Tomek v. Apple, Inc.

Filing 35

MEMORANDUM and ORDER signed by Judge Morrison C. England, Jr on 7/10/12. Defendants' 29 Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED with leave to amend. Amended Complaint due within 20 days. (Manzer, C)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ALEX TOMEK, 12 No. 2:11-cv-02700-MCE-DAD Plaintiff, v. MEMORANDUM AND ORDER 13 APPLE, INC., 14 Defendant. 15 16 ----oo0oo---- 17 18 Plaintiff Alex Tomek (“Plaintiff”) initiated this action 19 against Defendant Apple, Inc. (“Defendant”) alleging state law 20 violations arising primarily out of Plaintiff’s claim that a 21 computer he purchased from Defendant was defective. 22 before the Court is Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s 23 First Amended Complaint (“FAC”). 24 Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED with leave to amend.1 25 /// Presently For the following reasons, 26 27 28 1 Because oral argument will not be of material assistance, the Court ordered this matter submitted on the briefing. E.D. Cal. Local Rule 230(g). 1 BACKGROUND2 1 2 3 Plaintiff alleges that on February 15, 2011, Defendant 4 unveiled the 2011 MacBook Pro (“MacBook”), a computer Defendant 5 purportedly touted as generating “huge leaps in performance.” 6 According to Plaintiff, Defendant promised, among other things, 7 that: 8 [The MacBook Pros] run applications up to twice as fast as their top-of-the-line predecessors. 9 10 They perform up to twice as fast as the previous generation, breezing through demanding tasks like editing HD video. 11 12 13 14 Say you’re using a processor-intensive application like Aperture 3 or Final Cut Pro that benefits from extra power...By shifting core frequency in smaller increments than before, it allows the processor to manage performance without sacrificing efficiency. All this takes place behind the scenes, so your work just goes smoother and faster. 15 16 Even with faster processors and graphics, the new MacBook Pro lasts an amazing 7 hours on a single charge. 17 18 19 [Y]ou can expect to surf the web wirelessly for up to 7 hours on a single charge. Or take your entire creative studio on the road for live performances or a location shoot. 20 FAC, ¶¶ 6, 7, 9. The above statements are accompanied by the 21 caveat, however, that “[b]attery life and charge cycles vary by 22 use and settings.” 23 Exhs. A, B.3 Declaration of Alexei Klestoff, ¶¶ 2-3, 24 25 26 2 The following facts are derived, at times verbatim, from Plaintiff’s Complaint. 3 27 28 These additional statements, are the proper subjects of judicial Tunnell, 14 F.3d 449, 454 (9th Cir. contents are alleged in a complaint 2 though not quoted in the FAC, notice. See Branch v. 1994) (“[D]ocuments whose and whose authenticity no 1 Plaintiff purchased a MacBook on February 28, 2011, just 2 shortly after its release. After purchasing his new computer, 3 Plaintiff found that the product’s battery was not charging under 4 certain conditions, such as when the computer was fully utilizing 5 processors meant for streaming movies, playing video games or 6 editing video. 7 reported to Defendant in July of 2011, that his battery was 8 draining power even when the machine was plugged into an external 9 power source via the AC adapter. More specifically, Plaintiff discovered, and Plaintiff further contends 10 that, in approximately August of 2011, his power adapter failed 11 to supply sufficient power to the MacBook so much so that the 12 computer’s battery drained to zero, causing the machine to shut 13 down. 14 battery and had to re-copy media on a video editing job he was 15 performing. 16 experienced a similar situation where their MacBooks stopped 17 functioning properly, or at all for that matter, and that the 18 machines’ battery cycle counts may be caused to increase under 19 the above conditions. 20 Plaintiff then had to spend twenty minutes recharging his Plaintiff believes other consumers may have According to Plaintiff, when Defendant has been notified 21 that the MacBook battery may drain even when the system is 22 plugged in, Defendant’s customer service representatives have 23 advised customers that this is how the MacBook is designed and 24 that there is no resolution for the issue. 25 26 27 28 party questions, but which are not physically attached to the pleading, may be considered in ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.”); see also Berenblat v. Apple Inc., 2009 WL 2591366, *2 n.3 (N.D. Cal.); Hoey v. Sony Elecs., Inc., 515 F. Supp. 2d 1099, 1103 (N.D. Cal.). 