Missouri v. Au Optronics Corp.

787 F. Supp. 2d 1036
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedApril 11, 2011
DocketNos. M 07-1827 SI, C 10-3619 SI; MDL No. 1827
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 787 F. Supp. 2d 1036 (Missouri v. Au Optronics Corp.) 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
Missouri v. Au Optronics Corp., 787 F. Supp. 2d 1036 (N.D. Cal. 2011).

Opinion

[1037]*1037ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS

SUSAN ILLSTON, District Judge.

On February 18, 2011, the Court heard argument on defendants’ motion to dismiss [1038]*1038plaintiffs’ complaint. Having considered the arguments of counsel and the papers submitted, the Court hereby GRANTS in part and DENIES in part defendants’ motion to dismiss.

BACKGROUND

On August 17, 2010, plaintiff States of Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, West Virginia, and Wisconsin (collectively “plaintiffs” or the “States”), through their individual Attorneys General, filed in this Court a joint complaint against numerous domestic and foreign defendants for violations of state and federal antitrust laws and state unfair trade practices law. Pursuant to this Court’s July 3, 2007 pretrial order No. 1, the case was designated as related to MDL No. 1827, M 07-1827.

The complaint alleges a global price-fixing conspiracy by suppliers of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (“TFT-LCD”) panels. Plaintiffs allege that “[a] conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition among manufacturers of TFT-LCD Panels by fixing prices and limiting the production of the panels existed from at least 1999 through at least 2006 (the ‘Conspiracy Period’).” Compl. ¶ 4. Plaintiffs allege that defendants violated the Sherman and Clayton Acts as well as numerous state antitrust, consumer protection, and trade laws. Plaintiffs assert these claims “on behalf of themselves, their governmental entities, and/or other purchasers residing therein, and their general economies.” Id. ¶ 10.

Defendants move to dismiss the complaint on five grounds: (1) the four states that assert claims on behalf of state or local governmental entities fail to adequately identify those entities; (2) disgorgement is not available as a remedy under either federal or state law; (3) Michigan and Wisconsin failed to adequately plead the identity of the assignors or which purchases took place in each state; (4) Arkansas’ state deceptive trade practices claim is barred, as are any of Arkansas’ state unfair practices claims that are based on indirect purchases made prior to April 8, 2003; and (5) Missouri’s state merchandising practices claim is not pled with adequate particularity and fails to allege a statutory element.

LEGAL STANDARD

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a district court must dismiss a complaint that fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the plaintiff must allege “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). This “facial plausibility” standard requires the plaintiff to allege facts that add up to “more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). While courts do not require “heightened fact pleading of specifics,” a plaintiff must allege facts sufficient to “raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

In deciding whether the plaintiff has stated a claim upon which relief may be granted, the Court must assume that the plaintiffs allegations are true and must draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor. See Usher v. City of Los Angeles, 828 F.2d 556, 561 (9th Cir.1987). However, the Court is not required to accept as true “allegations that are merely conclusory, unwarranted deductions of fact, or unreasonable inferences.” In re Gilead Scis. Sec. Litig., 536 F.3d 1049, 1055 (9th Cir.2008).

If the Court dismisses the complaint, it must then decide whether to grant leave to [1039]*1039amend. The Ninth Circuit has “repeatedly held that a district court should grant leave to amend even if no request to amend the pleading was made, unless it determines that the pleading could not possibly be cured by the allegation of other facts.” Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130 (9th Cir.2000) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).

DISCUSSION

I. Identification of unnamed state or local government entities

Michigan, Missouri, West Virginia and Wisconsin bring Sherman Act and state law claims on behalf of a variety of unnamed state entities, including state agencies, schools and municipalities. See e.g., Compl. ¶ 133 (Missouri alleging claims on behalf of “itself, its political subdivision and public agencies, and all other political subdivisions, school districts and municipalities”); Id. ¶¶ 16, 128 (Michigan suing on behalf of “itself and its State Agencies”). Defendants move to dismiss these claims on the ground that they fail to provide fair notice of the States’ claims as required by Rule 8(a). Defendants argue that the complaint’s failure to identify the state entities creates four potential forms of prejudice: (1) defendants are unable to identify relevant sales of LCD products and panels; (2) defendants cannot determine whether they have contractual defenses against the state entities’ claims; (3) the failure to identify the entities muddies the question of precisely which entities will be bound by the judgment in this case; and (4) defendants are unable to determine whether the States have the legal right to represent the entities.

The States argue that they are not required to specifically identify the state entities in the complaint, and that defendants can admit or deny the allegations in the complaint without additional information about the state entities. The States assert that they all have “automatic” authority under state law to bring claims on behalf of local and State entities, thus distinguishing the case cited by defendants, New York v. Cedar Park Concrete Corporation, 665 F.Supp. 238, 241 (S.D.N.Y.1987) (dismissing complaint with leave to amend where complaint did not allege compliance with statute providing that State of New York could only bring suit on behalf of state entities if the entities expressly requested such representation).1 In addition, the States assert that “all or nearly all of the identities of the state agencies and other governmental entities for which damages are sought by the States have already been disclosed.” Combined Opp’n at 2:7-9.

The relevant question at this stage of the proceedings is whether the complaint “answer[s] the basic questions: who, did what, to whom (or with whom), where, and when.” Kendall v. Visa U.S.A., Inc., 518 F.3d 1042, 1048 (9th Cir.2008). This complaint meets this standard because the States have the authority to bring this action on behalf of governmental entities.

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Related

In Re Tft-Lcd (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation
787 F. Supp. 2d 1036 (N.D. California, 2011)

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787 F. Supp. 2d 1036, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/missouri-v-au-optronics-corp-cand-2011.