Jarrett v. Panasonic Corp. of North America

8 F. Supp. 3d 1074, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97983, 2013 WL 8148643
District Court, E.D. Arkansas·Decided June 21, 2013·No. No. 4:12-CV-00739-SWW·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

SUSAN WEBBER WRIGHT, District Judge.

Plaintiff Denise Jarrett brings this proposed class action against Defendants Sa-nyo Manufacturing Corporation (Sanyo), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and Wal-Mart Stores Arkansas, L.L.C. (collectively, Wal-Mart), alleging the Defendants designed, manufactured, distributed or sold defective 42" and 46" Sanyo plasma televisions.1 Plaintiff filed her action in the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas, but it was removed to this Court by Defendants under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d).2

[1079]*1079Now before the Court is Defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) [doc. # 38]. Plaintiff has responded in opposition to Defendants’ motion and Defendants have filed a reply to Plaintiffs response. For the reasons that follow, the Court grants in part and denies in part Defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings.

I.

Plaintiff claims that in November 2010 she purchased a 46" Sanyo plasma television at a Wal-Mart store in Little Rock, Arkansas, but that in October 2011, the television began to malfunction, losing partial picture resulting in the right side of the screen becoming black. Compl. ¶¶ 17-18. Plaintiff claims “[t]he 42" and 46" Sa-nyo plasma televisions have a design defect causing the screen to flicker, lose picture intermittently, lose full picture and/or lose full picture and sound, sometimes within hours of purchase.” Compl. ¶ 6. Plaintiff claims the defect she experienced is “widespread and systemic across the United States” and that “[d]espite longstanding knowledge of the problems,” Defendants have purposely concealed, suppressed, and omitted to disclose to consumers that its 42" and 46" Sanyo plasma televisions are defectively designed. Compl. ¶¶ 7, 20. Plaintiff asserts the following claims against Defendants: Count I&emdash;Breach of Implied Warranty of Merchantability; Count II&emdash;Violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ADTPA), Ark.Code Ann. § 4-88-101 et seq.; and Count III&emdash;Unjust Enrichment. Compl. ¶¶ 42-74.

Plaintiff proposes a nationwide class that consists of “[a]ll persons and entities residing in the United States who purchased a 42" and 46" Sanyo plasma television” and an Arkansas subclass of “[a]ll persons and entities residing in the State of Arkansas who purchased a 42" and 46" Sanyo plasma television.” Compl. ¶24. Plaintiff claims that the nationwide class and Arkansas subclass “are both composed of, at least, thousands of people who purchased 42" and 46" Sanyo televisions, with the same common defect that causes similar characteristics and symptoms.” Compl. at ¶ 25.

II.

Defendants move for judgment on the pleadings under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) on the following grounds: (1) Defendants properly disclaimed any implied warranty of merchantability and, separately, Plaintiff has not alleged that she provided any of the Defendants with the required pre-suit notice; (2) Plaintiffs ADTPA claim fails as she does not allege reasonable reliance and injury flowing from Defendants’ allegedly deceptive conduct and she also does not plead her ADTPA claim with particularity as required by Fed.R.Civ.P 9(b); (3) Plaintiffs unjust enrichment claim fails as a matter of law because an express contract&emdash;a written warranty&emdash;existed; and (4) even if any of Plaintiffs individual claims survive, her class allegations should not.

A.

A motion for judgment on the pleadings under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) is reviewed under the same standards used to review a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Ashley County, Ark. v. Pfizer, Inc., 552 F.3d 659, 665 (8th Cir. [1080]*10802009) (citation omitted). Judgment on the pleadings is appropriate only when there is no dispute as to any material facts and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. The Court is required to accept as true all factual allegations set out in the complaint and to construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, drawing all inferences in her favor. Id. However, the Court is “not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclu-sory statements, do not suffice.” Id. “Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders ‘naked assertion[s]’ devoid of ‘further factual enhancement.’ ” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955). To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. “The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” ld (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). A well-pleaded complaint may proceed even if it appears that actual proof of those facts is improbable and that recovery is very remote and unlikely. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955. A complaint cannot, however, simply leave open the possibility that a plaintiff might later establish some set of undisclosed facts to support recovery. Id. at 561, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “[Wjhere the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged — but it has not ‘show[n]’ — ‘that the pleader is entitled to relief.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2)).3

B.

1.

The Court first addresses Defendants’ argument that they properly disclaimed any implied warranty of merchantability. This argument has subparts which the Court will address in turn.

i.

Under the Arkansas Uniform Commercial Code (Arkansas UCC), a seller may exclude implied warranties of merchantability provided that the disclaimer mentions “merchantability” and is conspicuous. Ark.Code Ann. §§ 4-2-314 and 4-2-316. See also

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Jarrett v. Panasonic Corp. of North America, 8 F. Supp. 3d 1074, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97983, 2013 WL 8148643 (E.D. Ark. 2013).

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