Arthur v. Constellation Brands, Inc. et al
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Richard Seeborg granting in part and denying in part 12 Motion to Strike Affirmative Defenses in Answer. (cl, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/26/2016)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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JAMES ARTHUR,
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Case No. 16-cv-04680-RS
Plaintiff,
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v.
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CONSTELLATION BRANDS, INC., et al.,
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Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING, IN PART, AND
DENYING, IN PART, MOTION TO
STRIKE AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES IN
ANSWER
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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I. INTRODUCTION
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Plaintiff James Arthur claims he was improperly terminated from employment at a winery
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operated by Defendant Constellation Brands. He now moves to strike all twenty affirmative
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defenses in Constellation’s answer to his complaint. Arthur argues that all of the defenses fail to
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give fair notice of the grounds on which they rest and several are not affirmative defenses at all,
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but denials of the complaint’s allegations. For the following reasons, Arthur’s motion is granted
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in part and denied in part.1
II. BACKGROUND
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Arthur began working as a temporary employee at a winery, allegedly operated by
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Constellation, in June 2015. In October 2015, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the
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months that followed, he frequently requested time off to care for her. In May 2016, Arthur
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informed his supervisors that he was looking for permanent employment with medical benefits. In
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response, he alleges, they offered him a permanent position at the winery. Thereafter, he informed
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them that he had filed for paid family leave. The following day, he says, his supervisors rescinded
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Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-1(b), this matter is suitable for disposition without oral argument.
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the offer and terminated his employment because of his “availability and time management.”
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Compl. ¶14. Arthur claims that Constellation used “availability and time management” to
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disguise discrimination. He brings eleven claims against Constellation, including for violations of
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the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the Americans
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with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”), the Fair Employment and
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Housing Act (“FEHA”), and California’s fair wage and competition laws.
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In its answer, Constellation admits it operates a business, but denies that it owns or
operates the winery where Arthur worked. Constellation denies it ever employed or terminated
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Arthur. Constellation admits that it sent Arthur an offer letter in May 2016, but denies it was an
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unconditional offer of employment. Constellation asserts twenty affirmative defenses, which it
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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seems to contend apply equally to each of Arthur’s eleven claims. Arthur moves to strike all
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twenty affirmative defenses. Constellation opposes the motion but agrees to withdraw affirmative
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defenses 17 (at-will employment) and 20 (reservation of all rights).
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III. LEGAL STANDARD
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A court may strike affirmative defenses under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) if they
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present an “insufficient defense, or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.”
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A defense is insufficiently pleaded if it fails to give the plaintiff fair notice of the nature of the
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defense. See Wyshak v. City Nat'l Bank, 607 F.2d 824, 827 (9th Cir. 1979). A matter is
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immaterial if it has no essential or important relationship to the claim for relief pleaded. See
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Fantasy, Inc. v. Fogerty, 984 F.2d 1524, 1527 (9th Cir. 1993), rev’d on other grounds, 510 U.S.
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517 (1994). A matter is impertinent if it does not pertain, and is not necessary, to the issues in
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question in the case. Id. The purpose of a Rule 12(f) motion to strike is “to avoid the expenditure
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of time and money that must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues
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prior to trial.” Fantasy, 984 F.2d at 1527. A motion to strike should be granted if it will eliminate
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serious risks of prejudice to the moving party, delay, or confusion of issues. Id., at 1527–28.
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Motions under Rule 12(f) are generally disfavored, since such motions are frequently used
as stalling tactics and since pleadings are of more limited importance in federal practice. See
ORDER RE: MOTION TO STRIKE
CASE NO. 16-cv-04680-RS
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Platte Anchor Bolt, Inc. v. IHI, Inc., 352 F.Supp.2d 1048, 1057 (N.D. Cal. 2004). If there is any
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doubt whether the challenged matter might bear on an issue in the litigation, the motion to strike
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should be denied, and assessment of the sufficiency of the allegations left for adjudication on the
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merits. See Whittlestone, Inc. v. Handi–Craft Co., 618 F.3d 970 (9th Cir. 2010). Some courts also
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refuse to grant Rule 12(f) motions unless prejudice would result to the moving party from denial
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of the motion. Platte, 352 F.Supp.2d at 1057. When striking a claim or defense, leave to amend
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should be freely given if doing so does not cause prejudice to the opposing party. Wyshak, 607
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F.2d at 826.
IV. DISCUSSION
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Arthur moves to strike Constellation’s affirmative defenses, contending they are defective
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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in two ways: (1) all fail to provide fair notice of the grounds on which they rest; and (2) most are
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negative, rather than affirmative, defenses.
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A.
