Skurkis et al v. Montelongo et al

Filing 60

ORDER ON MOTION TO DISMISS; GRANTING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL; CONTINUING INITIAL CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers: granting 28 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal; granting 39 Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction. (fs, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/9/2016)

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1 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 3 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 4 5 6 MICHELLE SKURKIS, et al., Plaintiffs, 7 8 9 vs. Northern District of California United States District Court ORDER ON MOTION TO DISMISS; GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL; CONTINUING INITIAL CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE ARMANDO MONTELONGO, JR., et al., Defendants. 10 11 Case No.: 16-cv-0972 YGR Re: Dkt. Nos. 28, 39 Plaintiffs are 163 individuals who are former students of real estate education programs 12 allegedly run by defendant Armando Montelongo, Jr. and by business entities allegedly owned by 13 Montelongo. Plaintiffs bring this Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) 14 action against defendants Real Estate Training International, LLC (“RETI”), Performance Advantage 15 Group, Inc. (“PAG”), and License Branding, LLC (“License Branding”) (collectively, “AMS”) and 16 against Montelongo individually for their alleged racketeering activities in fraudulently marketing and 17 selling their services to plaintiffs. The first amended complaint (Dkt. No. 29, “FAC”) alleges causes 18 of action against all defendants for (1) conducting a racketeering enterprise and (2) conspiracy to 19 conduct a racketeering enterprise in violation of RICO, 18 U.S.C. sections 1962(c) and (d). 20 Currently before the Court is defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction 21 and improper venue. (Dkt. No. 39.) In the alternative, defendants argue the case should be 22 transferred to the Western District of Texas for issues of convenience. (See id.) Having carefully 23 considered the pleadings in this case, the papers submitted on this motion, and for the reasons set forth 24 herein,1 the Court GRANTS defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and 25 provides certain plaintiffs LEAVE TO AMEND. The Court reserves on the balance of defendants’ 26 arguments regarding venue pending the filing of any second amended complaint. 27 28 1 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 78(b) and Civil Local Rule 7-1(b), the Court finds this motion appropriate for decision without oral argument. 1 I. BACKGROUND 2 Defendant Armando Montelongo is a former reality TV personality who starred on the show 3 “Flip This House” on the A&E network. (Dkt. No. 28, “FAC,” ¶ 4.) Montelongo is Texas real estate 4 investor who now offers real estate seminars nationwide through defendants RETI, PAG, and License 5 Branding, which allegedly operate collectively with others as an enterprise known as AMS. (Id.) The 6 educational programs offered through AMS claim to be a “‘methodological step-by-step system for 7 building wealth in real estate’ modeled on Montelongo’s own experiences.” (Id. ¶ 5.) The AMS 8 system is built on several educational seminars or events, namely the: preview event, foundation 9 event, bus tours, and continuing education programs. (Id. ¶ 6.) In 2013, Montelongo reported his 10 seminars would bring in $100 million from over 350,000 students attending more than 3,500 events 11 nationwide. (Id. ¶ 7.) Northern District of California United States District Court 12 Plaintiffs allege that the AMS enterprise – through its products, events, and services – engages 13 in coercive and deceptive sales tactics to bait students into paying for the AMS program. (See id. ¶¶ 14 9–20.) For example, AMS allegedly lures students to attend an initial free event through deceptive 15 advertising. (Id. ¶ 9.) Once the students are at the events, AMS creates an atmosphere of coercion 16 and false promises, inducing the students to pay thousands of dollars to attend additional events and 17 seminars. (Id. ¶¶ 11–12.) AMS also engages in self-dealing by encouraging students to transfer 18 money from their secure retirement accounts to accounts held by third parties aligned with AMS. (Id. 19 ¶ 16.) Montelongo and AMS employees allegedly instill fear in the students to discourage the 20 students from questioning the AMS methodology. (Id. ¶ 19.) Plaintiffs allege Montelongo instructs 21 AMS employees to make students think they have received a benefit when he knows that the AMS 22 system is in fact worthless. (Id. ¶ 22.) 