Ferreira v. Sterling Jewelers, Inc.

130 F. Supp. 3d 471, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122680, 2015 WL 5437086
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedSeptember 15, 2015
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 13-13165-DPW
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 130 F. Supp. 3d 471 (Ferreira v. Sterling Jewelers, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ferreira v. Sterling Jewelers, Inc., 130 F. Supp. 3d 471, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122680, 2015 WL 5437086 (D. Mass. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

DOUGLAS P. WOODLOCK, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

In this putative class action, the remaining named plaintiff alleges that the defendant, a jewelry company, failed to provide gemstone treatment and special care disclosures in an appropriate location on its consumer website relating to the sale of treated gemstones, as required by regulations promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). The plaintiff seeks relief under the -Massachusetts consumer protection statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, § 9, for the alleged harm caused to her — and to . a putative class of individual Internet purchasers — by this failure to disclose. Before me are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment as to the [475]*475claims of the named plaintiff only. A number of motions to strike are presented regarding the summary judgment submissions.

I. BACKGROUND

The majority of the relevant facts are undisputed.1 The defendant, Sterling Jeweler’s, Inc., doing business as Jared The Galleria of Jewelry (collectively, “Sterling”), sells’ jewelry in brick and mortar stores and on the Internet. Emilia Ferreira, the remaining named plaintiff, purchased a “Precious Pet” emerald charm necklace engraved with the name’ of her dog, Bella, through Sterling’s website on January 7, 2014.2 She paid $114.99 plus sales tax of $7.19 and received the necklace by Federal Express about a week later. The necklace consists of a small1 sterling silver charm in the shape of a dog paw with a small, single emerald in the center. On the Sterling website, the emerald was described as a “genuine 2 millimeter round emerald.” Ms. Ferreira asserts that Sterling misrepresented to her that the necklace contained a “natural” emerald, based on Sterling’s use of the term “genuine.” However, Ms. Ferreira acknowledged in her deposition that the word “natural” did not , appear in the description of the emerald on any of the pages she consulted on the Sterling website.

At the time Ms. Ferreira purchased her necklace, she did not have any knowledge about treatments for emeralds, including oil or resin treatment. Ms. Ferreira now believes that her emerald was treated with “plastic” resins and polymers and therefore was not a “genuine” gemstone. The experts for both parties agree that the emerald in Ms. Ferreira’s necklace was mined from the ground, rather than being synthetized or created in a lab. The parties also agree that the emerald at issue was treated with a, polymer or. a similar resin that is subject to special care requirements. They dispute,- however,- whether this treatment is or is not “permanent,” whether it will yequire re-treatment, and whether and how the treatment impacts the value of the emerald.3

At the time of Ms. Ferreira’s purchase, the main webpage for the necklace opened by default to the “overview” page for personalized jewelry, which did not have an emerald treatment disclosure. Similarly, gemstone treatment or special care disclosures did not appear on the description or solicitation pages for the necklace. Sterling did provide certain treatment disclosures on its website that could be accessed through the frequently asked questions (“FAQ”) section. These FAQ included discussion about how to care .for treated gem[476]*476stone jewelry, and more particularly, color stone care, which explained to customers the various treatments that may or may not have been done to -the gemstones, and stated that most treated gemstone jewelry could be cleaned with mild liquid detergent mixed with warm water. The FAQ would not have informed1 Ms. Ferreira whether the specific emerald in her charm had been treated, and did not distinguish between permanent and non-permanent treatments.4 In selecting her necklace and completing her purchase, Ms. Ferreira remained on the overview page and did not click on a link'to the FAQ section of the website. As a result, she did not view any statements on the website concerning gemstone treatments or special care requirements.

Ms. Ferreira contends that Sterling did not comply with certain FTC regulations, 16 C.F.R. §§ 23.0 et seq., requiring jewelers to disclose to consumers at the time and place of purchase whether a natural gemstone has been subject to treatment, and that she was misled by the use of the term “genuine” to believe that her emerald was untreated and therefore more valuable than it was. Ms. Ferreira seeks to represent a putative class of individuals whd similarly purchased natural gemstones, including diamonds, emeralds, rubies," and sapphires, through the Internet website of Sterling and its “doing business as” entities, and who allegedly paid an “artificially' inflated purchase price” based on Sterling’s misrepresentations and omissions. No class has yet been certified; thus only Ms. Ferreira’s individual claims under chapter 93A and for unjust enrichment are the subject of the pending summary judgment motions.

II. DISCUSSION

Summary judgment is appropriate when, based on the pleadings, discovery, and disclosure materials in the record, “is there no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a), (c); see Adria Int’l Grp., Inc. v. Ferré Dev., Inc., 241 F.3d 103, 107 (1st Cir.2001). A disputed fact will preclude summary judgment only if it* has “the potential to affect the "outcome of the suit under the applicable law,” that is, it is material to the resolution of the case. Sanchez v. Alvarado, 101 F.3d 223, 227 (1st Cir.1996) (citations and quotation marks omitted). Cross-motions for summary judgment, will be evaluated separately under this protocol. Bienkowski v. Northeastern Univ., 285 F.3d 138, 140 (1st Cir.2002); see Mandel v. Bos. Phoenix, Inc., 456 F.3d 198, 205 (1st Cir.2006).

A. Chapter 93A Claim

1. Unfair or Deceptive Act

The Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Mass. Gen. Laws eh. 93A, §§ 2, 9(1), provides á "private right of action to individual consumers who have been injured by “unfair or déeeptive acts or practices in the conduct' of any trade or commerce.” Such acts or practices include those that would be considered unfair or deceptive under § 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTCA”), codified at 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1).5 See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, § 2(b); McDermott v. Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, P.C., 775 F.3d 109, 122 (1st Cir.2014) (citing Slaney v. Westwood Auto, Inc., 366 Mass.

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Bluebook (online)
130 F. Supp. 3d 471, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122680, 2015 WL 5437086, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ferreira-v-sterling-jewelers-inc-mad-2015.