Card v. Ralph Lauren Corporation et al
Filing
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ORDER by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granting in part and denying in part 40 Motion to Dismiss. Third amended complaint due 12/10/2018. Answer due 1/3/2019.Joint Case Management Statement due by 1/31/2019. Initial Case Management Conference reset for 2/7/2019 at 1:30 PM in San Francisco, Courtroom F, 15th Floor. (ahm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/3/2018)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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VICTORIA CARD,
Plaintiff,
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Case No.18-cv-02553-JSC
ORDER RE: MOTION TO DISMISS
SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT
v.
RALPH LAUREN CORPORATION, et al.,
Re: Dkt. No. 40
Defendants.
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Plaintiff Victoria Card filed this civil action in San Francisco Superior Court alleging
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various claims arising out of a business arrangement between Plaintiff and Defendants the Ralph
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Lauren Corporation, Ralph Lauren Company West, LLC, and E.J Victor Inc. After the Defendants
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removed the action to this Court, the Court granted in part and denied in part Plaintiff’s motion to
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file a first amended complaint allowing amendment of Plaintiff’s complaint to plead claims for
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breach of implied contract and breach of the implied contract of good faith and fair dealing, but
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otherwise denying Plaintiff’s motion to amend because amendment of her other claims was futile.
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(Dkt. No. 32.) Plaintiff thereafter elected not to stand on her first amended complaint, and instead,
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filed a second amended complaint. The second amended complaint allegations are substantially
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the same as the first amended complaint, although pled with greater specificity in certain respects.
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(Dkt. No. 35.) Defendants then filed the now pending motion to dismiss. (Dkt. No. 40.)
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After carefully considering the arguments and briefing submitted, the Court concludes that
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oral argument is unnecessary, see Civ. L.R. 7-1(b), and VACATES the December 6, 2018 hearing.
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Defendants’ motion to dismiss is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART for the reasons set
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forth below.
1. First Cause of Action: Breach of Implied Contract—the Court previously concluded
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that Plaintiff’s first amended complaint adequately alleged a claim for breach of the implied
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contract.1 (Dkt. No. 32 at 6.) Because her second amended complaint simply re-pleads these same
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allegations with respect to the contract claim, it sufficiently states a claim. However, Defendants
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now argue that Plaintiff’s breach of implied contract claim is barred by the statute of frauds, Cal.
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Civ. Code § 1624(a)(1). However, Section 1624(a)(1) is construed narrowly and therefore
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“applies only to those contracts which, by their terms, cannot possibly be performed within one
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year.” White Lighting Co. v. Wolfson, 68 Cal.2d 336, 343 (1968). Accordingly, “if by its terms
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performance of a contract is possible within one year, the contract does not fall within the statute
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even though it is probable that it will extend beyond one year.” Plumlee v. Poag, 150 Cal.App.3d
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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541, 548-49 (1984) (emphasis added). In Pecarovich v. Becker, 113 Cal. App. 2d 309, 315
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(1952), for example, the court held that a three-year oral contract did not violate the statute of
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frauds because it included a provision that it could be terminated at any time based on 90-day
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notice, which if exercised in the first year, would allow the terms of the contract to be completed
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in the first year. Defendants characterize the agreement alleged in the complaint as Defendants
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having a contractual obligation to supply her with goods unless and “until she violated the terms
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of the purported agreement.” (Dkt. No. 43 at 11.) To put in another way, the complaint
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allegations themselves do not establish that the agreement could not possibly be performed within
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one year. Further, even if the agreement falls within the statute of frauds (which has not been
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shown), there may be writings that would satisfy the statute. See Orozco v. Chase Home Finance
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LLC, 2011 WL 7646369 * 1-2 (E.D. Cal. 2011). Thus, Defendants have not proved their statute of
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frauds affirmative defense as a matter of law. See Walton v. City of Red Bluff, 2 Cal. App. 4th
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117, 131 (1991) (holding that the statute of frauds is an affirmative defense).
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Accordingly, the motion to dismiss the first claim is denied.
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2. Second Cause of Action: Promises without Intent to Perform and
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Misrepresentation—Plaintiff has now combined her previously pled second and third claims for
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The Court previously considered each of Plaintiff’s claims—all of which are re-plead here—in
detail and thus incorporates the reasoning of its prior order by reference.
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relief into one claim. The Court previously denied leave to amend these misrepresentation claims
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because as alleged they failed to satisfy the specificity requirements of Rule 9(b). (Dkt. No. 32 at
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7.) Plaintiff’s second amended complaint does not address the defects in the claims as previously
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noted by the Court: “Plaintiff must do more than recite the elements of a claim, she must identify
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when the misrepresentation occurred, what the actual misrepresentation was, and who made it, as
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well as that it was knowingly false and made with the intent to deceive.” (Id. at 7:17-20.) Rather,
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than do so, Plaintiff has added allegations regarding the additional requirements that Defendants
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placed on her, but these allegations do not reflect that Defendants made Plaintiff a promise that
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they never intended to honor. In the misrepresentation claim, Plaintiff shall separately identify
each misrepresentation, when it was made, who made it, and why it was false. Plaintiff’s attempt
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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to refer back to earlier complaint paragraphs has not worked. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s second
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claim is dismissed with leave to amend.