23 Plaintiffs are former students who each paid thousands of dollars to participate in AMS real 24 estate programs. (Id. ¶ 35.) Of the 163 plaintiffs, 35 are California residents who attended AMS 25 events in California. (Id. ¶ 66.) Although not alleged in the FAC, plaintiffs argue that some non- 26 residents nonetheless attended AMS events in California. (Dkt. No. 41 at 8.) Plaintiffs allege 27 Montelongo and AMS are members of a RICO enterprise engaged in racketeering acts affecting 28 interstate commerce, including: wire fraud through emails, Facebook posts, appearances on national 2 1 television, YouTube videos, and maintenance of the AMS website in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1961; 2 transport of more than $5,000 through interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314; and 3 devising a scheme to induce persons to cross interstate lines to defraud them out of more than $5,000 4 in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314. (See FAC ¶¶ 36–45.) Plaintiffs allege damages in the amount of 5 money they paid to AMS, expenses they incurred to attend the AMS events, and the investments they 6 lost due to the AMS system. (Id.) 7 Defendants now challenge the Court’s personal jurisdiction over them as non-residents of 8 California. Montelongo resides in San Antonio, Texas, (id. ¶ 48) while RETI, PAG, and License 9 Branding all maintain their principal places of business in San Antonio, Texas (id. ¶¶ 49–51). 10 Plaintiffs argue that jurisdiction is appropriate based on the Texas defendants’ contacts with 11 California, either separately or collectively as alter egos of Montelongo. Northern District of California United States District Court 12 II. EVIDENTIARY OBJECTIONS 13 Defendants object to evidence submitted by plaintiffs in opposition to the motion. The Court 14 rules as follows on objections to the evidentiary exhibits attached to the declaration of plaintiffs’ 15 attorney Christopher Wimmer (Dkt. Nos. 42-1 to 42-22) for purposes of this motion only: 16  Exhibit A: SUSTAINED as inadmissible hearsay and for lacking personal knowledge; 17  Exhibit C: SUSTAINED as not properly authenticated by plaintiffs; and 18  Exhibits F through M, P, Q, and R: DENIED AS MOOT as those exhibits are submitted 19 to support plaintiffs’ alter ego theory, which the Court cannot reach absent jurisdiction 20 over Montelongo. 21 The Court rules as follows on objections to the declaration of plaintiffs’ attorney Christopher Wimmer 22 (Dkt. No. 42) for purposes of this motion only: 23  Paragraphs 2–4: SUSTAINED as inadmissible hearsay and for lacking personal knowledge; 24 25  Paragraph 6: SUSTAINED as inadmissible hearsay; 26  Paragraphs 7–8: DENIED AS MOOT as those paragraphs go only to general jurisdiction; 27  Paragraphs 9–14: DENIED AS MOOT as those paragraphs are provided to support 28 plaintiffs’ alter ego theory, which the Court cannot reach absent jurisdiction over 3 Montelongo. 1 2 Defendants additionally object to the supplemental evidence plaintiffs submitted (Dkt. No. 46- 3 2, 46-3) as inadmissible hearsay and barred by the Best Evidence Rule. Those objections are DENIED 4 AS MOOT 5 of specific jurisdiction over defendants. as the evidence goes only to general jurisdiction and is inapplicable to the Court’s analysis 6 III. 7 The Court first addresses defendants’ threshold argument that the FAC should be dismissed 8 9 10 PERSONAL JURISDICTION with prejudice on grounds that the Court does not have personal jurisdiction over them. A. Legal Framework A motion under Rule 12(b)(2) challenges a court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over a Northern District of California defendant. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2). Where no federal statute governs personal jurisdiction, a court 12 United States District Court 11 applies the law of the state in which it sits. Here, California law applies. Schwarzenegger v. Fred 13 Martin Motor Co., 374 F.3d 797, 800–01 (9th Cir. 2004). California law allows for the exercise of 14 “jurisdiction on any basis not inconsistent with the Constitution of [California] or of the United 15 States.” Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 410.10. Due process requires that the non-resident defendant have 16 “minimum contacts with [the forum state] such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend 17 traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” Int’l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 18 316 (1945) (internal quotations omitted). “In judging minimum contacts, a court properly focuses on 19 ‘the relationship among the defendant, the forum, and the litigation.’” Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 20 788 (1984) (quoting Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 204 (1977)). 