Insufficiently Pleaded Defenses
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“The key to determining the sufficiency of pleading an affirmative defense is whether it
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gives plaintiff fair notice of the defense.” Wyshak, 607 F.2d at 827 (citing Conley v. Gibson, 355
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U.S. 41, 47-48 (1957)). Courts in this district have generally construed “fair notice” to require
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that affirmative defenses satisfy the Twombly/Iqbal plausibility standard. See Hernandez v. Dutch
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Goose, Inc., Case No. C13-3537 LB, 2013 WL 5781476, at *4 n.2 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 25, 2013). The
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Ninth Circuit, however, recently held that an answer requires “only describing the defense in
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‘general terms,’” Kohler v. Flava Enters., Inc., 779 F.3d 1016, 1019 (9th Cir. 2015) (quoting 5
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Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1274 (3d ed. 1998)).
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It did not, however, explicitly find the Twombly/Iqbal standard inapplicable to affirmative
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defenses. In any event, as discussed below, most of Constellation’s affirmative defenses fail to
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satisfy even the more forgiving “fair notice” standard. At minimum, “fair notice” requires some
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pleading of facts: “Neither mere reference to a legal doctrine, nor a bare recitation of statutory
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provisions, provides fair notice of an affirmative defense absent some fact or argument explaining
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the defense.” Barrilleaux v. Mendocino Cnty., No. 14-cv-1373, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46078
ORDER RE: MOTION TO STRIKE
CASE NO. 16-cv-04680-RS
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(N.D. Cal. Apr. 4, 2016). In Wyshak, the Ninth Circuit found that an affirmative defense that
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“plaintiff’s claims are barred by the applicable statute of limitations” provided fair notice because
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it was supported by an attached memorandum making “specific mention” of the statute of
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limitations on which the defendant relied. 607 F.2d at 827. The Ninth Circuit concluded that
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“under these circumstances the statute of limitations was adequately pleaded,” id., implying that
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without the memorandum, the defense would not have given fair notice.
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Most of Constellation’s affirmative defenses merely refer to legal doctrines. For example,
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the first affirmative defense states that “[t]he Complaint, and each cause of action therein, is
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barred due to plaintiff’s failure to timely exhaust the required administrative remedies.” Yet,
Constellation fails to identify any specific administrative remedies that Arthur should have
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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exhausted. Neither the FLSA nor FMLA require a plaintiff employee to exhaust administrative
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remedies before filing a claim in federal court. See 29 U.S.C. §§ 2617, 216(b). Likewise, FEHA
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and CFRA do not require exhaustion beyond that plaintiffs obtain a notice of right to sue before
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pursuing their claims in court, see Mora v. Chem-Tronics, Inc., 16 F. Supp. 2d 1192, 1201 (S.D.
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Cal. 1998), and Arthur alleges he obtained these notices in July 2016.
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Constellation’s second affirmative defense fares no better. It states that Arthur’s claims are
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barred by “all applicable statutes of limitation, including but not limited to those found at
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California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 335.1, 337, 338, 339, 340, 343; California Labor
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Code Sections 203, 2699 et seq.; California Government Code Sections 12960 and 12965;
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California Business and Professions Code Section 17208; 29 U.S.C. Sections 255 and 2601; and
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any other applicable statutes of limitation.” As an initial matter, the catchall “all applicable
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statutes of limitation” does not give fair notice. See Solis v. Zenith Capital, LLC, 2009 WL
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1324051 (N.D. Cal. May 8, 2009) (“[The] legal conclusion that the complaint ‘is barred by the
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applicable statutes of limitation,’ is inadequate to provide ‘fair notice’ of this defense.”).
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Moreover, Constellation does not assert how Arthur’s claims are foreclosed by the statutes listed.
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Indeed, the first statute to which Constellation refers, California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1,
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is the statute of limitations for negligent assault and battery. None of Arthur’s claims relate to
ORDER RE: MOTION TO STRIKE
CASE NO. 16-cv-04680-RS
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assault or battery. As pleaded, this defense does not provide fair notice to Arthur and includes
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allegations impertinent to his claims.
Affirmative defenses 3, 5, 7-13, 15, 18 and 19 fail for similar reasons. For instance, the
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third affirmative defense asserts that the exclusive remedy for Arthur’s injuries is “provided under
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the workers’ compensation laws of California,” but Arthur does not allege he was injured in the
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course of employment. The seventh affirmative defense asserts Arthur’s “contributory/
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comparative negligence,” but the “proposition that contributory or comparative negligence applies
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in the employment discrimination context in the absence of a negligence claim” is unsupported.
