Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Another False Marking Case Bites The Dust

False Marking Case Dismissed With Prejudice for Failure to State a Claim under Rule 12(b)(6)

In Shizzle Pop, LLC v. Aviva Sports, Inc. et al., Judge Klausner dismissed Shizzle Pop’s claims for false patent marking, with prejudice. 10-CV-02574 (C.D. Cal., Order dated Nov. 3, 2010. D.I. 54).  Following a first successful motion to dismiss, the plaintiff was given leave to amend its complaint to plead facts that would “state with particularity the ‘intent to deceive’ element of Section 292.” Order at 1. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint, which had a number of generalized allegations based on “information and belief.” Ruling on defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint, the court found that “plaintiff has lengthened its conclusory statements, but still fails to allege any facts or information that supports its ‘beliefs.’” Order at 4. The court further found that the complaint
“…contains no information supporting the belief that Defendants were acting with an intent to deceive. Further factual detail is needed to survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 9(b). For this reason, the Court grants Defendant’s motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim with prejudice.”  Order at 4.

Congratulations to my Dorsey partner Tom Vitt and his team for a job well done!