Erickson v. Kimberly-Clark Corporation

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJuly 28, 2025
Docket3:24-cv-07032
StatusUnknown

This text of Erickson v. Kimberly-Clark Corporation (Erickson v. Kimberly-Clark Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Erickson v. Kimberly-Clark Corporation, (N.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 BRIDGET ERICKSON, et al., Case No. 24-cv-07032-AMO

8 Plaintiffs, ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S 9 v. MOTION TO DISMISS THE FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT 10 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION, Re: Dkt. No. 19 Defendant. 11

12 13 Plaintiffs bring this putative class action on behalf of a nationwide and California state 14 class, alleging Defendant’s Huggies-brand baby wipes fail to disclose they contain per- and 15 polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). Plaintiffs assert five causes of action: 1) violation of 16 California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”), Cal. Civ. Code § 1750, et seq.; 2) 17 violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200, et 18 seq.; 3) violation of California’s False Advertising Law (“FAL”), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17500, 19 et seq.; 4) breach of express warranty; and 5) unjust enrichment. Defendant moves to dismiss the 20 First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) (ECF 16)1 in its entirety under Federal Rule of Civil 21 Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. 22 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 78(b) and Civil Local Rule 7-1(b), the Court 23 finds this motion appropriate for decision without oral argument. Having reviewed the parties’ 24 submissions, and the relevant legal authority, the Court GRANTS the motion to dismiss, with 25 leave to amend. 26

27 1 Record citations are to material in the Electronic Case File (“ECF”); pinpoint citations are to the 1 FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS? 2 Plaintiff Bridget Erickson purchased Huggies Simply Clean Fragrance Free Baby Wipes in 3 || May and July of 2023 as well as in April 2024. (ECF 16 46.) Plaintiff Erica Stevenson also 4 || purchased Defendant’s baby wipes in February and April of 2024. Ud. 4] 8.) Both Plaintiffs 5 || reviewed the product’s packaging prior to purchase and relied on the representations made therein. 6 || Ud. 6, 8.) Throughout the product packaging, Defendant markets the baby wipes as “simply 7 clean,” and further indicates the product is “Hypoallergenic,” “Dermatologically Tested,” 8 “Alcohol Free,” and “Paraben Free.” (Ud. § 14.) 9 10 11 oe ee a pet 3 12 J AGLAE PRE PARRY —Wr> -— 7S a ————

. Beltre = V7VaU glares . @ simply clean MREIET 16 Ke seth ae ie a oo ORs: Yells G se CNG 3 ™. Great for baby's hands, fece, bottom '8 “ey be OD) 19 □ = □□□ DO NOT FLUSH rer 7x Gin «19, 5x6. fiom □□ 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 || 2 This section comprises the well-pleaded allegations from the FAC, which are taken as true and 28 viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs for the purpose of the instant motion. See Manzarek v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 519 F.3d 1025, 1031 (9th Cir. 2008).

1 : © HUGGIES Gah) ce 2 e as Fan 1h simply clean: €— 3 4 Huggies.com Trademarks of Kimberly.Ciark _USA CAN . IN i @ 1-800-558-8177 □□□ Marques de commercs dev, [Gust by Dept wscrraos2 routes” | OWE 5 P.O, Bax 2020 eKcww Fore en 5 Neenah, WI @ 5 PLASTIC YT Ne 64957-2020 USA S0OOQONSEETE PLASTIC | 2 rasa @&) HH | 6 TET 3 eattnres o "3600048756" 5 7 Se HUGGIES 8 Hypoallergéniques + Testées dermatologiquement - Sans aicool « Sans p renknes GENTLE INGREDIENTS / INGREDIENTS DOUX | INGREDIENTES SUAVES WATER/EMAGUA, Cara Rewards+ SODIUF BENZONTE.COCO-BETAINE, POLYSOREATE 20 ie ea ee LA VITAHINE € EST 9 PRESENTE SOLIS FORME GAGE TATS Ie TOGEPNIEROL. LA VITAMINA E ESTA EN FORMA DE ACETATO DE TOCOFERIL ) cits Nat ease te fusbad can harm plumbing, evs, 6 ae wont se Tar Wenmer ly echerche dune Nagata qu'on pevt jeter aun outer? Een as ies Ctaae Eero ects ut whe a Se 10 ll 12 The packaging also notes the product is formulated with “gentle ingredients,” and on Defendant’s

