Nextpulse, LLC v. Brunswick Corporation

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedFebruary 10, 2023
Docket4:22-cv-04071
StatusUnknown

This text of Nextpulse, LLC v. Brunswick Corporation (Nextpulse, LLC v. Brunswick Corporation) 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
Nextpulse, LLC v. Brunswick Corporation, (N.D. Cal. 2023).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 NEXTPULSE, LLC, et al., Case No. 22-cv-04071-HSG

8 Plaintiffs, ORGER GRANTING MOTION TO REMAND, DENYING REQUEST FOR 9 v. ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS, AND GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING 10 BRUNSWICK CORPORATION, IN PART MOTION TO SEAL 11 Defendant. Re: Dkt. Nos. 20, 32

12 13 Before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion to remand and request for attorneys’ fees and costs, 14 Dkt. No. 20 (“Motion”). The Motion is fully briefed. See Dkt. Nos. 20, 27, and 43.1 Cross- 15 defendant eGym, Inc. took no position on the Motion. Dkt. No. 26. The Court finds this matter 16 appropriate for disposition without oral argument and the matter is deemed submitted. See Civil 17 L.R. 7-1(b). For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion to remand, 18 DENIES Plaintiffs’ request for attorneys’ fees and cost, and GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES 19 IN PART Defendant’s motion to seal.2 20 1 Brunswick filed an objection to Nextpulse’s reply. Dkt. No. 44. Brunswick asks the Court to 21 either strike the allegedly new evidence and arguments or alternatively permit Brunswick a five- page sur-reply. Id. at 2-3. The Court DENIES AS MOOT Brunswick’s requests because it did 22 not consider the allegedly new evidence or arguments in deciding the motion. 2 Nextpulse requests that the Court take judicial notice of several filings in the state court case and 23 Brunswick’s notice of removal. See Dkt. No. 22 (“Nextpulse RJN”). The Court takes judicial notice of the filings from the state court case because the state court case has a “direct relation to 24 matters at issue.” U.S. ex rel. Robinson Rancheria Citizens Council v. Borneo, Inc. (Borneo), 971 F.2d 244, 248 (9th Cir. 1992) (quotation omitted). To the extent the documents contain factual 25 findings made by a state court or allegations by one of the parties, the Court declines to take notice of those facts for the truth of the matters they assert. See Lasar v. Ford Motor Co., 399 F.3d 1101, 26 1117 n.14 (9th Cir. 2005) (declining to take judicial notice of findings made in a state court proceeding “because [defendants were] offering the factual findings contained in the order for the 27 purpose of proving the truth of the factual findings contained therein[ ]”); Wyatt v. Terhune, 315 I. MOTION TO REMAND 1 A. Factual Background 2 Nextpulse, LLC (“Nextpulse”) is a successor-in-interest of Netpulse, Inc, a company that 3 developed “software applications, content delivery systems, and network-based services related to 4 exercise equipment.” Dkt. No. 1-2 (“SAC”) ¶¶ 2, 13. Nextpulse alleges that Brunswick 5 Corporation’s (Brunswick) “Life Fitness division designed, manufactured, and marketed fitness 6 equipment products.” Id. ¶ 12.3 According to Nextpulse, this “action arises out of a series of 7 contracts” between Netpulse and Brunswick. Mot. at 2. 8 Nextpulse filed its initial complaint against Brunswick in San Francisco Superior Court on 9 November 2, 2018. See Nextpulse RJN, Ex. 2. Nextpulse filed its Second Amended Complaint 10 (“SAC”)—the operative complaint at the time of removal—on April 12, 2021. See SAC. The 11 SAC alleges the following eleven causes of action against Brunswick: 1) Breach of Contract; 2) 12 Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing; 3) Fraud: Intentional 13 Misrepresentation, Concealment of Facts, False Promise; 4) Breach of Contract: Virtual Active 14 Licensing Agreement; 5) Breach of Contract (Advertising Services Agreement); 6) Breach of 15 Contract (Mobile Application and Design and Development Agreement); 7) Breach of Contract 16 (Confidentiality); 8) Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing; 9) Quantum 17 Meruit; 10) Quantum Valebant; and 11) Trade Secret Misappropriation under the Federal Defend 18 Trade Secrets Act.4 See generally SAC. Even though the eleventh cause of action is a federal 19 cause of action, Brunswick did not remove the case when the SAC was filed. 20

Albino v. Baca, 747 F.3d 1162, 1166 (9th Cir. 2014). The Court notes that it does not need to take 22 judicial notice of the notice of removal as it is part of the record in this case.

23 Brunswick requests that the Court take judicial notice of several filings in the Northern District of Illinois case. See Dkt. No. 30. The Court take judicial notice of the filings from the Illinois case 24 because the Illinois case has a “direct relation to matters at issue.” Borneo, 971 F.2d at 248. As with the state court documents in Nextpulse’s RJN, to the extent the documents in Brunswick’s 25 RJN contain factual findings made by the Northern District of Illinois or allegations by one of the parties, the Court declines to take notice of those facts for the truth of the matters they assert. 26 3 Nextpulse alleges that Life Fitness was a division of Brunswick but that it has been an independent company since November 19, 2018. SAC at ¶ 5. 27 4 The San Francisco Superior Court sustained without leave to amend Brunswick’s demurrer to the 1 In June 2022, Nextpulse sued LifeFitness in the Northern District of Illinois. See generally 2 Dkt. No. 1 (“Notice of Removal”), Ex. 5 (“Illinois Complaint”). The Illinois Complaint alleges 3 that Brunswick breached several contracts with Netpulse, see e.g., Illinois Complaint ¶ 26, and 4 that it improperly transferred to Life Fitness (after its sale) Netpulse technology, confidential 5 information, and “various forms of intellectual property.” Id. ¶ 32. Nextpulse also alleges that 6 Life Fitness unlawfully reproduced, distributed, publicly displayed, and/or created derivative 7 works from Netpulse’s copyrighted computer software and videos. See id. ¶¶ 36-43. The Illinois 8 Complaint alleges the following claims: 1) Copyright Infringement, 2) Tortious Interference with 9 Contractual Rights, and 3) Trade Secret Misappropriation Under the Federal Defend Trade Secrets 10 Act. See generally id. 11 Brunswick removed the San Francisco Superior Court case to this Court on July 12, 2022 12 “pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1338, 1446, and 1454.” Notice of Removal at 1. Brunswick argued 13 that Nextpulse’s “allegations about Brunswick’s breach of its confidentiality obligations under the 14 Virtual Active License Agreement [‘VALA’] arise under the Copyright Act” and federal patent 15 law. Id. ¶¶ 18-20. The relevant cause of action reads as follows:

16 Seventh Cause of Action Breach of Contract (Confidentiality) 17 (Against All Defendants)

18 163. Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates by reference every allegation contained in the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint as 19 though set forth herein.

20 164. Plaintiff and Brunswick entered into the Virtual Active License Agreement on or about July 30, 2015. 21 165.

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Bluebook (online)
Nextpulse, LLC v. Brunswick Corporation, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nextpulse-llc-v-brunswick-corporation-cand-2023.