3 1 Indeed, when Plaintiff himself contacted Defendant, as mentioned 2 above, Plaintiff was transferred to a Senior Engineer Support 3 Representative, who advised Plaintiff, via what Plaintiff 4 believes was a scripted response, that “[t]his battery issue was 5 expected behavior” and Defendant “[did] not have a fix.” 6 Consequently, on September 9, 2011, Plaintiff initiated this 7 action against Defendant in state court. Defendant subsequently 8 removed the case to this Court, after which Plaintiff filed his 9 FAC, alleging causes of action for: 1) Products Liability - 10 Negligence; 2) Products Liability - Defect in Design, 11 Manufacture, and Assembly; 3) Products Liability - Breach of 12 Express and Implied Warranty; 4) Intentional Misrepresentation; 13 5) Negligent Misrepresentation; 6) Fraud and Concealment; 14 7) Violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law, California 15 Business & Professions Code § 17200 (“UCL”); 8) Violation of 16 California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, California Civil Code 17 §§ 1750, et seq. (“CLRA”); and 9) Money Had and Received. 18 March 26, 2012, Defendant moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s FAC. 19 the following reasons, Defendant’s Motion is GRANTED with leave 20 to amend. 21 /// 22 /// 23 /// 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 4 On For STANDARD 1 2 3 On a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under 4 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6),4 all allegations of 5 material fact must be accepted as true and construed in the light 6 most favorable to the nonmoving party. 7 Ins. Co., 80 F.3d 336, 337-38 (9th Cir. 1996). 8 “requires only ‘a short and plain statement of the claim showing 9 that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in order to ‘give the Cahill v. Liberty Mut. Rule 8(a)(2) 10 defendant fair notice of what the...claim is and the grounds upon 11 which it rests.’” 12 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)). 13 complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss does not 14 require detailed factual allegations. 15 plaintiff’s obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement 16 to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a 17 formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will 18 not do.” 19 court is not required to accept as true a “legal conclusion 20 couched as a factual allegation.” 21 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). 22 also is not required “to accept as true allegations that are 23 merely conclusory, unwarranted deductions of fact, or 24 unreasonable inferences.” 25 536 F.3d 1049, 1055 (9th Cir. 2008) (internal citations and 26 quotations omitted). Id. Bell. Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 Id. A However, “a (internal citations and quotations omitted). Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. The Court In re Gilead Sciences Sec. Litig., 27 4 28 A All further references to “Rule” or “Rules” are to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure unless otherwise noted. 5 1 “Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief 2 above the speculative level.” 3 Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. Furthermore, “Rule 8(a)(2)...requires a ‘showing,’ rather 4 than a blanket assertion, of entitlement to relief.” 5 550 U.S. at 556 n.3 (internal citations and quotations omitted). 6 “Without some factual allegation in the complaint, it is hard to 7 see how a claimant could satisfy the requirements of providing 8 not only ‘fair notice’ of the nature of the claim, but also 9 ‘grounds’ on which the claim rests.” Id. Twombly, (citation omitted). A 10 pleading must contain “only enough facts to state a claim to 11 relief that is plausible on its face.” 12 “plaintiffs...have not nudged their claims across the line from 13 conceivable to plausible, their complaint must be dismissed.” 14 Id. 15 strikes a savvy judge that actual proof of those facts is 16 improbable, and ‘that a recovery is very remote and unlikely.’” 17 Id. at 556 (quoting Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 (1974)). 18 Id. at 570. If the However, “a well-pleaded complaint may proceed even if it Under Rule 9(b), however, a party alleging fraud or 19 intentional misrepresentation must satisfy a heightened pleading 20 standard by stating with particularity the circumstances 21 constituting fraud. 22 “[a]verments of fraud must be accompanied by ‘the who, what, 23 when, where, and how’ of the misconduct charged.” 24 Geigy Corp. USA, 317 F.3d 1097, 1106 (9th Cir. 2003) (quoting 25 Cooper v. Pickett, 137 F.3d 616, 627 (9th Cir. 1997)). 26 “a plaintiff must set forth more than the neutral facts necessary 27 to identify the transaction. 28 is false or misleading about a statement, and why it is false.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b). Specifically, Vess v. Ciba- Further, The plaintiff must set forth what 6 1 Id. (quoting Decker v. GlenFed, Inc., 42 F.3d 1541, 1548 2 (9th Cir. 1994). 