COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, United States District Judge.
This consolidated action represents the second coming of a putative class action regarding the no!no! Hair removal device to this Court. The Court previously dismissed all of the claims asserted in the original action, captioned Mouzon v. Radiancy and numbered 14-cv-722. Mouzon v. Radiancy, Inc., 85 F.Supp.3d 361, 367-68 (D.D.C.2015) ("Mouzon I"). Specifically, the Court dismissed certain claims with prejudice and others without prejudice. Id. The Court then denied the request of the Mouzon I plaintiffs to amend that complaint to remedy the defects that the Court had identified regarding the claims dismissed without prejudice. See id. at 387; Mouzon v. Radiancy, Inc., 309 F.R.D. 60, 66 (D.D.C.2015) ("Mouzon II"). Now, twelve out of the thirteen original Mouzon I plaintiffs, together with additional plaintiffs, bring this putative class action against Radiancy, Inc, and its CEO Dolev Rafaeli.
Before the Court is Defendant Radiancy's [20] Renewed Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim and Defendant Rafaeli's [13] Renewed Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. Upon consideration of the pleadings,
The Court presented the background of this case at length in its Memorandum Opinion accompanying the Order dismissing Mouzon I. See generally 85 F.Supp.3d at 361-87. Given the issues presented in the pending motions, there is no need to do so again here. Instead, the Court reserves a presentation of the relevant background for the issues discussed below.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a party may move to dismiss a complaint on the grounds that it "fail[s] to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). "[A] complaint [does not] suffice if it tenders `naked assertion[s]' devoid of `further factual enhancement.'" Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). Rather, a complaint must contain sufficient factual allegations that, if accepted as true, "state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. "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
Defendant Radiancy moves to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), arguing that the Consolidated Amended Complaint fails to state a claim. Defendant Rafaeli moves to dismiss, as well, under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. He joins all of Radiancy's arguments and presents additional arguments as to why the Consolidated Amended Complaint fails to state a claim against him. The Court turns first to Radiancy's arguments, followed by Rafaeli's arguments.
Defendant Radiancy moves to dismiss the Consolidated Amended Complaint on the basis that it fails to state a claim. The Court first addresses Radiancy's arguments regarding the implied and express warranty claims, followed its arguments regarding the state-specific consumer protection act claims.
Plaintiffs asserts claims for breach of express warranty; for breach of implied warranty of merchantability; and for violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which provides a federal cause of action for certain state warranty claims. As in Mouzon I, the parties disagree about what source of law governs these claims, with Plaintiffs asserting that New York law governs each of the warranty claims and Defendants asserting that the warranty claims are governed, respectively, by the state law of each plaintiff's state of residence. See 85 F.Supp.3d at 383. The Court need not decide the choice-of-law question at the present time because the Court concludes that the warranty claims survive Radiancy's motion to dismiss regardless of the source of law.
With respect to the breach of express warranty claims, the Court dismissed those claims without prejudice in Mouzon I based on the following analysis:
Mouzon I, 85 F.Supp.3d at 384 (citations omitted). The parties disagree about whether the addition to the Consolidated Amended Complaint, in comparison to the Mouzon I complaint, are sufficient to cure the deficiencies that the Court identified in Mouzon I. The Court agrees with Plaintiffs that the additional details regarding each individual plaintiff's exposure to advertising regarding the no!no! device are sufficient to remedy the previously identified defects. See Compl. ¶¶ 175-206. Specifically, the Court concludes that, with the new details provided in the Consolidated Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs sufficiently allege exposure to the supposedly misleading representations regarding the product and sufficiently allege reliance on those representations. As a result, the Consolidated Amended Complaint states breach of express warranty claims against Radiancy.
With respect to the breach of implied warranty of merchantability claims, the Court previously dismissed the claims against Radiancy without prejudice based on the following analysis:
Mouzon I, 85 F.Supp.3d at 385. Once again, the parties disagree about whether the language that was added to the Consolidated Amended Complaint and that was not present in the Mouzon I complaint is sufficient to remedy the defects the Court previously identified. And, once again, the Court agrees with Plaintiffs that the additions are sufficient to remedy those defects. Specifically, the Consolidated Amended Complaint includes allegations regarding each plaintiff's use of the product and the results of attempting to use the product. See Compl. ¶¶ 176, 177, 179, 180-81, 183-84, 186, 189, 191, 193, 195, 197-98, 200. With these additions, the Court concludes that the Consolidated Amended Complaint states implied warranty of merchantability claims against Radiancy.
