Figy v. Frito-Lay North America, Inc.

67 F. Supp. 3d 1075, 2014 WL 3953755, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111732
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedAugust 12, 2014
DocketCase No. 13-3988 SC
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 67 F. Supp. 3d 1075 (Figy v. Frito-Lay North America, Inc.) 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
Figy v. Frito-Lay North America, Inc., 67 F. Supp. 3d 1075, 2014 WL 3953755, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111732 (N.D. Cal. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFFS’ FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT

SAMUEL CONTI, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Now before the Court is Defendant Frito-Lay North America, Inc.’s (“Defendant”) motion to dismiss Plaintiffs Robert Figy and Mary Swearingen’s (“Plaintiffs”) first amended complaint. ECF Nos.. 17 (“FAC”), 25 (“MTD”). The motion is fully briefed, ECF Nos. 31 (“Opp’n”),1 34 (“Reply”), and suitable for decision without oral argument. Civ. L.R. 7 — 1(b). For the reasons explained below, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Defendant’s motion.

II. BACKGROUND

Defendant, a Texas corporation, makes snack food products. Plaintiffs are two California consumers who purchased three of Defendant’s pretzel products between August 27, 2009 and the present (the “Class Period”). FAC Intro. ¶ 4.2 Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that they purchased “Frito-Lay’s Rold Gold Sticks Pretzels,” “Frito-Lay’s Rold Gold Thins Pretzels,” “Frito-Lay’s Rold Gold Low Fat Tiny Twists Pretzels,” (collectively, the “Purchased Products”), and were misled by portions of their labels. Id. ¶¶ 5-6. Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and a putative class, filed this action against Defendant, alleging that the Purchased Products contain deceptive and misleading labeling information, in violation of state and federal law. Id. ¶¶ 1-6; FAC ¶¶ 1-15. Plaintiffs also bring claims on behalf of a putative nationwide class of people who purchased two other products from Defendant that Plaintiffs did not buy.3

[1080]*1080Plaintiffs allege that Defendant’s marketing of the Products is misleading because the Products are labelled “Made with All Natural Ingredients” despite containing “artificial, synthetic and unnatural ingredients ‘niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid and ammonium bicarbonate.’ ” FAC ¶¶ 6, 27, 37, 52, 53, 57. Further, Plaintiffs contend that the labelling of some of the products as “LOW FAT” or “FAT FREE” is false and misleading because, despite containing greater than 480 milligrams of sodium per reference amount, the Products do not bear an additional label directing consumers to see the nutritional information for sodium content as required by 21 C.F.R. Section 101.13(h)(1). FAC ¶¶ 22-32. Together, Plaintiffs argue that these representations convey the impression that the Defendant’s “products [are] healthier than a product that does not contain [the] unlawful nutrient content claim[s].” FAC ¶ 42. Further, Plaintiffs state that the absence of further labelling on the “LOW FAT” and “FAT FREE” products renders them “misbranded” as a matter of federal and California law, and therefore unsalable and “legally worthless.” Id. ¶ 45.

Plaintiffs state that they care about buying healthy foods and read the label statements on the Purchased Products prior to buying them. FAC ¶ 80, 82. Because of their interest in purchasing healthy foods, Plaintiffs contend that they relied on the label statements and drew from them “the net impression that the Purchased Products they bought made only positive contributions to a diet, and did not contain any nutrients at levels that raised the risk of diet-related disease or health-related- conditions.” FAC ¶ 83. Plaintiffs claim they would not have bought the Products had they been properly labelled. Id.

In the FAC, Plaintiffs assert six causes of action against Defendant: (1-3) violations of the “unlawful,” “unfair,” and “fraudulent” prongs of California’s Unfair Competition Law’s (“UCL”), Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 17200 et seq.; (4-5) violations of the “misleading'and deceptive” and “untrue” prongs of California’s False Advertising Law (“FAL”), Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 17500 et seq.; and (6) violations of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”), Cal. Civ.Code § 1750 et seq. Plaintiffs seek monetary, equitable, and injunctive relief both individually and on behalf of a putative nationwide class of consumers.

Defendant now moves to dismiss the FAC.

III. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Motions to Dismiss

1. Rule 12(b)(1)

A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) challenges the Court’s subject-matter jurisdiction. Chandler v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 598 F.3d 1115, 1121-22 (9th Cir.2010); The party asserting jurisdiction “bears the burden of proving its existence.” Id. at 1122. “Rule 12(b)(1) attacks on jurisdiction can be either facial, confining the inquiry to allegations in the complaint, or factual, permitting the court to look beyond the complaint.” Savage v. Glendale Union High Sch., 343 F.3d 1036, 1039 n. 2 (9th Cir.2003) (citing White v. Lee, 227 F.3d 1214, 1242 (9th Cir.2000). On a factual attack under Rule 12 (b)(1),

the moving party may submit “affidavits or any other evidence properly before the court.... It then becomes necessary for the party opposing the motion to present affidavits or any other evidence necessary to satisfy its burden of [1081]*1081establishing that the court, in fact, possesses subject matter jurisdiction.”

Colwell v. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs., 558 F.3d 1112, 1121 (9th Cir.2009) (quoting St. Clair v. City of Chico, 880 F.2d 199, 201 (9th Cir.1989)).

2. Rule 12(b)(6)

A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) “tests the legal sufficiency of a claim.” Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir.2001). “Dismissal can be based on the lack of a cognizable legal theory or the absence of sufficient facts alleged, under a cognizable legal theory.” Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir.1988). “When there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). However, “the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions. Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544

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Bluebook (online)
67 F. Supp. 3d 1075, 2014 WL 3953755, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111732, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/figy-v-frito-lay-north-america-inc-cand-2014.