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Ingram v. Pac. Gas & Elec. Co., No. 12–CV–02777–JST, 2014 WL 295829 (N.D. Cal. Jan.27,
2014). The nineteenth affirmative defense states, “[t]o the extent Plaintiff signed a valid and
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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enforceable arbitration agreement, Plaintiff cannot proceed with his Complaint in this Court,” but
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Constellation does not allege that it entered into an arbitration agreement with Arthur. Affirmative
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defenses 8, 11, 13 and 15 all essentially assert that Constellation’s conduct was undertaken for
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legitimate reasons.2 Without further specificity, they are redundant of the sixteenth affirmative
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defense that Constellation acted with a “legitimate business purpose,” which is discussed below.
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Accordingly, affirmative defenses 1-3, 5, 7-13, 15, 18 and 19 are stricken with leave to amend.
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B.
Remaining Defenses
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Arthur argues that the remaining defenses—4, 6, 14 and 16—should be stricken because
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they are just denials of elements of his claims, not affirmative defenses.3 “A defense which
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demonstrates that plaintiff has not met its burden of proof as to an element plaintiff is required to
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prove is not an affirmative defense.” Zivkovic v. S. Calif. Edison Co., 302 F.3d 1080, 1088 (9th
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Cir.2002); see also Barnes v. AT & T Pension Ben. Plan-Nonbargained Program, 718 F. Supp. 2d
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The eighth affirmative defense also alleges that the conduct in the complaint is a just and proper
exercise of management’s discretion. Yet, common-law “managerial privilege” does not apply to
statutory claims. See E.E.O.C. v. Interstate Hotels, L.L.C., No. C 04-04092 WHA, 2005 WL
885604, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 14, 2005).
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Arthur argues that other defenses are negative defenses too, but those arguments need not be
reached in light of the conclusion that the other defenses are insufficiently pleaded.
ORDER RE: MOTION TO STRIKE
CASE NO. 16-cv-04680-RS
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1167, 1174 (N.D. Cal. 2010) (citing Roberge v. Hannah *1174 Marine Corp., No. 96–1691, 1997
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WL 468330, at *3 (6th Cir. 1997)) (“An affirmative defense, under the meaning of Federal Rule of
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Civil Procedure 8(c), is a defense that does not negate the elements of the plaintiff's claim, but
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instead precludes liability even if all of the elements of the plaintiff's claim are proven.”).
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In response, Constellation argues that these defenses are properly characterized as
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affirmative defenses. It further contends that, if they are not affirmative defenses, they should be
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construed as specific denials. Constellation asserts that, if these defenses are mere denials of
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Arthur’s prima facie case, it is difficult to understand how they will cost Arthur further time and
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expense beyond bringing his prima facie case.
The remaining affirmative defenses do not necessarily deny elements of Arthur’s prima
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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facie case. For example, affirmative defense 6 asserts that Constellation might later acquire
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evidence of wrongdoing that would have led to Arthur’s termination on legitimate grounds if
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known earlier. See McKennon v. Nashville Banner Pub. Co., 513 U.S. 352, 362 (1995).
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Affirmative defense 16 alleges that legitimate business purposes justified Constellation’s actions,
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and business necessity has been characterized as an affirmative defense. See Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
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v. Echazabal, 536 U.S. 73, 79 (2002) (involving ADA claims).4 In any event, parsing negative
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from affirmative defenses is unnecessary here because Arthur has made no showing that he will
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suffer prejudice if these defenses are not stricken or that striking them will avoid litigation of
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spurious issues. “[T]he function of a 12(f) motion to strike is to avoid the expenditure of time and
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money that must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to
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trial.” Sidney-Vinstein v. A.H. Robins Co., 697 F.2d 880, 885 (9th Cir. 1983). Accordingly,
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Arthur’s motion is denied with regard to affirmative defenses 4, 6, 14, and 16.
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V. CONCLUSION
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While Rule 12(f) motions are disfavored for raising the costs of litigation, Arthur has
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Affirmative defense 4 (“good faith dispute”) does appear to overlap with Constellation’s specific
denials. See Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 13520 (including in the definition of “willful failure to pay”
an exception for “good faith disputes”).
ORDER RE: MOTION TO STRIKE
CASE NO. 16-cv-04680-RS
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established sufficient grounds on which to consider such a motion to strike. For the foregoing
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reasons, all affirmative defenses other than numbers 4, 6, 14, and 16 must be stricken with leave to
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amend. The seventeenth and twentieth affirmative defenses are deemed withdrawn.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: October 26, 2016
______________________________________
RICHARD SEEBORG
United States District Judge
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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ORDER RE: MOTION TO STRIKE
CASE NO. 16-cv-04680-RS
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