3 A court granting a motion to dismiss a complaint must then 4 decide whether to grant a leave to amend. Leave to amend should 5 be “freely given” where there is no “undue delay, bad faith or 6 dilatory motive on the part of the movant,...undue prejudice to 7 the opposing party by virtue of allowance of the amendment, [or] 8 futility of the amendment....” 9 (1962); Eminence Capital, LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 10 1052 (9th Cir. 2003) (listing the Foman factors as those to be 11 considered when deciding whether to grant leave to amend). 12 Dismissal without leave to amend is proper only if it is clear 13 that “the complaint could not be saved by any amendment.” 14 Plex Techs., Inc. v. Crest Group, Inc., 499 F.3d 1048, 1056 15 (9th Cir. 2007) (internal citations and quotations omitted). Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 Intri- 16 ANALYSIS 17 A. 18 19 Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Misrepresentation, Fraudulent Concealment, UCL and CLRA claims. 20 21 Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s fourth through eighth 22 causes of action on the basis that Plaintiff has failed to 23 adequately plead actionable misrepresentations or omissions. 24 These fraud-based causes of action are subject to review pursuant 25 to Rule 9(b)’s heightened pleading standard. 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 7 1 See Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b) (“In alleging fraud or mistake, a party 2 must state with particularity the circumstances constituting 3 fraud or mistake.”); Kearns v. Ford Motor Co., 567 F.3d 1120, 4 1124-25 (9th Cir. 2009) (applying Rule 9(b) to CLRA and UCL 5 claims predicated on alleged misrepresentations). 6 given this heightened standard of review, Plaintiff’s instant 7 claims fail. Especially 8 1. 9 Plaintiff’s Common Law Claims. 10 11 Defendant first moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s common law 12 claims for intentional and negligent misrepresentation and for 13 fraud and concealment. 14 intentional misrepresentation under California law, a Plaintiff 15 must allege: (1) misrepresentation (false representation, 16 concealment, or nondisclosure); (2) knowledge of falsity (or 17 scienter); (3) intent to defraud, i.e., to induce reliance; 18 (4) justifiable reliance; and (5) resulting damage.” 19 Apple, Inc., 2011 WL 588209, *3 (N.D. Cal.) (“Baltazar I”). 20 same elements comprise a cause of action for negligent 21 misrepresentation, except there is no requirement of intent to 22 induce reliance.” 23 125 Cal. App. 4th 513, 519 (2004). 24 misrepresentation claim, Plaintiff must nonetheless allege he 25 actually relied upon Defendant’s purported misrepresentations. 26 Id. 27 /// 28 /// “To state a claim for fraud or Baltazar v. “The Cadlo v. Owens-Illinois, Inc., In stating a negligent “Thus, the mere assertion of ‘reliance’ is insufficient. 8 1 The plaintiff must allege the specifics of his or her reliance on 2 the misrepresentation to show a bona fide claim of actual 3 reliance.” 4 concealment claim, Plaintiff “must allege specifically a 5 representation actually made by the defendant that is contrary to 6 the omission, or an omission of a fact that the defendant was 7 obliged to disclose.” 8 *5 (N.D. Cal.) (“Baltazar II”) (citing Daughtery v. American 9 Honda Motor Co., 144 Cal. App. 4th 824, 835 (2006)). 10 Id. Similarly, to state an actionable omission or Baltazar v. Apple, Inc., 2011 WL 3795013, The crux of each of Plaintiff’s fraud-based claims is that 11 Defendant misrepresented or concealed the fact that, under 12 certain conditions, even if the MacBook is plugged in, the AC 13 adapter does not charge the battery, and the computer thus 14 simultaneously uses power from both the adapter and its internal 15 power source. 16 Defendant made any affirmative representation to the contrary. 17 Moreover, the FAC also lacks any other affirmative allegations 18 Plaintiff plausibly claims were false. 19 Nowhere in the FAC, however, is it alleged that For example as to the latter point, all of Plaintiff’s 20 complaints regarding Defendant’s battery-related promises fail 21 because Defendant expressly disclosed that “[b]attery life and 22 charge cycles vary by use and settings.” 23 A, B; Maloney v. Verizon Internet Servs., Inc., 413 F. App’x 997, 24 999-1000 (9th Cir. 2011) (finding that a “reasonable consumer 25 would not have been deceived by statements, which included the 26 qualifier ‘up to’ (meaning the same or less than) and an 27 explanation that each consumer’s maximum speed would vary 28 depending on several...factors.”). 9 Klestoff Decl., Exhs. 1 Given Defendant’s disclaimer regarding battery life, Plaintiff 2 has also failed to allege he relied on any alleged battery- 3 related misrepresentation or omission. 