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3. Third Cause of Action: Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing—
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the Court granted Plaintiff leave to amend this claim concluding that the allegations of her first
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amended complaint were sufficient to plausibly allege a separate agreement between the parties to
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conduct themselves in good faith. (Dkt. No. 32 at 8.) The Court denies Defendants’ motion to
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dismiss this claim for the reasons previously stated.
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4. Fourth Cause of Action: Interference with Prospective Advantage—the Court
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previously denied Plaintiff leave to amend this claim in her first amended complaint because
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Plaintiff had not alleged a specific relationship with which Defendants had allegedly interfered.
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(Dkt. No. 32 at 10.) Plaintiff’s second amended complaint includes a list of over a 100 individuals
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identified by first name and last initial “with whom PLAINTIFF had previously done massive
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business, and with whom PLAINTIFF was in ongoing communications which had previously
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characteristically led to both further sales and new customers.” (Dkt. No. 36 at ¶ 109.) While this
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may now be sufficient to allege the specific relationship, Plaintiff has not alleged an independent
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wrongful act. See Korea Supply Co. v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 29 Cal. 4th 1134, 1153 (2003) (“a
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plaintiff seeking to recover damages for interference with prospective economic advantage must
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plead and prove as part of its case-in-chief that the defendant’s conduct was ‘wrongful by some
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legal measure other than the fact of interference itself.’”). Rather, Plaintiff alleges that the same
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conduct, see Dkt. No. 36 at ¶¶ 103, 108, which gives rise to the breach of the covenant of good
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faith and fair dealing claim gives rise to her claim for prospective interference. However, “the tort
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of interference with prospective economic advantage was not intended broadly to limit individuals
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or commercial entities in choosing their commercial relationships, whatever their motives in doing
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so might be—unless those motives are independently unlawful.” Marin Tug & Barge, Inc. v.
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Westport Petroleum, Inc., 271 F.3d 825, 832 (9th Cir. 2001) (collecting California cases regarding
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the same). That Defendants acted to “advance their own economic interests” in offering their
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products to other wholesalers which put Plaintiff at a competitive disadvantage is not enough to
state a claim for intentional interference with prospective advantage. See A-Mark Coin Co. v.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Gen. Mills, Inc., 148 Cal. App. 3d 312, 324 (Cal. Ct. App. 1983) (“a defendant seeking to increase
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his own business may cut rates or prices, allow discounts or rebates, enter into secret negotiations
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behind the plaintiff’s back, refuse to deal with him or threaten to discharge employees who do, or
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even refuse to deal with third parties unless they cease dealing with the plaintiff, all without
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incurring liability.”). Accordingly, Plaintiff’s fourth claim is dismissed with leave to amend.
5. Fifth Cause of Action: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress—the Court
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previously denied Plaintiff leave to amend this claim because as pled in her first amended
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complaint Plaintiff’s allegations failed to identify conduct that “exceeds all bounds of that usually
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tolerated in a civilized community.” (Dkt. No. 32 at 11: 4-5 (citing Hughes v. Pair, 46 Cal. 4th
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1035, 1050-51 (2009)). While Plaintiff’s second amended complaint includes additional
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allegations with respect to this claim, the allegations that Defendants “allow[ed] competitors
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advantages not granted to PLAINTIFF,” gave “phony and/or nonsensical excuses for these
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practices and their adverse effect,” required Plaintiff’s clients to prepay for items, “playing games
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with the availability of items,” instituting “draconian conditions,” and “spreading false rumors,”
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see Dkt. No. 36 at ¶ 114, fail to show “extreme and outrageous conduct.”2 See Unterberger v. Red
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Bull N. Am., Inc., 162 Cal. App. 4th 414, 423 (2008) (holding that the termination of a business
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Given this conclusion, it is unnecessary to determine whether this claim is also barred by the
statute of limitations.
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relationship was not as a matter of law the type of outrageous conduct required to support a claim
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for intentional infliction of emotional distress). Accordingly, Plaintiff’s fifth claim is dismissed.
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The dismissal is without leave to amend as it is clear from Plaintiff’s allegations that further
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amendment would be futile.
6. Sixth Cause of Action: Violation of the Robinson-Patman Act—the Court previously
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denied Plaintiff leave to amend her Robinson-Patman Act claim in her first amended complaint
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because Plaintiff had not identified the discounts, that they were for the same or comparable
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products, that they were contemporaneous, or that they had an anti-competitive effect. (Dkt. No.
