Hawes v. Macy's Inc.

346 F. Supp. 3d 1086
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedSeptember 28, 2018
DocketCase No. 1:17-cv-754
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 346 F. Supp. 3d 1086 (Hawes v. Macy's Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hawes v. Macy's Inc., 346 F. Supp. 3d 1086 (S.D. Ohio 2018).

Opinion

Timothy S. Black, United States District Judge

This civil action is before the Court upon Defendant Macy's Inc. ("Macy's")'s motion to dismiss for lack of standing and failure to state a claim (Doc. 17) and the parties' responsive memoranda (Docs. 25 and 34).

I. FACTS AS ALLEGED BY THE PLAINTIFF

For purposes of this motion to dismiss, the Court must: (1) view the complaint in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs; and (2) take all well-pleaded factual allegations as true. Tackett v. M & G Polymers , 561 F.3d 478, 488 (6th Cir. 2009).

Plaintiffs Sara Hawes and Amy Hill are unsatisfied customers who claim that the bed sheets they purchased in California and Missouri, respectively, were labeled with inflated thread counts. Plaintiff Hawes claims that her 900 thread-count sheets were actually 249 thread-count and Plaintiff Hill claims that her 1000 thread-count sheets were "far less." (Doc. 1 at ¶¶ 11-12). Plaintiffs claim that Defendants Macy's, AQ Textiles LLC ("AQ"), and Creative Textile Mills Pvt. Ltd. ("Creative") are responsible for deceiving, misleading, and inducing them - and the American consumer public - into buying these bed sheets with false, inflated thread counts. (Id. at ¶¶ 1, 3-5, 24-29, 34-35, 47).

Plaintiffs claim that Macy's was aware that consumers associate higher thread counts with being higher in quality, being softer, and being more comfortable. (Id. at ¶¶ 1-2, 11-12, 21-23). Macy's allegedly made misleading statements regarding the bedding products on its website and in its retail stores. (Id. at ¶ 42). Plaintiffs claim Macy's knew or should have known that thread counts were being inaccurately reported. (Id. at ¶¶ 46, 50). Plaintiffs allege they have suffered because the products they purchased with inaccurate thread counts did not perform with the same characteristics as sheets with the thread counts as advertised, and that the products were not fit for use. (Id. at ¶¶ 80, 160).

Plaintiffs assert ten claims against Macy's: (1) violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act ("MMWA"); (2) violation of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act ("MMPA"); (3)-(5) violations of the California Unfair Competition Law ("UCL"), (6) violation of California's Fair Advertising Law ("FAL") (California Business and Professions Code); (7) violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act ("CLRA"); (8) breach of the implied warranty of merchantability; (9) breach of *1090express warranty; and (10) fraud. (Id. at ¶¶ 68-182).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Lack of Standing

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (12)(b)(1), a court may dismiss a case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Standing to sue is a threshold jurisdictional requirement in every federal action. Sicom Sys., Ltd. v. Agilent Techs., Inc., 427 F.3d 971, 975 (Fed. Cir. 2005).

Where a defendant raises the issue of lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1), the plaintiff has the burden of proving jurisdiction in order to survive the motion to dismiss. Moir v. Greater Cleveland Reg'l Transit Auth., 895 F.2d 266, 269 (6th Cir. 1990). "A court lacking jurisdiction cannot render judgment but must dismiss the cause at any stage of the proceedings in which it becomes apparent that jurisdiction is lacking." Sweeton v. Brown , 27 F.3d 1162, 1169 (6th Cir. 1994) (quoting United States v. Siviglia, 686 F.2d 832, 835 (10th Cir. 1981), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 918, 103 S.Ct. 1902, 77 L.Ed.2d 289 (1983) ).

B. Failure to State a Claim

A motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) operates to test the sufficiency of the complaint and permits dismissal of a complaint for "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." To show grounds for relief, Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a) requires that the complaint contain a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief."

While Fed. R. Civ. P. 8"does not require 'detailed factual allegations,' ... it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). Pleadings offering mere " 'labels and conclusions' or 'a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.' " Id. (citing Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555

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346 F. Supp. 3d 1086, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hawes-v-macys-inc-ohsd-2018.