21 Where, as here, the motion to dismiss is based on written submissions the plaintiff need only 22 make a prima facie showing of jurisdiction with admissible evidence. Schwarzenegger, 374 F.3d at 23 800; Ballard v. Savage, 65 F.3d 1495, 1498 (9th Cir. 1995). In evaluating the proffer, a district court 24 must (i) accept as true the uncontroverted allegations in the complaint and (ii) resolve conflicts 25 between facts contained in the parties’ affidavits in a plaintiff’s favor. AT&T Co. v. Compagnie 26 Bruxelles Lambert, 94 F.3d 586, 588 (9th Cir. 1996). The contacts of one party may be attributed to 27 another upon a showing that one party is an “alter ego” of another. See Ranza v. Nike, Inc., 793 F.3d 28 1059, 1065 (9th Cir. 2015). 4 B. Analysis 1 2 Personal jurisdiction may be either general or specific. Bancroft & Masters, Inc. v. Augusta 3 Nat’l, Inc., 223 F.3d 1082, 1086 (9th Cir. 2000). Plaintiffs do not argue general jurisdiction but rather 4 rely on specific jurisdiction.2 In the alternative, plaintiffs argue the entity defendants are subject to 5 jurisdiction based on the contacts of Montelongo under an alter ego theory. Should the Court 6 disagree, plaintiffs request jurisdictional discovery and an opportunity to further amend their 7 jurisdictional allegations. Defendants oppose plaintiffs’ requests if their motion is granted. The Court 8 addresses the parties’ argument in turn: 1. Specific Jurisdiction: Defendants’ Contacts with California 9 10 Specific jurisdiction “depends on an affiliatio[n] between the forum and the underlying Northern District of California controversy, principally, activity or an occurrence that takes place in the forum State and is therefore 12 United States District Court 11 subject to the State’s regulation.” Goodyear Dunlop Tires Ops., S.A. v. Brown, 564 U.S. 915, 919 13 (2011) (internal quotations omitted). Said otherwise, personal jurisdiction requires the Court to 14 evaluate whether the specific activity giving rise to the plaintiffs’ causes of action is sufficiently 15 related to the forum state. See Perkins v. Benguet Consol. Mining Co., 342 U.S. 437, 446 (1952); 16 Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 250–53 (1958). The Ninth Circuit applies a three-prong test to 17 determine whether a non-resident defendant’s activities are sufficiently related to the forum state to 18 establish specific personal jurisdiction: 19 (1) The non-resident defendant must purposefully direct his activities or consummate some transaction with the forum or resident thereof; or perform some act by which he purposefully avails himself of the privilege of conducting activities in the forum, thereby invoking the benefits and protections of its laws; (2) the claim must be one which arises out of or relates to the defendant’s forum-related activities; and (3) the exercise of jurisdiction must comport with fair play and substantial justice, i.e. it must be reasonable. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 While plaintiffs claim not to rely on general jurisdiction, plaintiffs largely point to evidence and allegations tending to support a theory of general jurisdiction based on defendants’ contacts with California untethered to plaintiffs’ claims. See Section III.B.1, infra. 5 1 Schwarzenegger, 374 F.3d at 802 (citing Lake v. Lake, 817 F.2d 1416, 1421 (9th Cir. 1987)). The 2 plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating the first two prongs. Id.; Boschetto v. Hansing, 539 F.3d 3 1011, 1016 (9th Cir. 2008). If plaintiffs fail to satisfy either of these prongs, then personal jurisdiction 4 is not established in the forum state. See Pebble Beach Co. v. Caddy, 453 F.3d 1151, 1155 (9th Cir. 5 2006). If plaintiffs carry this burden, then “defendant[s] must come forward with a ‘compelling case’ 6 that the exercise of jurisdiction would not be reasonable.” Boschetto, 539 F.3d at 1016. (citing 7 Schwarzenegger, 374 F.3d at 802). 8 9 Thus, the Court must determine whether plaintiffs have made a prima facie case of personal jurisdiction as to each defendant based on each defendant’s own contacts with California. This Schwarzenegger, 374 F.3d at 802. Here, the jurisdictional allegations of the FAC group all 12 Northern District of California inquiry requires an analysis of each defendant’s contacts in light of plaintiffs’ claims. 11 United States District Court 10 defendants together. Plaintiffs generally allege the Court has personal jurisdiction over defendants 13 because they: (i) purchased television and radio advertising in and aired an AMS infomercial in 14 California; (ii) direct Facebook advertising to California; (iii) advertise California events on their 15 website; (iv) held events in California at which they sold their seminar products; and (iv) had 16 employees and agents living in California between 2011 and the present. (See FAC ¶¶ 58–65.) 