Motion to Stay”), pending the Court’s resolution of the Motion to Dismiss. The Court has reviewed the Motions, Plaintiffs’ Response, ECF No. [52] (“Response”), Defendant’s Reply, ECF No. [54] (“Reply”), the record in this case, the applicable law, and is otherwise fully advised in the premises. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion to Dismiss is denied. Therefore, the Motion to Stay is denied as moot.

I. Background

Plaintiffs Comprehensive Healthcare Systems of the Palm Beaches, Inc. (“Comprehensive”) and Dr. Robert W. Mauthe (“Mauthe”) (together, “Plaintiffs”) filed their Second Amended Class Action Complaint, ECF No. [44] (“Complaint”), asserting claims for violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (“TCPA”) and conversion against Defendant, stemming from the transmission of faxes to Plaintiffs and a class of similarly-situated individuals. See generally Complaint. Plaintiffs allege that Defendant is a Delaware corporation, of which MDLinx is a division.1 Id. ¶¶ 14-15. Defendant’s clients are companies in the pharmaceutical industry looking for feedback or ideas from health professionals on how to improve the industry. Id. ¶ 9. As a result, Defendant sends advertisements by fax to Plaintiffs and others in which Defendant offers compensation for participation in online surveys and advertises the commercial availability of Defendant’s online paid survey program, through which Defendant gathers market research and opinions from health professionals for its clients. Id. ¶¶ 20-24. Plaintiffs further allege that they did not invite or consent to being sent advertisements from Defendant on their fax machines. Id. ¶ 41. Therefore, Plaintiffs contend that Defendant violated the TCPA by sending unsolicited advertisements without prior express invitation or permission and without a clear and conspicuously displayed opt-out notice. Id. Count I. Plaintiffs also assert a claim for conversion based upon Defendant’s use of their faxes. Id. Count II. Plaintiffs attach to the Com[1241]*1241plaint a number of exhibits exemplifying the type and content of the faxes received by Plaintiffs, ECF Nos. [44-l]-[44-13], and content from Defendant’s website, ECF No. [44—14]—[44—16]. Defendant seeks to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Rules of Federal Procedure for failure to state a claim.

II. Legal Standard

A pleading in a civil action 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). Although a complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations,” it must provide “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); see Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (explaining that Rule 8(a)(2)’s pleading standard “demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation”). Nor can a complaint rest on “ ‘naked assertion[s]’ devoid of ‘further factual enhancement.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (alteration in original)). “To survive 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).

When reviewing a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), a court, as a general rule, must accept the plaintiffs allegations as true and evaluate all plausible inferences derived from those facts in favor of the plaintiff. See Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla. v. S. Everglades Restoration Alliance, 304 F.3d 1076, 1084 (11th Cir. 2002); AXA Equitable Life Ins. Co. v. Infinity Fin. Grp., LLC, 608 F.Supp.2d 1349, 1353 (S.D. Fla. 2009). However, this tenet does not apply to legal conclusions, and courts “are not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955; see Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937; Thaeter v. Palm Beach Cty. Sheriff’s Office, 449 F.3d 1342, 1352 (11th Cir. 2006). Moreover, “courts may infer from the factual allegations in the complaint ‘obvious alternative explanations,’ which suggest lawful conduct rather than the unlawful conduct the plaintiff would ask the court to infer.” Am. Dental Ass’n v. Cigna Corp., 605 F.3d 1283, 1290 (11th Cir. 2010) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 682, 129 S.Ct. 1937). A court considering a Rule 12(b) motion is generally limited to the facts contained in the complaint and attached exhibits, including documents referred to in the complaint that are central to the claim. See Wilchombe v. TeeVee Toons, Inc., 555 F.3d 949, 959 (11th Cir. 2009); Maxcess, Inc. v. iMcent Techs., Inc., 433 F.3d 1337, 1340 (11th Cir. 2005) (“[A] document outside the four corners of the complaint may still be considered if it is central to the plaintiffs claims and is undisputed in terms of authenticity.”) (citing Horsley v. Feldt, 304 F.3d 1125, 1135 (11th Cir. 2002)). Through this lens, the Court evaluates the instant Motion to Dismiss.

III. Discussion

The sole basis for dismissal raised by Defendant is that the faxes sent to Plaintiffs are not advertisements within the definition provided by the TCPA. Defendant argues that the faxes are merely invitations to participate in “double blind medical surveys,” and that they do not advertise property, goods, or service for sale, as required by the TCPA. Defendant further argues that Plaintiffs’ reliance on the hypothetical result of following the survey link provided in the fax and resulting registration for a survey, and review of Defen[1242]*1242dant’s Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and FAQs, is misplaced as it does not somehow convert the faxes into advertisements, and only leads to the ultimate conclusion that Defendant is a for-profit company.

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Bluebook (online)
232 F. Supp. 3d 1239, 2017 WL 108029, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4058, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/comprehensive-health-care-systems-of-the-palm-beaches-inc-v-m3-usa-corp-flsd-2017.