Lastly, with respect to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claims, the parties agree that, if the other warranty claims survive the motion to dismiss, so too do the Magnuson-Moss claims. Because the Court concludes that the Consolidated Amended Complaint states express and implied warranty claims against Radiancy, the Court concludes that it states Magnuson-Moss claims, as well, against Radiancy.
In Mouzon I, the Court dismissed the state-specific consumer protection claims asserted by the plaintiffs because those fraud-based claims had not been pleaded with particularity as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b). 85 F.Supp.3d at 380-81 (dismissing claims under the law of California, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania). Once again, the parties disagree about whether the additional material in the Consolidated Amended Complaint, which was not included in the Mouzon I complaint, remedies the defects that the Court identified with respect to the initial complaint. And once again, the Court agrees with Plaintiffs that the additional material suffices for the Consolidate Amended Complaint to state a claim with respect to the various state-specific claims that the Court previously dismissed without prejudice. Specifically, the Court concludes that, as a result of the additional allegations and additional details in the Consolidated Amended Complaint, those claims are pleaded with particularity as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b). See Compl. ¶¶ 175-206.
In addition to continuing to argue that the state-specific consumer protection claims are not pleaded with particularity, Defendants also present several arguments about why the Consolidated Amended Complaint fails to state a claim with respect to individual specific state-specific consumer protection claims. The Court reviews each of those arguments, in turn, and concludes that none of them are successful.
First, Defendants argue that the Consolidated Amended Complaint fails to state a claim under the California Legal Remedies Act because Plaintiffs did not provide adequate pre-suit notice as required by that statute. The Court agrees with Plaintiffs that their April 16, 2014, notice letter complies with the requirements of the California Legal Remedies Act, strictly construed: it gave Defendants notice of the alleged violations and gave them an opportunity to cure those violations before this litigation ensued. See Cal. Civ. Code § 1782(a). Because that notice was provided more than 30 days before this consolidated action was filed, the notice requirement does not bar this suit.
Second, Defendants argue that the Consolidated Amended Complaint fails to state a claim with respect to several of the specific claims under California, District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia law because of the respective statutes of limitations. However, in this Circuit, it is well established that "[b]ecause statute of limitations issues often depend on contested questions of fact, dismissal is appropriate only if the complaint on its face is conclusively time-barred." Bregman v. Perles, 747 F.3d 873, 875 (D.C.Cir.2014). Moreover, the D.C. Circuit has cautioned that "courts should hesitate to dismiss a complaint on statute of limitations grounds based solely on the face of the complaint." Firestone v. Firestone, 76 F.3d 1205, 1209 (D.C.Cir.1996). As other district judges in this district have explained, "Put another way, a defendant is entitled to succeed on
Third, Defendants argue that a class action cannot be pursued under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act because Virginia law does not allow class actions, absent explicit authorization not present here. Plaintiffs argue that the availability of a class action remedy is governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure rather than by Virginia law. The Court concludes that it is unnecessary to resolve this question at this stage of the proceedings. Plaintiffs are not — yet — seeking to certify any classes in this action. The question of whether a class action may be maintained with respect to the Virginia Consumer Protection Act is proper to consider at the class certification stage rather than in considering a motion to dismiss, particularly given that Defendants are not arguing (on this basis) that the Consolidated Amended Complaint fails to state a claim as to the named Virginia plaintiffs.
Fourth, and finally, Defendants argue that, even if the Court concludes that Plaintiffs have pleaded their state consumer protection act claims with particularity, they have not adequately pleaded reliance and/or proximate cause as required for certain state law claims in this case.
In addition to the state-specific consumer protection claims discussed above, the Consolidated Amended Complaint includes a claim under the New York General Business Law on behalf of the New York named plaintiffs — who were not parties to the original action — and on behalf of a putative New York subclass.
Second, the parties dispute whether the heightened pleading standard of Rule 9(b) applies to the New York General Business Law claim. The Court need not decide this question now: the Court concludes that, even if the heightened pleading standard of Rule 9(b) is applicable, the Consolidated Amended Complaint satisfies that standard. Specifically, just as the Court concludes that the additions to the Consolidated Amended Complaint have remedied the deficiencies that the Court previously identified with respect to the other state-specific claims asserted in Mouzon I, the Court concludes that the Consolidated Amended Complaint states a claim under the New York General Business Law (the analogous New York law claim).
For all of these reasons, the Court DENIES Radiancy's motion to dismiss with respect to all of the state-specific consumer protection act claims brought in this action.