17 Plaintiffs further allege that the claims of the 35 California residents arise out of these contacts 18 because they were “lured into the AMS events with misleading advertisements in California, and then 19 scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars each by the Defendants in this state [sic].” (Id. ¶ 66.) 20 In opposition to defendants’ Rule 12(b)(2) motion, plaintiffs for the first time attempt to 21 differentiate among the contacts made by each defendant. As to Montelongo, plaintiffs submit 22 declarations from 33 plaintiffs who attended AMS events in California that claim Montelongo was 23 “physically present” at certain California events. (Dkt. Nos. 42-2, 42-3 at ¶¶ 5–6.) The declarations 24 are not sufficient for purposes of specific personal jurisdiction. At most, they show Montelongo’s 25 presence in California and attendance at AMS events. Plaintiffs must allege how Montelongo’s 26 presence in California gave rise to their causes of action for jurisdiction to arise therefrom. Said 27 otherwise, plaintiffs must allege how Montelongo’s presence at the California events relates to their 28 own RICO claims against him. 6 1 With respect to defendants RETI, PAG, and License Branding, plaintiffs do not submit any 2 admissible evidence.3 See Section II, supra. As such, plaintiffs present only the FAC allegations 3 referring to “AMS” conduct generally. These conclusory allegations do not establish that the entity 4 defendants directed their actions to California. Plaintiffs must draw the necessary connection between 5 plaintiffs’ claims on the one hand and a particular defendant’s conduct in or directed toward 6 California on the other. Absent such a showing, plaintiffs have not met their burden. Having failed to show that defendants are independently subject to jurisdiction in California, 9 plaintiffs argue that Montelongo’s conduct may be imputed to each entity defendant through an alter 10 ego theory. Plaintiffs’ theory assumes they have shown sufficient contacts by Montelongo such that 11 imputing his contacts to the entity defendants would allow for jurisdiction over them as well. But as 12 Northern District of California 2. Alter Ego: Imputing Montelongo’s Contacts with California 8 United States District Court 7 discussed in Section III.B.1, supra, plaintiffs have not yet established jurisdiction over Montelongo. 13 Even if plaintiffs made a prima facie showing of jurisdiction over Montelongo, their alter ego 14 argument would still fail. In narrow circumstances federal courts will find that a defendant is the alter 15 ego of another by “‘pierc[ing] the corporate veil’ and attribut[ing] a subsidiary’s [contacts with] the 16 forum state to its [shareholder] for jurisdictional purposes.” Calvert v. Huckins, 875 F. Supp. 674, 17 678 (E.D. Cal. 1995). To survive a Rule 12(b)(2) motion on an alter ego theory a plaintiff must make 18 a prima facie showing that both: (1) there is a unity of interest and ownership between the 19 corporations such that their separate personalities do not actually exist, and (2) treating the 20 corporations as separate entities would result in injustice. Ranza, 793 F.3d at 1073 (quoting Doe v. 21 Unocal, 248 F.3d 915, 926 (9th Cir. 2001)). The first prong of the alter ego test requires “a showing 22 3 23 24 25 26 27 28 As discussed in Section III.C, infra, the Court recognizes that the inadmissible evidence, if included as allegations in a second amended complaint, may be sufficient to support specific jurisdiction over defendants. For example, specific jurisdiction over RETI or PAG may arise if the second amended complaint alleges that particular plaintiffs paid RETI or PAG for seminar products while residing in or attending events in California. See Yahoo! Inc. v. La Ligue Contre Le Racisme Et L’Antisemitisme, 433 F.3d 1199, 1210 (9th Cir. 2006) (“A single forum state contact can support jurisdiction if “the cause of action ... arise[s] out of that particular purposeful contact of the defendant with the forum state.”) (alterations in original) (quoting Lake, 817 F.2d at 1421). At present, plaintiffs have neither alleged nor submitted admissible evidence showing that any plaintiff paid a certain defendant for a seminar product giving rise to their claims in California. 7 1 that the parent controls the subsidiary to such a degree as to render the latter the mere instrumentality 2 of the former.” Id. (quoting AT&T Co., 94 F.3d at 591). It requires such “pervasive control” that it 3 can only be met where a parent corporation “dictates every facet of the subsidiary’s business—from 4 broad policy decisions to routine matters of day-to-day operation.” Id. Importantly, the Ninth Circuit 5 has emphasized that “[t]otal ownership and shared management personnel are alone insufficient to 6 establish the requisite level of control.” Id. (citing Harris Rutsky & Co. Ins. Servs. v. Bell & Clements 7 Ltd., 328 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). Nor can the first prong be met by only showing “an active 8 parent corporation involved directly in decision-making about its subsidiaries’ holdings” where the 9 corporations “observe all of the corporate formalities necessary to maintain corporate separateness . . . 