4 Perhaps realizing the weakness inherent in his FAC, 5 Plaintiff argues in Opposition primarily that a number of 6 Defendant’s marketing statements going to the MacBook’s 7 performance speed and capabilities are rendered false because the 8 MacBook does not perform at all if it shuts down when its battery 9 is drained. The problem with this argument is that the 10 statements Plaintiff relies upon in support of his claims are 11 either not alleged to be false themselves or are comprised merely 12 of puffery. 13 advertised the MacBook performance was “up to twice as fast as 14 the previous generation, breezing through demanding tasks like 15 editing HD video” and that “with up to 1 GB of dedicated CDDR5 16 video memory, these processors provide up to 3x faster 17 performance than the previous generation.” 18 Nowhere in the FAC, however, does Plaintiff allege that the 19 MacBook is not in fact “up to twice as fast as the previous 20 generation” or that the processors do not “provide up to 3x 21 faster performance,” even assuming the computer shuts down under 22 the unique circumstances Plaintiff alleges. 23 remaining allegations, which go to such statements by Defendant 24 that the MacBook is a “breakthrough, through and through” and 25 that it provides for “huge leaps in performance” are puffery and 26 cannot provide a basis for Plaintiff’s instant claims. 27 /// 28 /// For example, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant 10 FAC, ¶¶, 6, 25. Plaintiff’s 1 See Anunziato v. eMachines, Inc., 402 F. Supp. 2d 1133, (C.D. 2 Cal. 2005) (“Generalized, vague, and unspecified assertions 3 constitute ‘mere puffery’ upon which a reasonable consumer could 4 not rely.”) (citing Glen Holly Entertainment, Inc. v. Tektronix 5 Inc., 343 F.3d 1000, 1015 (9th Cir. 2003)). 6 Ultimately, Plaintiff’s claims fail as pled because he never 7 alleges that Defendant promised the MacBook would operate other 8 than as it did, nor does Plaintiff allege with sufficient 9 particularity that Defendant had a duty to disclose any 10 purportedly concealed fact (e.g., that, under certain conditions, 11 if the battery power is low enough, the MacBook may shut down 12 even if plugged in via an AC Adapter). 13 3795013, *5 (no claim for fraudulent omission when Defendant’s 14 advertisements depicted iPad being used outdoors but the product 15 allegedly would not function without interruption under all 16 external conditions). 17 plead Defendant actually concealed any purported defect from 18 Plaintiff at the time he purchased his MacBook or that Plaintiff 19 would not have purchased the product absent any misrepresentation 20 or omission. 21 (N.D. Cal.) (general allegations regarding concealment 22 insufficient). 23 Plaintiff’s fraud and concealment claim is GRANTED with leave to 24 amend. 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// See Baltazar II, 2011 WL Plaintiff likewise fails to adequately See Hovespian v. Apple, Inc., 2009 WL 259*1445, *3 Accordingly, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss 11 1 2. Plaintiff’s Statutory Claims. 2 3 Plaintiff’s statutory claims, each of which, as pled, is 4 wholly dependent on the viability of Plaintiff’s 5 misrepresentation and concealment claims, fail for the same 6 reason as did their common law claims. 7 actionable “any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act.” 8 Cal. Bus & Prof. Code § 17200. 9 any or all of the three prongs of the UCL-unlawful, unfair, or California’s UCL makes “An act can be alleged to violate 10 fraudulent.” 11 152 Cal. App. 4th 1544, 1554 (2007). 12 out of the “unlawful” prong “borrow[] violations of other laws 13 and treat[] them as unlawful practices that the unfair 14 competition law makes independently actionable.” 15 Communications, Inc. v. Los Angeles Cellular Tel. Co., 20 Cal. 16 4th 163, 180 (1999). 17 practices may be grounded upon a violation of a statute or be a 18 standalone claim based on an alleged act that violates 19 established public policy or if it is immoral, unethical, 20 oppressive, or unscrupulous and causes injury to consumers which 21 outweighs its benefits.” 22 (internal citations and quotations omitted). 23 the fraud prong may be brought based upon conduct akin to common- 24 law fraud or an alleged course of conduct that is likely to 25 deceive the public.” 26 Berryman v. Merit Prop. Mgmt., Inc., Causes of action arising Cal-Tech “A UCL claim predicated on unfair business Hovsepian, 2009 WL 5069144, *4 “A claim based upon Id. For its part, the CLRA prohibits “unfair methods of 27 competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices.” 28 Civ. Code § 1770. 