Meta v. Target Corp.

74 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16810, 2015 WL 574825
District Court, N.D. Ohio·Decided February 11, 2015·No. Case No. 4:14 CV 0832·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

DONALD C. NUGENT, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on two motions: (1) Defendant Target Corporation’s (“Target”) Partial Motion to Dismiss (ECF # 17);. and (2) Defendant Nice-Pak Products, Inc.’s (“Nice-Pak”) Partial Motion to Dismiss Counts (l)-(5) (ECF # 19). Plaintiff has responded to the motions, and Defendants Target and Nice-Pak have replied. Accordingly, the motions are ripe for consideration. For the reasons explained herein below, Defendant Target’s motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART, and Defendant Nice-Pak’s motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Accordingly, Counts I through IV of the Amended Class Action Complaint (ECF #4) are DISMISSED. All other counts remain.

I. FACTS

Plaintiff Christopher Meta has brought a putative class action against Defendants Target and Nice-Pak based on his purchase of Up & Up® brand flushable wipes from Target. The Amended Class Action Complaint concerns two pre-moistened wipe products sold in stores under the Up [860] & Up® brand. ' One of the products is marketed in red packaging as “toddler wipes,” while the other is marketed in green packaging as “flushable moist wipes.”1 Target states on its website and on the packaging for the Up & Up® wipes that the wipes are “flushable” and safe for septic and sewer systems.

Plaintiff asserts that he began purchasing the wipes from a Target store in Boardman, Ohio in or around July, 2011. Since that time, he has purchased approximately 18 packs of the wipes from the same store. He used the products primarily for potty training his daughter, and flushed the wipes down the toilet. Plaintiff alleges that he noticed problems with plumbing in his home in 2013, and eventually incurred approximately $210 to have problems with his pipes and septic system corrected.2 According to Mr. Meta, the Up & Up® brand flushable wipes caused the problems when they caked together in his pipes and septic system after flushing, despite representations on the product packaging and on Target’s website that the wipes are flushable, break apart after flushing, and are safe for sewers and septic systems.

Based on these allegations, Mr. Meta seeks certification of a class consisting of “All persons residing in the State of Ohio who purchased Target-Brand ‘up & up®’ ‘flushable’ moist tissue wipes and toddler and family wipes (the “Up & Up® Flusha-ble Wipes”).” Certain members of the putative class, like Mr. Meta, allegedly suffered physical damage to property other than the wipes when the wipes were flushed. Other members of the putative class did not suffer any injury to property, but nonetheless seek compensation for having purchased wipes that in fact are not flushable.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

In considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court must assess, given the material required to be in the complaint, whether the complainant can prove a set of facts entitling the complainant to recovery on the allegations against the moving party. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). In making this assessment, the Court must take only well-pleaded factual allegations as true and reject allegations that are nothing more than “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1964-65; Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1953, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

The standard articulated in Iqbal and Twombly is designed to screen out more than “little green men” cases; the standard is designed to screen out cases that, while not utterly impossible, are implausible. Courie v. Alcoa Wheel & Forged Products, 577 F.3d 625, 629-30 (6th Cir.2009). As explained below, counts I to IV of Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint fail to state plausible claims.

III. DISCUSSION

Plaintiffs Amended Class Action Complaint contains the following 11 Counts:

(1) Count I: Tortious Breach of Warranty (All Defendants);
(2) Count II: Negligent Design (All Defendants);
[861] (3) Count III: Negligent Failure to Warn (All Defendants);
(4) Count IV: Negligent Misrepresentation (All Defendants);
(5) Count V: Fraud (All Defendants);
(6) Count VI: Defective Design/Formation: Ohio Rev.Code Ann. § 2307.75 (All Defendants);
(7) Count VII: Product Defect due to Inadequate Warning or Instruction; Ohio Rev.Code Ann. § 2307.76 (All Defendants);
(8) Count VIII: Product Defect due to Nonconformance with Representations: Ohio Rev.Code Ann. § 2307.77 (All Defendants);
(9) Count IX: Breach of the Implied Warranty of Merchantability; Ohio Rev.Code Ann. § 1302.27 (Target);
(10) Count X: Violation of Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq. (Target); and
(11) Count XI: Unjust Enrichment (Target).

Target and Nice-Pak each have moved for partial dismissal of the Amended Complaint. Target seeks dismissal of Counts I through VIII and IX. Nice-Pak requests dismissal of Counts I through V.

A. Counts I Through III Are Abrogated By The OPLA

Both Target and Nice-Pak argue that Counts I through V should be dismissed because, among other things, these common law claims have been abrogated by the Ohio Product Liability Act (“OPLA”), and no exceptions apply. The Court agrees with respect to Counts I through III.3

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Meta v. Target Corp., 74 F. Supp. 3d 858, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16810, 2015 WL 574825 (N.D. Ohio 2015).

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