As explained above, Rafaeli moves to dismiss all of the claims asserted against him, adopting all of Radiancy's arguments and presenting several additional arguments as to why the Consolidated Amended Complaint fails to state a claim against him. Because the Court has already rejected all of Radiancy's arguments above, the Court now turns to Rafaeli's separate arguments as to why the claims against him, in particular, fail to state a claim. The Court addresses the warranty claims, followed by the state-specific consumer protection act claims.
Rafaeli argues that the warranty claims against him fail because he is a corporate officer and cannot be held liable for warranty claims absent contractual privity between him and the Plaintiffs who purchased the device. Plaintiffs respond that Rafaeli can be held liable as an "agent" for Radiancy and that they have adequately pled contractual privity through the Consolidated Amended Complaint. The Court agrees with Defendants that the Consolidated Amended Complaint fails to state warranty claims against Rafaeli because of the absence of allegations supporting contractual privity.
As noted above, Plaintiffs maintain that New York law applies to all of the warranty claims in this case, while Defendants maintain that the law of the state of residence of the individual plaintiffs applies, respectively, to each plaintiff's warranty claims. Regardless of the source of law, privity of contract is required between a plaintiff and a defendant to state a warranty claim. See Am. Fin. Int'l Grp.-Asia, L.L.C. v. Bennett, No. 05 CIV. 8988 (GEL), 2007 WL 1732427, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. June 14, 2007) (under New York law, no basis for warranty claims against corporate officer absent heightened showing necessary to pierce corporate veil); Bell v. Manhattan Motorcars, Inc., No. 06CV4972GBD, 2008 WL 2971804, at *4
In support of their argument, Plaintiffs primarily rely on Hodgson, Russ, Andrews, Woods & Goodyear, LLP, v. Isolatek Int'l Corp, 300 A.D.2d 1051, 752 N.Y.S.2d 767 (N.Y.App.Div.2002). However, Isolatek bears no resemblance to this case. In Isolatek, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court — that is, New York State's intermediate appellate court — considered a complicated array of contractors and subcontractors who were involved in the renovation of a building. Id. at 1053, 752 N.Y.S.2d 767. The Appellate Division considered whether Isolatek, a manufacture of a fireproofing material, could be held liable for injuries resulting from the use of that material. Id. at 1052-53, 752 N.Y.S.2d 767. The court concluded that Isolatek could only be liable if it was in privity with plaintiffs. The court further concluded that there was a triable factual issue that precluded summary judgment — specifically whether Isolatek was in privity with the plaintiffs because a certain subcontractor was acting as an agent for both the plaintiffs and for Isolatek. Id. at 1053, 752 N.Y.S.2d 767. In other words, there was a triable issue as to whether there was a direct series of links that connected the injured plaintiffs to the manufacturer of the material that caused the alleged injury.
In this case, by contrast, there is no such chain of connections that establishes privity between the Plaintiffs as purchasers and Rafaeli. Plaintiffs claim that Rafaeli appears in the advertisements of the no!no! Hair removal device and that he orchestrated the allegedly misleading advertising campaign. Plaintiff's allegations, however, are simply not enough to create the links necessary to state warranty claims against Rafaeli. Indeed, Plaintiffs' theory would sweep in numerous warranty claims against corporate officers. Whether such liability would be beneficial as a matter of policy is not for the Court to say. It is enough, instead, for the Court to conclude that there is no basis in law for Plaintiffs' remarkably broad interpretation of the scope of warranty law.
Because the Consolidated Amended Complaint does not adequately plead facts supporting a conclusion that Plaintiffs and Rafaeli were in privity, the Court dismisses the warranty claims against Rafaeli.
Rafaeli argues that, with respect to the state-specific consumer protection act claims, Plaintiffs have (1) failed to identify false representations made by Rafaeli, (2) failed to identify false representations by Rafaeli that were heard or read by Plaintiffs, and (3) failed to identify any nexus to
Plaintiffs have now had two opportunities to attempt to plead warranty and state consumer protection act claims against Rafaeli — in Mouzon I and in this action — and they have twice failed to do so successfully. Therefore, the Court concludes that "`the allegation of other facts consistent with the challenged pleading could not possibly cure the deficiency,'" and dismissal of these claims with prejudice is warranted. Rudder v. Williams, 666 F.3d 790, 794 (D.C.Cir.2012) (quoting Belizan v. Hershon, 434 F.3d 579, 583 (D.C.Cir.2006)). Accordingly, all claims against Rafaeli are dismissed with prejudice.
For the foregoing reasons, it is hereby
It is further
The Court will set an Initial Scheduling Conference by a separate Order.
In an exercise of its discretion, the Court finds that holding oral argument in this action would not be of assistance in rendering a decision. See LCvR 7(f).