12 Cal. 1 “The CLRA proscribes both active misrepresentations about the 2 standard, quality, or grade of goods, as well as active 3 concealment related to the characteristics or quality of goods 4 that are contrary to what has been represented about the goods.” 5 Morgan v. Harmonix Music Sys., Inc., 2009 WL 2031765, *3 (N.D. 6 Cal.). 7 As already discussed above, Plaintiff has failed to plead 8 the existence of any actionable misrepresentation or omission, 9 let alone a violation of a law or other unfair or fraudulent 10 practice, capable of supporting a cause of action for violation 11 of either the UCL or the CLRA. 12 588209, *4-5 (failure to adequately allege misrepresentation, 13 omission or other wrongdoing fatal to UCL and CLRA claims); 14 Berenblat v. Apple, 2009 WL 2591366, *5 (N.D. Cal.) (failure to 15 disclose defect in product that nonetheless performs as warranted 16 during the warranty period does not provide basis for UCL 17 violation). 18 Plaintiff’s statutory claims is GRANTED with leave to amend. See, e.g., Baltazar I, 2011 WL Accordingly, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss 19 20 B. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Breach of Warranty claims. 21 22 Defendant also moves to dismiss both Plaintiff’s Breach of 23 Express Warranty and his Breach of Implied Warranty of 24 Merchantability causes of action.5 25 26 27 28 5 By way of his Opposition, Plaintiff appears to abandon any argument he might have had that he has stated a claim for the Breach of the Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose. See Cal. Civ. Code § 1792.1. Given Plaintiff’s apparent admission that he does not state such a claim, the Court 13 1 Defendant’s Motion is well-taken, and each of Plaintiff’s breach 2 of warranty causes of action is dismissed with leave to amend. 3 First, “[t]o plead an action for breach of express warranty 4 under California law, a plaintiff must allege: (1) the exact 5 terms of the warranty; (2) reasonable reliance thereon; and (3) a 6 breach of warranty which proximately caused plaintiff’s injury.” 7 Baltazar I, 2011 WL 588209, *2 (citing Williams v. Beechnut 8 Nutrition Corp., 185 Cal. App. 3d 135, 142 (1986)). 9 also must plead that he or she provided the defendant with 10 pre-suit notice of the breach.” 11 “A plaintiff § 2607). 12 Id. (citing Cal. Commercial Code The FAC contains no detail regarding the exact terms of any 13 express warranty breached under the facts of this case. 14 According to Plaintiff in his Opposition, the express warranties 15 provided to him by Defendant were violated when his MacBook 16 battery was completely drained, even while connected to an 17 external power source, such that the machine shut down 18 completely. Plaintiff thus claims that the machine is defective, 19 and that express warranties have been breached, because his 20 MacBook ceased to operate at all. 21 however, because he does not allege he provided Defendant with 22 the requisite pre-suit notice of the purported shutdown issue. 23 To the contrary, while Plaintiff contacted Defendant regarding 24 the MacBook’s simultaneous use of power from both the battery and 25 the AC adapter in July of 2011, he does not allege his computer 26 shut down until the following month. Plaintiff’s claim fails, 27 28 now construes the FAC as not bringing such a cause of action and denies Defendant’s Motion as to this claim as moot. 14 1 Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Breach of Express Warranty cause of 2 action fails and Defendant’s Motion is GRANTED with leave to 3 amend as to this cause of action. 4 Plaintiff’s Breach of Implied Warranty of Merchantability 5 claim fares no better. Pursuant to California law, “every sale 6 of consumer goods that are sold at retail in [California] shall 7 be accompanied by the manufacturer’s and the retail seller’s 8 implied warranty that the goods be merchantable.” 9 § 1792. Cal. Civ. Code “Goods in conformity with the implied warranty of 10 merchantability: (1) Pass without objection in the trade under 11 the contract description; (2) Are fit for the ordinary purposes 12 for which such goods are used; (3) Are adequately contained, 13 packaged, and labeled; and (4)Conform to the promises or 14 affirmations of fact made on the container or label.” 15 Baltazar I, 2011 WL 588209 *2 (quoting Cal. Civ. Code 16 § 1791.1(a)) (internal quotations and alternations omitted). 17 “The implied warranty of merchantability does not ‘impose a 18 general requirement that goods precisely fulfill the expectation 19 of the buyer. 20 quality.’” 21 Motor Corp. v. Super. Ct., 37 Cal. App. 4th 1291, 1295 (1995)). 22 Instead, it provides for a minimum level of Berenblat, 2009 WL 2591366, *3 (quoting Am. Suzuki Defendant correctly argues in its Motion that Plaintiff 23 fails to allege the MacBook is not fit for ordinary use. 24 and foremost, Plaintiff has failed to sufficiently identify what 25 functions comprise the “ordinary purpose” of the MacBook. 