Unigestion Holding, S.A. v. UPM Technology, Inc.

160 F. Supp. 3d 1214, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12758, 2016 WL 427068
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedFebruary 3, 2016
DocketCase No. 3:15-cv-00185-SI
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 160 F. Supp. 3d 1214 (Unigestion Holding, S.A. v. UPM Technology, Inc.) 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
Unigestion Holding, S.A. v. UPM Technology, Inc., 160 F. Supp. 3d 1214, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12758, 2016 WL 427068 (D. Or. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

Michael H. Simon, District Judge.

Plaintiff Unigestion Holding, S.A., doing business as “Digicel Haiti” (“Digicel”), asserts claims against Defendants, alleging common law fraud, violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1962(b)-(d), conversion, and unjust enrichment.1 Defendants move to dismiss Digicel’s claims in its Amended Complaint.2 Defendants argue that the amended allegations of fraud continue to lack clarity and specificity as to the nature and substance of any alleged misrepresentation. For the reasons that follow, Defendants’ motion is denied.

STANDARDS

A. Rules 12(b)(6) and 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a motion to dis[1219]*1219miss for failure to state a claim 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 as true all well-pleaded material facts alleged in the complaint and construe them in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Wilson v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 668 F.3d 1136, 1140 (9th Cir.2012); Daniels-Hall v. Nat’l Educ. Ass’n, 629 F.3d 992, 998 (9th Cir.2010). To be entitled to a presumption of truth, allegations in a complaint “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). All reasonable inferences from the factual allegations must be drawn in favor of the plaintiff. Newcal Indus. v. Ikon Office Solution, 513 F.3d 1038, 1043 n. 2 (9th Cir.2008). The court need not, however, credit the plaintiffs legal conclusions that are couched as factual allegations. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

A complaint must contain sufficient factual allegations to “plausibly 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.” Starr, 652 F.3d at 1216. “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “Establishing the plausibility of a complaint’s allegations is a two-step process.” Eclectic Props. E., LLC v. Marcus & Millichap Co., 751 F.3d 990, 995 (9th Cir.2014). At the first step, “a court should ‘identify] pleadings that, because they are no more than conclusions, are not entitled to the assumption of truth.’ ” Id. at 996 (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937) (alteration in original). At the second step, “a court should ‘assume the[ ] veracity’ of ‘well pleaded factual allegations’ and ‘determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.’ ” Id. (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937) (alteration in original).

Additionally, “[w]hen faced with two possible explanations, only one of which can be true and only one of which results in liability, plaintiffs cannot offer allegations that are ‘merely consistent with’ their favored explanation but are also consistent with the alternative explanation.” In re Century Aluminum Co. Sec. Litig., 729 F.3d 1104, 1108 (9th Cir.2013) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937). Plaintiffs must offer “[sjomething more ... such as facts tending to exclude the possibility that the alternative explanation is true, ... in order to render plaintiffs’ allegations plausible within the meaning of Iqbal and Twombly.” Id. A complaint will survive a motion to dismiss where a plaintiff “offer[s] facts that tend[] to exclude the defendant’s innocuous alternative explanation.” Eclectic Props., 751 F.3d at 997. Moreover, if two alternative explanations exist, “one advanced by defendant and the other advanced by'plaintiff, both of which are plausible, plaintiffs complaint survives a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). Plaintiffs complaint may be dismissed only when defendant’s plausible alternative explanation is so convincing that plaintiffs explanation is implausible.” Id. (quoting Starr, 652 F.3d at 1216).

[1220]*1220B. Rule 9(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Plaintiffs alleging fraud or mistake must “state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b). To state a claim under this standard, a plaintiff “must identify the who, what, when, where, and how of the misconduct charged, as well as what is false or misleading about the purportedly fraudulent statement, and why it is false.” Cafasso, U.S. ex rel. v. Gen. Dynamics C4 Sys., Inc., 687 F.3d 1047, 1055 (9th Cir.2011) (quotation marks and alteration omitted). The plaintiffs allegations must provide “notice of the particular misconduct which is alleged to constitute the fraud charged,” in enough detail to permit the defendant to “defend against the charge and not just deny that [it has] done anything, wrong.” Ebeid ex rel. U.S. v. Lungwitz, 616 F.3d 993, 999 (9th Cir.2010) (quotation marks omitted).

Both the plausibility requirement of Rule 8(a) and the particularity requirement of Rule 9(b) apply to allegations of fraud. Cafasso, 637 F.3d at 1055. Allegations of scienter may be pled generally, Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b), but must still include sufficient factual material to be plausible. Eclectic Props., 751 F.3d at 995 n.5. The heightened standard of Rule 9(b) also applies to RICO claims alleging predicate acts involving fraud. See, e.g., Lancaster Cmty. Hosp. v. Antelope Valley Hosp. Dist., 940 F.2d 397, 405 (9th Cir.1991) (mail fraud); Alan Neuman Prods., Inc. v. Albright,

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Bluebook (online)
160 F. Supp. 3d 1214, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12758, 2016 WL 427068, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/unigestion-holding-sa-v-upm-technology-inc-ord-2016.