Flowers Mill Veterinary Hospital, Inc., individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Summus Medical Laser, LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee grants in part a motion to dismiss claims arising from the alleged sale of a counterfeit K-Laser therapy device. The court dismisses the breach-of-contract, unjust enrichment, and Tennessee Consumer Protection Act claims, while allowing the fraud claim to proceed. The court denies the motion to strike the class allegations.

Holdings

1. Flowers Mill failed to plausibly allege that it was an intended third-party beneficiary and therefore could not enforce the contract.
2. Flowers Mill's unjust-enrichment claim failed because it did not plead that it exhausted its remedies against Patterson or that exhaustion would be futile.
3. The TCPA claim was barred because Flowers Mill sued more than five years after the November 2018 consumer transaction.
4. The motion to strike the class allegations was denied.
5. The fraud claim survived because Summus did not challenge it in the motion to dismiss.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Flowers Mill plausibly alleged that it was an intended third-party beneficiary of the distribution contract between Summus and Patterson.
2. Whether Flowers Mill was required to plead exhaustion of remedies against Patterson or futility before asserting unjust enrichment against Summus.
3. Whether the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act's five-year statute of repose barred the claim arising from the November 2018 transaction.
4. Whether the class allegations should be stricken because the underlying claims were subject to dismissal and Flowers Mill lacked standing.

Disposition

other