Jones v. Conagra Foods, Inc.

912 F. Supp. 2d 889, 2012 WL 6569393, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178352
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedDecember 17, 2012
DocketNo. C 12-01633 CRB
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 912 F. Supp. 2d 889 (Jones v. Conagra Foods, 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
Jones v. Conagra Foods, Inc., 912 F. Supp. 2d 889, 2012 WL 6569393, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178352 (N.D. Cal. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART MOTION TO DISMISS

CHARLES R. BREYER, District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint (“MTD”) (dkt. 32), which alleges that several of Defendant’s products contained deceptive and misleading labels, violating numerous California and federal laws. As discussed below, the Court GRANTS in part, and DENIES in part, Defendant’s motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs Levi Jones, Christine Sturges, and Edd Ozard, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, filed this class action suit against Defendant ConAgra Foods, Inc. on April 2, 2012, (dkt. 1), and subsequently filed an Amended Complaint (“AC”) on July 2, 2012, (dkt. 27). Plaintiffs allege that Defendant’s, website and numerous products of Defendant’s, including PAM cooking' spray, Hunt’s canned tomato products, and Swiss Miss cocoa, contain deceptive and misleading labeling information. Id.

Specifically, Defendant’s allegedly deceptive and misleading ■ practices include (1) labeling food products as 100% natural, when they contain petrochemicals; (2) labeling food products as 100% natural, when they contain chemical preservatives, synthetic chemicals, added artificial color and other artificial ingredients; (3) labeling food products as “organic” or “certified organic,” when they contain disqualifying ingredients; (4) failing to use the common or usual name of ingredients or failing to list the- ingredients in the correct order; (5) falsely representing food products to be “free of artificial -ingredients and preservatives;” (6) making unlawful nutrient content claims; (7) making unlawful antioxidant claims; (8) falsely representing foods to be fresh or have a “fresh taste;” and (9) making unlawful health claims. Id. ¶3.

Plaintiffs assert that they “care about the nutritional content of food and seek to maintain a healthy diet.” Id. ¶ 225. Plaintiffs allege that, throughout the class period, they and other class members purchased Defendant’s misbranded products, reasonably relying on the health and content claims on Defendant’s package labeling and website. Id. ¶226. Had they known that Defendant’s products were mislabeled, Plaintiffs assert that they would not have purchased the products. Id. ¶¶ 97, 120, 127, 143, 164. Further, because of Defendant’s misleading and deceptive practices, Plaintiffs allege that they were harmed when they paid an “unwarranted premium” for Defendant’s mislabeled products. See, e.g., id. ¶¶ 100, 121, 144,196, 208.

' Based on the above alleged practices, Plaintiffs assert causes of action based on (1) California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 1720Ó, et seq.;' (2) California’s False Advertising Laws (“FAL”), Cal. Bus. & ProfCode § 17500, et seq.; (3) Consumer Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”), Cal. Civ.Code § 1750, et seq.; (4) restitution based on unjust enrichment/quasi-contract; (5) Song-Beverly Act, Cal. Civ.Code § Í790, et seq.; and (6) Magnuson-Moss Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2301, et seq. See generally, AC. Defendant filed this Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint on August 17, 2012, seeking to dismiss all of the claims in the AC.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A-motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) tests .the legal sufficiency of the complaint. Ileto v. Glock, Inc., 349 F.3d 1191, 1199-1200 (9th Cir.2003). Dismissal [894]*894is proper where a cause of action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). The Rule calls for sufficient factual matter to “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” 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)). On a motion to dismiss, all well-pleaded allegations of material fact are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Wyler Summit P’ship v. Turner Broad. Sys., Inc., 135 F.3d 658, 661 (9th Cir.1998). A complaint should not be dismissed without leave to amend unless it is clear that the claims could not be saved by amendment. Swartz v. KPMG LLP, 476 F.3d 756, 760 (9th Cir.2007).

Under Rule 9(b), the “circumstances constituting fraud” or any other claim that “sounds in fraud” must be stated “with particularity.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(b); Vess v. Ciba-Geigy Corp. USA 317 F.3d 1097, 1103-04 (9th Cir.2003). To comply with Rule 9(b), a plaintiff must plead with particularity the time and place of the fraud, the statements made and by whom, an explanation of why pr how such statements were false or misleading, and the role of. each defendant in the alleged fraud. KEMA Inc. v. Koperwhats, No. C-09-1587 MMC, 2010 WL 3464737, at *3 (N.D.Cal. Sept. 1, 2010). In short, the complaint must include the “who, what, when, where, and how.” Cooper v. Pickett, 137 F.3d 616, 627 (1997) (internal quotations omitted).

III. DISCUSSION

Defendant moves to dismiss the AC on the grounds that (A) Plaintiffs’ claims are preempted by federal law; (B) the FDA has primary jurisdiction over certain claims; (C) Plaintiffs fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted and have not established standing; (D) Plaintiffs fail to plead with particularity in accordance with Rule 9(b); and (E) Plaintiffs’ warranty and unjust enrichment claims fail as a matter of law. See generally, MTD. This Order will address each argument in turn.

A. Preemption

Defendant asserts that Plaintiffs’ claims are preempted by (1) the Organic Foods Product Act (“OFPA”); (2) the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (“NLEA”); and (3) the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”).

1. OFPA preemption

Defendant asserts that Plaintiffs’ organic labeling claims are preempted by the OFPA. MTD at 4-5. Relying on In re Aurora Dairy Corp. Organic Milk Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, 621 F.3d 781, 796 (8th Cir.2010), Defendant asserts that the Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of certain organic claims because “ ‘claims that [manufacturers and retailers] sold [a product] as organic when in fact it was not organic are preempted because they conflict with the OFPA.’ ” MTD at 4 (quoting In re Aurora, 621 F.3d at 781).

Defendant takes this quote out of context. In In re Aurora,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
912 F. Supp. 2d 889, 2012 WL 6569393, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-conagra-foods-inc-cand-2012.