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32 at 12.) Plaintiff’s second amended complaint includes additional allegations regarding the
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discounts, but still fails to adequately plead a claim because Plaintiff has not alleged that the
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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discounts Defendants allegedly offered to other retailers like One Kings Lane, Bloomingdale’s,
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and ABC Home and Carpet were for the same or comparable Ralph Lauren products that Plaintiff
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was selling or that Plaintiff was in competition with these wholesalers such that the discounts
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offered to them, but not to Plaintiff, had an anti-competitive effect. See Best Brands Beverage,
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Inc. v. Falstaff Brewing Corp., 842 F.2d 578, 584-85 (2d Cir. 1987) (“ to establish the requisite
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competitive injury in a secondary-line case, plaintiff must first prove that, as the disfavored
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purchaser, it was engaged in actual competition with the favored purchaser(s) as of the time of the
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price differential” further, “the existence of a competitive nexus between the customers receiving
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the higher and the lower prices is a basic predicate of any conclusion of adverse effects at the
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customer level attributable to a seller’s price differentials.”) Plaintiff’s offer in her opposition
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brief to amend her complaint to include greater specificity regarding the specific numbers is
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unhelpful: Plaintiff must be able to plead either that the discounts were for the same products
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Plaintiff sold or that Plaintiff was competing with the wholesalers for the same customers such
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that the discounts caused an anti-competitive effect.3 Accordingly, Plaintiff’s sixth cause of action
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is dismissed with leave to amend.
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Plaintiff’s request to file a sur-reply is denied. (Dkt. No. 44.) Plaintiff’s proposed sur-reply is
entirely improper as it addresses cases filed in Defendants’ original moving papers which Plaintiff
elected not to address in her opposition.
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7. Seventh Cause of Action: RICO, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c)—the Court previously denied
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Plaintiff leave to amend her RICO claim because she had failed to identify the alleged members of
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the enterprise or racketeering activity and had failed to allege facts to support a plausible inference
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that Defendants’ conduct violated the statutes. (Dkt. No. 32 at 13.) Plaintiff’s second amended
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complaint adds allegations referring to the allegations supporting her other claims for relief;
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however, as previously held, these allegations are insufficient to plausibly state a RICO claim. See
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Moore v. Kayport Package Exp., Inc., 885 F.2d 531, 541 (9th Cir. 1989) (noting that a RICO
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claim is subject to Rule 9(b) pleading requirements). Accordingly, Plaintiff’s seventh claim is
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dismissed with leave to amend.
8. Eighth Cause of Action: Discrimination—the Court previously denied Plaintiff leave
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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to amend her discrimination claim under the Unruh Act, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 51, 51.5, because
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Plaintiff had failed to allege, as required, that she was discriminated against based on her gender
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and ethnicity. (Dkt. No. 32 at 14.) Plaintiff’s second amended complaint includes numerous
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additional allegations regarding Defendants’ efforts to drive her out of business, but again fails to
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tie these allegations to an intent to discriminate based on her gender or ethnicity. Accordingly,
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Plaintiff’s eighth claim is dismissed with leave to amend.
9. Ninth Cause of Action: California Business and Professions Code § 17200—the
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Court previously dismissed this claim because Plaintiff had failed to tether her unfair competition
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claim “to some legislatively declared policy or proof of some actual or threatened impact on
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competition.” (Dkt. No. 32 at 15:11-12) (quoting Levitt v. Yelp! Inc., 765 F.3d 1123, 1136 (9th
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Cir. 2014)). Plaintiff’s second amended complaint tethers this claim to Plaintiff’s fraud,
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Robinson-Patman Act, RICO, and discrimination claims. (Dkt. No. 36 at ¶ 152.) Because the
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Court has dismissed these claims with leave to amend, this claim too is dismissed with leave to
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amend.
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CONCLUSION
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For the reasons stated above, Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s second amended
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complaint is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. (Dkt. No. 40.) Plaintiff’s second,
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fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth causes of action are dismissed with leave to amend.
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Plaintiff’s fifth cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress is dismissed without
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leave to amend because it is apparent that a plausibly claim cannot be pled. Plaintiff shall replead
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the dismissed claims only if she can do so in good faith consistent with the obligations of Federal
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Rule of Civil Procedure 11. For example, if she cannot in good faith plead facts that plausibly
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support a discrimination claim, then she should not include such claim in her third amended
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complaint. If the case is just a contract case, then it should proceed as a contract case. Plaintiff’s
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amended complaint, if any, shall be filed within 7 days of the date of this Order. Plaintiff is
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directed to identify all facts that plausibly support her claims in the third amended complaint, if
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she elects to file one. If no amended complaint is filed within 14 days of this Order, the case will
move forward on the remaining claims. If Plaintiff files a third amended complaint, then
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Defendants’ answer or other response shall be filed by January 3, 2019.
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With respect to any future filings both parties are reminded of their obligation as officers
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of the Court to follow the Court’s Standing Order and Local Rules in particular with regard to
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format and filing deadlines. See Civil L.R. 3-4(c)(2); 7-2; 7-3(a),(c),(d).
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The case management conference scheduled for December 6, 2018 is continued to
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February 7, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. A complete case management conference statement that complies
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with the Standing Order of the Norther District of California is required to be filed one week
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before the conference.
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This Order disposes of Docket No. 40.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: December 3, 2018
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JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
United States Magistrate Judge
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