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 15 First 1 In response, Plaintiff argues that Defendant breached the implied 2 warranty because, if the battery drains to the point where the 3 system shuts down, the computer cannot be used at all, rendering 4 it unfit for any use, let alone ordinary use. 5 Plaintiff’s allegations that, under unique circumstances, namely 6 “heavy loads” undertaken when the battery is already low, the 7 MacBook may shut down, and that his computer shut down once over 8 the course of a six month period, are insufficient as a matter of 9 law to state a claim that the MacBook is not fit for ordinary However, 10 use. See Baltazar II, 2011 WL 3795013, *3-4 (N.D. Cal.). 11 Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Breach of the Implied 12 Warranty of Merchantability is thus GRANTED with leave to amend. 13 C. 14 Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Negligence and Defective Design, Manufacture and Assembly claims. 15 16 Defendant next moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s negligence-based 17 causes of action as barred by the economic loss rule. See 18 Sacramento Regional Transit Dist. v. Grumman Flxible, 158 Cal. 19 App. 3d 289, *293 (1984) (“[W]here damage consists solely of 20 ‘economic losses,’ recovery on a theory of products liability is 21 precluded.”). 22 ‘damages for inadequate value, costs or repair and replacement of 23 the defective product or consequent loss of profits - without any 24 claim of personal injury or damages to other property.” 25 294 (internal citations and quotations omitted). 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// “Economic loss or harm has been defined as 16 Id. at 1 Accordingly, because Plaintiff fails to allege any physical 2 injury to property or person apart from the “manifestation of the 3 defect itself,” Defendant argues Plaintiff’s first two causes of 4 action must be dismissed. 5 Id. Plaintiff attempts to salvage these causes of action by 6 arguing that the MacBook’s defect causes damage to its battery, 7 which it views as “other property.” 8 Plaintiff’s allegation for purposes of this Motion, his argument 9 nevertheless must be rejected because, as alleged in the FAC, the Assuming the truth of 10 battery is an integrated component of the MacBook and is not 11 alleged to be a separate component of property damaged by the 12 “defective” computer itself. 13 29 Cal. 4th 473, 487 (2002) (Kennard, J., concurring); 14 McKinney v. Google, Inc., 2011 WL 3862120, *8 (N.D. Cal.). 15 Defendant’s Motion is thus GRANTED with leave to amend. See Jimenez v. Superior Court, 16 D. 17 Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Money Had and Received claim. 18 19 Finally, Defendant argues Plaintiff’s Money Had and Received 20 cause of action fails because Plaintiff failed to plead that 21 Defendant is indebted to him for a sum certain. 22 law action of general assumpsit, plaintiffs customarily plead an 23 indebtedness using ‘common counts.’” 24 WL 1490819, *5 (E.D. Cal.). 25 common count are (1) a statement of indebtedness in a ‘certain 26 sum’; (2) the consideration, i.e., goods sold, work done, etc.’ 27 and (3) nonpayment.” 28 /// “In the common Johnson v. GMRI, Inc., 2007 “The essential allegations of a 17 1 Id. Indeed, “[a] cause of action for money had and received is 2 stated if it is alleged the defendant ‘is indebted to the 3 plaintiff in a certain sum for money had and received by the 4 defendant for the use of the plaintiff.” 5 and quotations omitted). 6 anywhere in the FAC that Defendant owes him any concrete amount, 7 Defendant’s argument is well-taken. 8 Dismiss this cause of action is thus GRANTED with leave to amend. Id. (internal citations Because Plaintiff has failed to allege Defendant’s Motion to 9 CONCLUSION 10 11 12 For the reasons stated above, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss 13 (ECF No. 29) is GRANTED with leave to amend. 14 twenty (20) days following the date this Memorandum and Order is 15 electronically filed, Plaintiff may (but is not required to) file 16 an amended complaint. 17 said twenty (20)-day period, without further notice to the 18 parties, the causes of action dismissed by virtue of this 19 Memorandum and Order will be dismissed with prejudice. 20 21 Not later than If no amended complaint is filed within IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: July 10, 2012 22 23 24 _____________________________ MORRISON C. ENGLAND, JR. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 25 26 27 28 18

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