Windy City Innovations, LLC v. America Online, Inc.

227 F.R.D. 278, 61 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 584, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5168, 2005 WL 735594
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 22, 2005
DocketNo. 04 C 4240
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 227 F.R.D. 278 (Windy City Innovations, LLC v. America Online, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Windy City Innovations, LLC v. America Online, Inc., 227 F.R.D. 278, 61 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 584, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5168, 2005 WL 735594 (N.D. Ill. 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DER-YEGHIAYAN, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on Defendant America Online, Inc.’s (“AOL”) motion for partial dismissal and motion to strike. For the reasons stated below, we deny the motion to dismiss in part and grant the motion to dismiss in part and deny the motion to strike.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Windy City Innovations, LLC (‘Windy”) alleges that through an assignment of rights Windy acquired title to U.S. Patent No. 5,956,491 (“ ’491 patent”) which is entitled “Group Communications Multiplexing System.” Windy alleges that beginning in September of 1999, AOL made, used, sold, offered to sell, and imported into the United States products and services covered by the ’491 patent. Windy has brought the instant action alleging infringement of the ’491 patent. AOL now moves for a partial dismissal to the extent that the infringement claim is based upon allegations in paragraph 12 of the amended complaint and moves to strike portions of paragraph 10 of the amended complaint that refer to paragraph 12 of the amended complaint.

LEGAL STANDARD

In ruling on a motion to dismiss brought pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the court must draw all reasonable inferences that favor the plaintiff, construe the allegations of the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and accept as true all well-pleaded facts and allegations in the complaint. Thompson v. Illinois Dep’t of Prof'l Regulation, 300 F.3d 750, 753 (7th Cir.2002); Perkins v. Silverstein, 939 F.2d 463, 466 (7th Cir.1991). The allegations of a complaint should not be dismissed for a failure to state a claim “unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); See also Baker v. Kingsley, 387 F.3d 649, 664 (7th Cir.2004)(stating that although the “plaintiffs’ allegations provide] little detail... [the court could not] say at [that] early stage in the litigation that plaintiffs [could] prove no set of facts in support of their claim that would entitle them to relief.”). Nonetheless, in order to withstand a motion to dismiss, a complaint must allege the “operative facts” upon which each claim is based. Kyle v. Morton High School, 144 F.3d 448, 454-55 (7th Cir.1998); Lucien v. Preiner, 967 F.2d 1166, 1168 (7th Cir. 1992). Under current notice pleading standard in federal courts a plaintiff need not “plead facts that, if true, establish each element of a ‘cause of action----’” See Sanjuan v. American Bd. of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc., 40 F.3d 247, 251 (7th Cir.1994)(stating that “[a]t this stage the plaintiff receives the benefit of imagination, so long as the hypotheses are consistent with the complaint” and that “[mjatching facts against legal elements comes later.”). The plaintiff need not allege all of the facts involved in the claim and can plead conclusions. Higgs v. Carver, 286 F.3d 437, 439 (7th Cir.2002); Kyle, 144 F.3d at 455. However, any conclusions pled must “provide the defendant with at least minimal notice of the claim,” Id., and the plaintiff cannot satisfy federal pleading requirements merely “by attaching bare legal conclusions to narrated facts which fail to outline the bases of [his] claim.” Perkins, 939 F.2d at 466-67. The Seventh Circuit has explained that “[o]ne pleads a ‘claim for relief by briefly describing the events.” Sanjuan, 40 F.3d at 251.

DISCUSSION

AOL contends that Windy attempts to “interject dozens of new products into this law[281]*281suit, these including products distributed by the third parties Wal-Mart, Gateway, and ICQ (a company based largely in Israel), and further including unspecified ‘other’ products and services” in paragraph 12 of Windy’s amended complaint (“paragraph 12”). (Mem.1-2). AOL argues that Windy places various qualifying phrases in the amended complaint and has thus failed to “actually ma[k]e an allegation of infringement.... ” (Mem.2). AOL also complains about the general reference in paragraph 12 as to “other” unnamed products and services. AOL argues that Windy has provided only vague and non-committal allegations in paragraph 12 because Windy “cannot allege infringement today” and “thinks a fishing expedition may provide it with evidence of a claim at some future date.” (Mem.6). AOL claims that because of the vagueness in paragraph 12, “AOL is at a loss as to how to respond to the Complaint” and argues that the additional products listed in paragraph 12 will delay these proceedings and require extensions to the court’s previously set deadlines. (Mem.6).

I. Waiver of Arguments by AOL

Windy argues that AOL has waived the above arguments because AOL stipulated that it did not object to the filing of the amended complaint. Windy claims that prior to seeking leave to file the amended complaint, Windy gave AOL a copy of the amended complaint and AOL stated no objections with its contents. Windy also points to oral statements by AOL’s counsel at a court hearing indicating that AOL did not object to the filing of the amended complaint. Windy argues that AOL has thus waived any objection to the amended complaint under the doctrine of judicial estoppel. Under the doctrine of judicial estoppel, “ ‘a party that has taken one position in litigating a particular set of facts’ and prevailed under that position” is prevented “from later reversing its position when it is to its advantage to do so.” Commonwealth Ins. Co. v. Titan Tire Corp., 398 F.3d 879, 887 (7th Cir.2004)

The doctrine of judicial estoppel does not apply in the manner suggested by Windy. AOL merely acquiesced to the filing of the amended complaint, but did not in any substantive way concede that it could not thereafter file a motion to dismiss. After the amended complaint was filed, pursuant to the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12, AOL was entitled to a period during which it could answer, move, or otherwise plead. AOL decided to move for a partial dismissal and acted within the guidelines provided in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12.

II. Notice Pleading

AOL argues that the allegations in paragraph 12 of the amended complaint are so vague and indecisive that they do not satisfy the notice pleading requirements. As mentioned above, a plaintiff is not required under the notice pleading standard to plead all the facts associated with his claim. Higgs,

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227 F.R.D. 278, 61 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 584, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5168, 2005 WL 735594, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/windy-city-innovations-llc-v-america-online-inc-ilnd-2005.