10 .” Unocal, 248 F.3d at 928. Courts consider nine factors when assessing the first prong of the alter 11 ego test: Northern District of California United States District Court 12 13 14 15 16 [1] the commingling of funds and other assets of the entities, [2] the holding out by one entity that it is liable for the debts of the other, [3] identical equitable ownership of the entities, [4] use of the same offices and employees, [5] use of one as a mere shell or conduit for the affairs of the other, [6] inadequate capitalization, [7] disregard of corporate formalities, [8] lack of segregation of corporate records, and [9] identical directors and officers. 17 Stewart v. Screen Gems-EMI Music, Inc., 81 F. Supp. 3d 938, 954 (N.D. Cal. 2015) (quoting 18 Sandoval v. Ali, 34 F. Supp. 3d 1031, 1040 (N.D. Cal. 2014)). 19 Here, previewing plaintiffs’ evidence, it goes only to the third, fourth, and ninth factors. 20 Accepted as true, and taken it in a light most favorable to plaintiffs, the evidence shows only that 21 Montelongo owns the entity defendants, he is an officer of all entity defendants, and AMS presents 22 itself as one integrated company on its website. These conclusory allegations of ownership alone are 23 not enough for the Court to disregard the corporate form. See, e.g., Wehlage v. EmpRes Healthcare, 24 Inc., 791 F. Supp. 2d 774, 782 (N.D. Cal. 2011) (“broad allegations are not sufficient to show a unity 25 of interest and ownership”). Courts recognize that shareholders and their subsidiaries presenting 26 themselves online as one integrated organization does not rise to the level of unity of interest required 27 to show alter ego. See Moody v. Charming Shoppes of Delaware, Inc., 2008 WL 2128955, at *3 28 (N.D. Cal. May 20, 2008) (“[g]eneric language on [a company’s] website and in its press releases 8 1 simply do not rise to the day-to-day control required to impute the subsidiary’s contacts to the 2 parent”); Payoda, Inc. v. Photon Infotech, Inc., 2015 WL 4593911, at *3 (N.D. Cal. July 30, 2015) 3 (“marketing puffery carries no weight in establishing whether a parent and its subsidiary are in fact 4 alter egos”). Nor do plaintiffs connect defendants’ unified presence online to their status as alter egos 5 of one another. Thus, this evidence would be legally insufficient to satisfy the unity of interest prong 6 of the alter ego test. Rutsky, 328 F.3d at 1135 (facts showing that shareholder wholly owned 7 subsidiary, shareholder and entity shared the same officers and directors, co-employed staff, and 8 shared physical office space did not satisfy first prong of alter ego test); Stewart, 81 F. Supp. 3d at 9 956 (finding that a showing of the third, fourth, and ninth factors “even when considered together, are 10 11 not sufficient to support a finding of unity of interest among” the defendants). Moreover, plaintiffs make no proffer as to the second prong of the alter ego test. Should Northern District of California United States District Court 12 plaintiffs continue to pursue their alter ego theory, they must address why treating RETI, PAG, and 13 License Branding as entities separate from Montelongo would result in injustice. 14 15 C. Leave to Amend Leave to amend is liberally granted. Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962); Chodos v. 16 West Pub. Co., 292 F.3d 992, 1003 (9th Cir. 2002). Plaintiffs argue the inadmissible exhibits to the 17 Wimmer Declaration (i.e., Exhibits A and C) show that plaintiffs made payments to defendants RETI, 18 PAG, and License Branding for various AMS seminars and events that plaintiffs attended in 19 California. While this evidence is not admissible in its present form, the Court recognizes that 20 plaintiffs could make a prima facie showing of specific jurisdiction if properly presented. Similar 21 allegations or evidence that plaintiffs executed a contract with a particular defendant in California, 22 purchased a product from a particular defendant in California, or made a payment to a particular 23 defendant for products or services rendered in California may be sufficient. See Yahoo! Inc. v. La 24 Ligue Contre Le Racisme Et L’Antisemitisme, 433 F.3d 1199, 1210 (9th Cir. 2006) (“A single forum 25 state contact can support jurisdiction if “the cause of action ... arise[s] out of that particular purposeful 26 contact of the defendant with the forum state.”) (alterations in original) (quoting Lake, 817 F.2d at 27 1421). The Court therefore GRANTS leave to amend the jurisdictional allegations with respect to 28 plaintiffs who (i) resided in California when their claims arose, (ii) attended an AMS event giving rise 9 1 to their claims in California, or (iii) otherwise are able to allege that their own claims arise out of a 2 particular defendant’s contacts with California.4 3 One exception to this general rule of permissiveness is where amendment would be futile. 