Blaszkowski et al v. Mars Inc. et al

Filing 202

MOTION to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction 156 Amended Complaint, by Meijer Inc.. Responses due by 10/4/2007 (Attachments: # 1)(Joffe, Jason)

Blaszkowski et al v. Mars Inc. et al

Doc. 202

Case 1:07-cv-21221-CMA

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA MIAMI DIVISION CASE NO. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF RENEE BLASZKOWSKI, AMY HOLLUM, PATRICIA DAVIS, SUSAN PETERS, DEBORAH HOCK, MIKE FLOYD, BETH WILSON, CLAIRE KOTZAMPALTIRIS, DONNA HOPKINS-JONES, NICOLE PIAZZA, MARIAN LUPO, JANE HERRING, JO-ANN MURPHY, STEPHANIE STONE, PATRICIA HANRAHAN, DEBBIE RICE, ANN QUINN, SHARON MATHIESEN, SANDY SHORE, CAROLYN WHITE, LOU WIGGINS, MICHELLE LUCARELLI, RAUL ISERN, DANIELE VALORAS, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs/Class Representatives, vs. MARS, INC., MARS PETCARE US, INC., PROCTOR AND GAMBLE, CO., THE IAMS CO., COLGATE PALMOLIVE COMPANY, HILL'S PET NUTRITION, DEL MONTE FOODS, CO., NESTLE USA INC., NESTLE PURINA PETCARE CO., NESTLE S.A., NUTRO PRODUCTS INC., MENU FOODS, INC., MENU FOODS INCOME FUND, DOANE PET CARE ENTERPRISES, INC., PUBLIX SUPERMARKETS, INC., NEW ALBERTSON'S INC., ALBERTSON'S LLC, THE KROGER CO. OF OHIO, SAFEWAY INC., H. E. BUTT GROCERY COMPANY, MEIJER INC., MEIJER SUPER MARKETS, INC., THE STOP & SHOP SUPERMARKET COMPANY, PETCO ANIMAL SUPPLIES STORES, INC., PET SUPERMARKET, INC., PET SUPPLIES "PLUS," PET SUPPLIES PLUS/USA INC., PETSMART INC., TARGET CORP., WAL-MART STORES, INC., Defendants. ___________________________________________________/ DEFENDANT MEIJER, INC.'S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION

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CASE NO. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF Defendant Meijer, Inc. files this Motion to Dismiss the Corrected Amended Class Action Complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) for lack of personal jurisdiction. In support, Meijer, Inc. states: 1. As this Court is aware, the plaintiffs have filed a putative class-action (corrected

amended) complaint against twenty-six defendants that makes various allegations concerning the manufacturing and marketing practices of the entire pet food industry in the United States. The core of the plaintiffs' attack is the claim that the commercial pet food industry advertises its dog and cat food products as healthy and nutritious without disclosing allegedly harmful ingredients. 2. The plaintiffs, however, do not allege that any one of them purchased food sold or

manufactured by Meijer, Inc. in the State of Florida. 3. 4. The plaintiffs do not allege that Meijer, Inc. ever advertised in Florida.1 The plaintiffs' Corrected Amended Class Action Complaint includes only one

specific allegation as to Meijer, Inc. and an entity they have named "Meijer Supermarkets, Inc.", which has now been dismissed: Defendant, Meijer Inc., is a Michigan corporation with its principal place of business in Grand Rapids, Michigan2 and Defendant Meijer Supermarkets, Inc., is a Michigan corporation with its principal place of business in Grand Rapids, Michigan (collectively "Meijer"). Meijer is in the business of manufacturing, producing, distributing, advertising and/or selling Defendant pet food products. Meijer markets and sells the Defendant Manufacturers' brands of commercial pet food in its grocery stores in Michigan and other states. Meijer adopts the marketing representations of the Defendant Manufacturers by placing point of purchase advertising at or near the Defendant Manufacturers [sic] pet food in its retail stores. Meijer markets and advertises its commercial pet food with the intent to induce consumers to purchase its products. (See Corrected Amended Class Action Complaint at ¶ 46.) 5.
1

In fact, Meijer, Inc.:

Subject to this motion, Meijer joins in the comprehensive motion to dismiss submitted by all defendants under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6).
2