. Lo. . . . 13 product page, there are various depictions of the product being used on the skin of babies.

v 14 Ud. J] 15-17.)

. . . . . □ □ □ 2 15 This product page also describes the wipes as “plant-based” with an asterisk noting it is

. Q 16 || “70% + by weight.” Ud. J§ 18-19.)

HUGGIES Zz 1 8 simply clean 19 20 21 * 22 Plant-based . 23 wipes since 1990 24 25 26 27 *70%+ by weight 28 ry

1 In March 2024, Plaintiffs’ counsel requested testing of the product, “utilizing a Department 2 of Defense ELAP-certified laboratory.” (Id. ¶ 4.) A randomly selected sample, “representative of 3 the Huggies Simply Clean Fragrance Free Baby Wipe Product line,” was tested using the 4 Environmental Protection Agency’s 537 testing method, and the lab found PFAS in the baby 5 wipes in an amount of 305 parts per trillion. (Id.) PFAS “are man-made chemicals that have been 6 used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1940s. They have been used to make 7 nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing, stain resistant fabrics and carpets, some cosmetics, 8 some firefighting foams, and products that resist grease, water, and oil.” (Id. ¶ 24.) These 9 substances can be toxic and “[t]he EPA has set the health advisory level for PFOA at .004 parts 10 per trillion and for PFOS at .02 parts per trillion, an indication that some negative health effects 11 may occur within concentration of PFOA or PFOS in water that are near zero.” (Id. ¶ 25 (internal 12 quotations omitted).) PFAS have also been linked to severe, negative health outcomes such as 13 “cancer and effects on lipid metabolism” as well as “immune suppression, thyroid disease, and 14 harm to reproduction.” (Id. ¶ 27.) Plaintiffs further incorporate various scientific research 15 highlighting the unique vulnerability of infants to harmful chemicals. (Id. ¶¶ 30-32.) 16 Plaintiffs find Defendant’s advertising misleading because it omitted and concealed that 17 the product contained “dangerous levels of PFAS,” which could cause serious health 18 repercussions. (Id. ¶ 43.) The representations on the packaging therefore deceive reasonable 19 consumers, and had Plaintiffs known of the PFAS content, they would not have paid as much for 20 the product. (Id. ¶ 48.) 21 LEGAL STANDARD 22 “To survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim after the Supreme Court’s 23 decisions in Iqbal and Twombly, plaintiffs’ allegations must suggest that their claim has at least a 24 plausible chance of success.” Levitt v. Yelp! Inc., 765 F.3d 1123, 1134-35 (9th Cir. 2014) (cleaned 25 up). The district court must assume that the plaintiff’s allegations are true and draw all reasonable 26 inferences in their favor. Shields v. Credit One Bank, N.A., 32 F.4th 1218, 1220 (9th Cir. 2022). 27 However, the court need not construe conclusory statements or unreasonable inferences as true. 1 Further, since Plaintiffs assert claims sounding in fraud, the FAC must comply with the 2 heightened pleading standard of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b). Davidson v. Sprout Foods, 3 Inc., 106 F.4th 842, 852 (9th Cir. 2024). To comply with this standard, “the complaint must 4 ‘identify the who, what, when, where, and how of the misconduct charged, as well as what is false 5 or misleading about the purportedly fraudulent statement, and why it is false.’” Id. (quoting 6 Davidson v.

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Erickson v. Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/erickson-v-kimberly-clark-corporation-cand-2025.