4 Foman, 371 U.S. at 182; Smith v. Pac. Props. & Dev. Corp., 358 F.3d 1097, 1101 (9th Cir. 2004). 5 Plaintiffs whose claims have no connection to California cannot, as a matter of law, establish specific 6 personal jurisdiction over defendants. Accordingly, those plaintiffs with no claim arising out of 7 defendants’ contacts with California are DENIED leave to amend. Any further amended complaint must address personal jurisdiction allegations as to each 8 9 defendant separately to make the requisite showing: (i) of each defendant’s own contacts with 10 California, (ii) that each defendant’s contacts with California are directly related to each plaintiff’s 11 claim, and/or (iii) that each entity defendant should be treated as an alter ego of Montelongo. Northern District of California United States District Court 12 IV. VENUE 13 Defendants move to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(3), arguing venue is improper in the Northern 14 District of California, and, in the alternative, to transfer the case to the Western District of Texas 15 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. section 1406(a) to promote the interests of justice. Having found that plaintiffs 16 have not yet alleged a prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction over defendants, whether this case 17 is venued here appropriately need not be reached at this juncture. The Court will address venue only 18 if plaintiffs successfully plead that defendants are personally subject to the jurisdiction of this Court. ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE UNDER SEAL 19 V. 20 Pursuant to Local Rule 79-5 plaintiffs move to file the FAC under seal such that the public 21 version of the FAC redacts the names of non-parties, including the names of: defendants’ allies 22 allegedly under criminal investigation, defendants’ accountant, and defendants’ employees and other 23 agents in California. (Dkt. No. 28.) Defendants did not object. Given the anticipated filing of a 24 second amended complaint, the Court GRANTS plaintiffs’ motion for purposes of the FAC only. 25 /// 26 27 28 4 Plaintiffs additionally request jurisdictional discovery as to which defendant entity is responsible for the advertisements directed to California. Previewing the inadmissible evidence, plaintiffs may be able to allege personal jurisdiction against defendants without this information and are granted leave to amend consistent with this Order. The Court DENIES the request as premature. 10 1 Plaintiffs shall not move to file their second amended complaint under seal. Instead, the Court 2 instructs plaintiffs to refer to these individuals in a manner that identifies them without revealing their 3 names. By way of example, the second amended complaint may refer to defendants’ employees as 4 “PAG Employee 1,” “PAG Employee 2,” and so forth. This protocol is used regularly with respect to 5 employees designated as confidential witnesses in securities cases. It allows plaintiffs to plead with 6 particularity and also insures that the operative complaint may be filed publicly. 7 VI. CONCLUSION 8 Based upon the foregoing, the Court GRANTS defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of with claims related to a defendant’s (or defendants’) contacts with California. Plaintiffs shall file a 11 second amended complaint consistent with this Order to address the issues outlined above within 12 Northern District of California personal jurisdiction (Dkt. No. 39) and DISMISSES the FAC WITH LEAVE TO AMEND as to plaintiffs 10 United States District Court 9 twenty-one (21) days of the date of this Order. Defendants’ response thereto shall be filed within 13 fourteen (14) days of the filing of plaintiffs’ second amended complaint. 14 In light of the above, the Court CONTINUES the Initial Case Management Conference currently 15 scheduled for September 12, 2016 to be held on Monday, November 14, 2016 on the Court’s 2:00 16 p.m. calendar in the Oakland Courthouse, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, California. 17 This Order terminates Docket Numbers 28, 39. 18 IT IS SO ORDERED. 19 20 21 Dated: September 9, 2016 ______________________________________ YVONNE GONZALEZ ROGERS UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 11

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