See Exhibit A at ¶ 3 (confirming allegation). 2

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CASE NO. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF

a. does not own or operate any grocery stores in Florida; b. is not qualified to do business in Florida; c. does not have a principal place of business in Florida; d. does not have any offices or agents in Florida; e. does not own or lease tangible personal or real property in Florida; f. does not have a telephone listing, bank account or mailing address in Florida; and g. at all times relevant to the allegations in the action, did not engage in any advertisement, marketing or sale of pet food or other products from retail stores located in the State of Florida. (See Exhibit A, affidavit of Robert VerHeulen ("Verheulen Aff.") at ¶¶ 4-7.) 6. "Meijer SuperMarkets, Inc." does not exist as a legal entity. (VerHeulen Aff. at ¶ 8.) MEMORANDUM OF LAW Meijer, Inc. adopts and incorporates by reference the Motion to Dismiss filed by the Defendant H.E. Butt Grocery Company ("HEB"), as the analysis in HEB's Motion to Dismiss applies equally here. As shown, Meijer, Inc. has no contacts, and has had no contact, with the State of Florida. It meets none of the requirements of Florida's long-arm statute. Fla. Stat. § 48.193. The plaintiffs' operative pleading in this action also fails to satisfy the

requirements of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. WHEREFORE, Meijer, Inc. respectfully requests that the Court dismiss the plaintiffs' Corrected Amended Class Action Complaint as to Meijer, Inc. for lack of personal jurisdiction.

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CASE NO. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF Dated: September 20, 2007 Respectfully submitted, SQUIRE SANDERS & DEMPSEY, LLP 200 South Biscayne Boulevard Suite 4000 Miami, FL 33131 Phone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-577-7001 Email: [e-mail] By: _/s/ Jason Joffe____________ Jason Joffe Florida Bar No. 0013564 Attorneys for Defendant Meijer, Inc.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on this 20th day of September 2007, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of Court by using the CM/ECF system which will send a notice of electronic filing to all counsel of record identified on the attached Service List. /s/ Jason Joffe Jason Joffe

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE RENEE BLASZKOWSKI, ETC., ET AL., VS. MARS, INC., et al. Case No. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF SERVICE LIST Catherine J. MacIvor [e-mail] Jeffrey Eric Foreman [e-mail] Jeffrey Bradford Maltzman [e-mail] Darren W. Friedman [e-mail] MALTZMAN FOREMAN PA 2 S Biscayne Boulevard Suite 2300 One Biscayne Tower Miami, FL 33131-1803 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-374-9077 Attorneys for Plaintiffs Robin Lea Hanger [e-mail] SQUIRE, SANDERS & DEMPSEY L.L.P. 200 S. Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 4000 Miami, Florida 33131 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-577-7001 Attorneys for Defendant PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. John B.T. Murray, Jr. [e-mail] SQUIRE, SANDERS & DEMPSEY L.L.P. 1900 Phillips Point West Palm Beach 777 South Flagler Drive West Palm Beach, Florida 33480 John B.T. Murray, Jr., Esquire Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 561-655-1509 Attorneys for Defendant PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

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CASE NO. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF Gary L. Justice [e-mail] Charles Abbott [e-mail] Gail E. Lees [e-mail] William Edward Wegner [e-mail] GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP 333 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 4600 Los Angeles, CA 90071 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 213-229-6163 Adriana Riviere-Badell [e-mail] Marty Steinberg [e-mail] HUNTON & WILLIAMS, LLP Mellon Financial Center 1111 Brickell Avenue Suite 2500 Miami, Florida 33131 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-810-2460 Attorneys for Nutro Products, Inc. Kathleen S. Phang [e-mail] Charles Philip Flick [e-mail] SEIPP, FLICK & KISSANE Two Alhambra Plaza, Suite 800 Miami, FL 33134-5241 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-995-6100 Attorneys for Target Corp. Hugh J. Turner, Jr. [e-mail] AKERMAN SENTERFITT & EIDSON 350 E Las Olas Boulevard Suite 1600 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301-0006 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 954-463-2224 Attorneys for Publix Supermarkets, Inc. Alan Graham Greer [e-mail] RICHMAN GREER WEIL BRUMBAUGH MIRABITO & CHRISTENSEN Miami Center, Tenth Floor 201 South Biscayne Boulevard Miami, FL 33131 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-373-4099 D. Jeffery Ireland [e-mail] Laura A. Sanom [e-mail] Brian D. Wright [e-mail] FAUKI IRELAND & COX P.L.L. 500 Courthouse Plaza, S.W. 10 North Ludlow Street Dayton, OH 45402 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 937-227-3717 Attorneys for Proctor & Gamble Co.

