Kearney v. Equilon Enterprises, LLC

65 F. Supp. 3d 1033, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166350, 2014 WL 6769697
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedDecember 1, 2014
DocketNo. 3:14-cv-00254-HZ
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 65 F. Supp. 3d 1033 (Kearney v. Equilon Enterprises, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kearney v. Equilon Enterprises, LLC, 65 F. Supp. 3d 1033, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166350, 2014 WL 6769697 (D. Or. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

HERNÁNDEZ, District Judge:

Plaintiffs bring a proposed class action with a nationwide breach of contract claim, and substantially similar state subclass claims based on state unlawful trade practice statutes. Defendant moves to dismiss for failure to state a claim. I deny Defendant’s motion regarding Plaintiffs’ nationwide breach of contract claim. I grant Defendant’s motion against Plaintiffs’ state law claims for failing to plead with specificity as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b). I deny Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ state law claims for failing to plead reliance.

BACKGROUND

At the heart of Plaintiffs’ claims is an advertisement allegedly displayed by Defendant at Shell-brand service stations. Am. Compl. ¶ 18. Plaintiffs allege the advertisement looked like this:

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[1036]*1036Id. at ¶ 19. This advertisement was part of Defendant’s “Ski Free” promotion. Id. at ¶ 18. Under this promotion, after individuals purchased ten gallons of fuel and requested a voucher for a free lift ticket, they received a voucher with their purchase receipt. Id. at ¶ 20. This voucher could not be exchanged directly for a free lift ticket, but rather was a “two for one” coupon that allowed the individual to obtain a free lift ticket only after purchasing a lift ticket at full price at a participating ski resort. Id. Moreover, the voucher contained various other restrictions. Id. at ¶¶ 21-23.

Plaintiffs assert that Defendant’s advertisement created a contract, the terms of which entitled Plaintiffs to a free ski resort lift ticket in exchange for buying ten gallons of gas at a participating Shell station. Plaintiffs argue Defendant breached the terms of the contract, and also violated state unlawful trade practices, when Defendant failed to provide a voucher that could be directly exchanged for a free lift ticket at a participating resort, but instead provided a “two for one” voucher that required the purchase of a second lift ticket in order to receive a “free” lift ticket. Id. at ¶¶ 62, 65, 70-2, 77, 82, 88, 92, 95-8, 101.

STANDARDS

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) may be granted only when there is no cognizable legal theory to support the claim, or when the complaint lacks sufficient factual allegations to state a facially plausible claim for relief. Shroyer v. New Cingular Wireless Servs., Inc., 622 F.3d 1035, 1041 (9th Cir.2010). In evaluating the sufficiency of a complaint’s factual allegations, the court must accept all material facts alleged in the complaint as true and construe them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Wilson v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 668 F.3d 1136, 1140 (9th Cir.2012). However, the court need not accept conclusory allegations as truthful. Holden v. Hagopian, 978 F.2d 1115, 1121 (9th Cir.1992).

A Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss will be granted if the plaintiff alleges the “grounds” of his “entitlement to relief’ with nothing “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action[.]” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). Additionally, “factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact)[.]” Id. (citations and footnote omitted).

To survive a motion to dismiss, the complaint “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face[,]” meaning “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (internal quotation marks omitted). Additionally, “only a complaint that states a plausible claim for relief survives a motion to dismiss.” Id. The complaint must contain “well-pleaded facts” which “permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct.” Id. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

To state otherwise, “[f]irst, to be entitled to the presumption of truth, allegations in a complaint or counterclaim may not simply recite the elements of a cause of action, but must contain sufficient -allegations of underlying facts to give fair notice and to enable the opposing party to defend itself effectively.” Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202, 1216 (9th Cir.2011). Second, “the factual allegations that are taken as true must [1037]*1037plausibly suggest an entitlement to relief, such that it is not unfair to require the opposing party to be subjected to the expense of discovery and continued litigation.” Id.

DISCUSSION

Plaintiffs bring the following claims: (1) a nationwide claim for relief for breach of contract; (2) three Oregon subclass claims for relief for unlawful trade practices (Or. Rev.Stat. § (O.R.S.) 646.644, O.R.S. 646.608, Or. Admin. R. (O.A.R.) 137-020-00141); (3) a Colorado subclass claim for relief for violating the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (Colo.Rev.Stat. § 6-1-105(e), (jj)); (4) a Michigan subclass claim for relief for violating the Michigan Consumer Protection Act (Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 445.903(c), (n), (r), (s), (w), (bb), and (cc)); (5) two California subclass claims, one for violating the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (Cal. Civ.Code § 1770(a)(5), (7), (14), and (17)); and the other for violations of state unfair competition and false advertising statutes (Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code §§ 17200, 17500, 17508, 17509); and (6) a Washington subclass claim for unfair business practices (Wash. Rev.Code Ann. § 19.86.010). Am. Compl. ¶¶ 58-106.

Defendant moves to dismiss the national breach of contract claim for failure to state a claim. Defendant also moves to dismiss Plaintiffs’ various state law statutory claims as insufficiently pled pursuant to Rule 9(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Finally, Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiffs’ state law statutory claims for failure to state a claim.

1. Breach of Contract

Defendant contends that any offer proposed by the “Ski Free” advertisement lacks specificity, and since “[a] contract requires a clear and unequivocal acceptance of a certain and definite offer” the advertisement cannot constitute an offer. Estey & Assoc., Inc. v.

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65 F. Supp. 3d 1033, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166350, 2014 WL 6769697, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kearney-v-equilon-enterprises-llc-ord-2014.