Phase II Chin, LLC et al v. Forum Shops, LLC et al

Filing 180

P h a s e II Chin, LLC et al v. Forum Shops, LLC et al

D o c . 180

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 P re se n tly before the Court is Defendants Pulse Engineering, Inc. and Technitrol, In c .'s Motion to Dismiss Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for Failure to State a Claim and, in th e Alternative, Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(e) for More Definite Statement (Doc. #30), filed o n May 9, 2007. Plaintiff filed an Opposition (Doc. #40) on May 29, 2007. Defendants f ile d a Reply (Doc. #44) on June 12, 2007. I . BACKGROUND Plaintiff Halo Electronics, Inc. is a Nevada corporation that owns by assignment s ix patents: (1) No. 5,656,985, "Electronic Surface Mount Package"; (2) No. 6,297,720, " E le c tro n ic Surface Mount Package"; (3) No. 6,297,721, "Electronic Surface Mount P a c k a g e" ; (4) No. 6,320,489, "Electronic Surface Mount Package With Extended Side R e ta in in g Wall"; (5) No. 6,344,785, "Electronic Surface Mount Package"; and (6) No. 6 ,6 6 2 ,4 3 1 , "Electronic Surface Mount Package." (Compl. at 3-4.) Plaintiff alleges D e f en d a n ts "have been and are infringing, actively inducing others to infringe, and/or v. B E L FUSE INC.; PULSE E N G IN E E R IN G , INC.; and T E C H N IT R O L , INC., Defendants. H A L O ELECTRONICS, INC., P l a in tif f , UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT D IS T R IC T OF NEVADA *** ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

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c o n trib u tin g to the infringement of the [six] patents." (Id. at 4.) Plaintiff further alleges "D ef en d an ts have been and are infringing the [six] patents with knowledge of one or more o f the patents, and thus Defendants' infringement is willful." (Id.) Plaintiff therefore re q u e s ts damages and injunctive relief. (Id. at 4-5.) D e f en d a n ts Pulse Engineering, Inc. and Technitrol, Inc. move to dismiss the C o m p la in t for failure to state a claim because the Complaint does not identify each accused p ro d u c t or process. Defendants also assert the Complaint is deficient because it does not id e n tif y each claim of each patent which the accused products allegedly infringe. Alternatively, Defendants request the Court to require Plaintiff to provide a more definite s ta te m e n t by supplying this information. Plaintiff responds that its Complaint complies w ith the pleading requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) by identifying the p a ten ts at issue by number and subject matter and attaching copies of the relevant patents to th e Complaint. II. DISCUSSION "`T o survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint generally must satisfy only the minimal notice pleading requirements of [ F e d e ra l] Rule [of Civil Procedure] 8(a)(2).'" Swartz v. KPMG LLP, 476 F.3d 756, 764 (9 th Cir. 2007) (quoting Porter v. Jones, 319 F.3d 483, 494 (9th Cir. 2003)). Federal Rule o f Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires a complaint to set forth a short and plain statement of th e claim showing the plaintiff is entitled to relief. The complaint's allegations must "`give th e defendant fair notice of what the plaintiff's claim is and the grounds upon which it re sts .'" Pickern v. Pier 1 Imports (U.S.), Inc., 457 F.3d 963, 968 (9th Cir. 2006) (S w ie rk ie w ic z v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512 (2002)). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 84 provides that the forms contained in the A p p e n d ix of Forms "are sufficient under the rules and are intended to indicate the sim p lici ty and brevity of statement which the rules contemplate." Form 16 sets forth a form 2

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c o m p la in t for patent infringement. The form complaint includes an example of allegations s u f f i c ie n t to allege patent infringement as follows: 1 . Allegation of jurisdiction. 2 . On May 16, 1934, United States Letters Patent No. ___ were duly a n d legally issued to plaintiff for an invention in an electric motor; and sin c e that date plaintiff has been and still is the owner of those Letters P a ten t. 3 . Defendant has for a long time past been and still is infringing those L e tte rs Patent by making, selling, and using electric motors embodying th e patented invention, and will continue to do so unless enjoined by th is court. 4 . Plaintiff has placed the required statutory notice on all electric m o to rs manufactured and sold by him under said Letters Patent, and h a s given written notice to defendant of his said infringement. W h e r e f o r e plaintiff demands a preliminary and final injunction against c o n tin u e d infringement, an accounting for damages, and an assessment o f interest and costs against defendant. F e d . R. Civ. P. Form 16. Plaintiff's Complaint fails to satisfy the notice pleading requirements. Plaintiff a d e q u ate ly alleges jurisdiction, identifies the patents at issue and their subject matter, and a lle g e s ownership by assignment. However, the Complaint fails to allege the manner or m e a n s by which Defendants infringe the patents, instead alleging only the legally c o n c lu s o ry allegation that Defendants "have been and are infringing" the patents, without a n y factual allegations in support. Although Plaintiff need not identify each accused p r o d u c t with specificity or do a claim by claim analysis in the Complaint, Plaintiff at least m u st allege the means by which Defendants infringe the patents at issue akin to Form 16's a lle g a tio n that the defendant has infringed the patents "by making, selling, and using e le c tric motors embodying the patented invention." Plaintiff's Complaint contains no c o m p a r a b le allegation, and as a result, the Complaint does not give Defendants fair notice o f the grounds upon which Plaintiff's infringement allegations rest. The Court therefore will grant Defendants' motion to dismiss for failure to state a c la im , with leave to amend. Plaintiff must file an amended complaint within thirty (30) d ays of the date of this Order. 3

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I I I . CONCLUSION IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendants Pulse Engineering, Inc. and T e c h n itro l, Inc.'s Motion to Dismiss Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for Failure to State a C la im and, in the Alternative, Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(e) for More Definite Statement (D o c . #30) is hereby GRANTED. Plaintiff's Complaint is hereby dismissed with leave to amend. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff must file an amended complaint w ith in thirty (30) days of the date of this Order.

D A T E D : July 26, 2007.

_______________________________ PHILIP M. PRO United States District Judge

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