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CASE NO. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF Omar Ortega [e-mail] DORTA AND ORTEGA P.A. 800 S. Douglas Road, Suite 149 Coral Gables, FL 33134 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-461-5226 Philip A. Sechler [e-mail] Patrick J. Houlihan [e-mail] Dane H. Butswinkas [e-mail] Christopher M. DAngelo [e-mail] Thomas G. Hentoff [e-mail] Dane H. Butsinkas [e-mail] WILLIAMS & CONNOLLY LLP 725 12th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 202-434-5029 Attorneys for Mars, Inc. Sherril M. Colombo [e-mail] COZEN O'CONNOR Wachovia Financial Center 200 South Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 4410 Miami, FL 33131-2303 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-704-5955 Richard Fama [e-mail] John J. McDonough [e-mail] COZEN O'CONNOR 16th Floor, 45 Broadway New York, New York 10006 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 212-509-9492 John F. Mullen [e-mail] 1900 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 215-665-2013 Attorneys for Del Monte Foods, Co.

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CASE NO. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF Alexander Shaknes [e-mail] Amy W. Schulman [e-mail] DLA PIPER LLP 1251 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 212-335-4501 Lonnie L. Simpson [e-mail] S. Douglas Knox [e-mail] 101 East Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 2000 Tampa, Florida 33602 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 813-229-1447 William C. Martin [e-mail] 203 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1900 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 312-236-7516 Attorneys for Menu Foods, Inc. and Menu Foods Income Fund Steve Busey [e-mail] SMITH HULSEY & BUSEY 225 Water Street, Suite 1800 Jacksonville, FL 32202 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 904-353-9908 Attorneys for Winn Dixie Stores, Inc.

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CASE NO. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF John J. Kuster [e-mail] James D. Arden [e-mail] Kara L. McCall [e-mail] SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP 787 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10019 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 212-839-5599 Benjamine Reid [e-mail] Olga M. Vieira [e-mail] CARLTON FIELDS, P.A. 100 S.E. Second Street, Suite 4000 Bank of America Tower at International Place Miami, Florida 33131-9101 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-530-0055 Attorneys for Colgate-Palmolive Company Carol A. Licko [e-mail] HOGAN & HARTSON LLP Mellon Financial Center 1111 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1900 Miami, FL 33131 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-459-6550 Robert Troyer [e-mail] HOGAN & HARTSON LLP One Tabor Center, Suite 1500 1200 Seventeenth Street Denver, CO 80202 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 303-899-7333 Craig A. Hoover [e-mail] Miranda L. Berge [e-mail] HOGAN & HARTSON LLP 555 Thirteenth Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20004 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 202-637-5910 Attorneys for Nestle U.S.A., Inc.

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CASE NO. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF Rolando Andres Diaz [e-mail] Cassidy Yen Dang [e-mail] Maria Kayanan [e-mail] KUBICKI DRAPER 25 W. Flagler Street, Penthouse Miami, FL 33130-1712 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-374-7846 Attorneys for Pet Supermarket, Inc. James K. Reuss [e-mail] LANE ALTON & HORST, LLC Two Miranova Place Suite 500 Columbus, Ohio 43215 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 614-228-0146 C. Richard Fulmer, Jr. FULMER LEROY ALBEE BAUMANN & GLASS, PLC 2866 East Oakland Park Boulevard Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33306 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 954-707-4431 Attorneys for The Kroger Co. Robert Valadez [e-mail] Javier Thomas Duran [e-mail] SHELTON & VALADEZ, P.C. 600 Navarro, Suite 500 San Antonio, Texas 78205 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 210-349-3666

Ralph G. Patino [e-mail] Dominick V. Tamarazzo [e-mail] Carlos B. Salup [e-mail] PATINO & ASSOCIATES, P.A. 225 Alcazar Avenue Coral Gables, Florida 33134 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-443-5635

Attorneys for Pet Supplies " Plus " and Pet Attorneys for H.E. Butt Grocery Co. Supplies Plus/USA, Inc.

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CASE NO. 07-21221-CIV-ALTONAGA/TURNOFF

W. Randolph Teslik [e-mail] Andrew Dober [e-mail] AKIN GUMP STAUSS HAUER & FELD 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20036 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 202-887-4288 Daniel S. Day [e-mail] SUPERVALU--LEGAL DEPARTMENT 250 Parkcenter Boulevard Boise, Idaho 83726 Telephone: [phone] Attorneys for New Albertson's Inc., and Albertson's LLC

Marcus D. Jimenez [e-mail] KENNY NACHWALTER, P.A. 1100 Miami Center 201 South Biscayne Boulevard Miami, Florida 33131 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 305-372-1861 Attorneys for Safeway, Inc. and The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company

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