Porsch v. LLR, Inc.
Porsch v. LLR, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
Defendants LLR, Inc. and LuLaRoe, LLC (collectively "LLR" or "Defendants") have moved to dismiss the second amended complaint ("SAC") filed by plaintiff Lauren Porsch ("Porsch" or "Plaintiff")
*422pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), Fed. R. Civ. P, and to strike the class allegations in the SAC. That motion is denied.
Background
The following facts are alleged in the SAC and are assumed to be true for the purpose of addressing this motion. LLR is a "multi-level marketing company" that sells clothing under the brand name "LuLaRoe" at wholesale prices to independent retailers ("Retailers") in all fifty states. The Retailers resell this merchandise to consumers at retail prices through social media. LLR collects and remits sales taxes for each retail purchase on behalf of its Retailers.
When a buyer and a seller reside in different states, and the seller ships the purchased goods to the buyer's state, the tax laws of the buyer's state govern the transaction. New York State exempts clothing sold for less than $ 110 from state sales tax. Certain local jurisdictions in New York also exempt clothing under $ 110 from local sales tax. This action is brought on behalf of consumers who purchased less than $ 110 of LLR merchandise from Retailers outside New York, and had those purchases shipped into New York. Plaintiff alleges that she and the class she seeks to represent were charged sales tax on these purchases -- that is, they were charged sales tax based on the tax laws of the jurisdiction in which the Retailer was located, rather than exempted from paying sales tax under the laws of New York.
In 2015, LLR implemented a point-of-sale ("POS") system called "Audrey." LLR required its Retailers to use Audrey to calculate, collect, and remit sales taxes on purchases by consumers. Audrey allowed Retailers to turn off sales tax charges when they made sales into tax-free jurisdictions. In early 2016, LLR discovered that Audrey was remitting sales taxes on each sale to the Retailer's taxing jurisdiction, even where sales tax had not been collected by the Retailer because the purchaser lived in a non-tax jurisdiction. Thus, LLR was remitting sales taxes that it had never collected and did not owe.
In April 2016, LLR reprogrammed Audrey to charge sales tax on all purchases pursuant to the tax law of the Retailer's jurisdiction, regardless of the purchaser's location. After implementing this tax policy, LLR issued a "sales tax memorandum" and a "white paper" to all of its Retailers. Porsch alleges that these memoranda incorrectly told Retailers that the new tax policy, which required that taxes be charged based on the location of the Retailer, was "proper and legal."
In 2016, the Attorneys General of Pennsylvania and Minnesota contacted LLR about the improper collection of sales tax. LLR acknowledged the problem and represented that "its software development team is currently correcting the electronic invoicing system, which will calculate sales tax based on the address of the ultimate customer." Despite these acknowledgments, LLR continued to incorrectly charge sales taxes until it implemented a new POS system in January 2017 called "Bless." The transition to Bless was not fully completed until June 1, 2017, at which point Audrey was disabled.
Porsch, a resident of New York City, made thirteen purchases through Facebook from LLR Retailers located outside New York between December 2016 and February 2017. Porsch received invoices for each of those purchases that included charges labeled "tax," adding up to a total of $ 50.63 across the thirteen purchases.
*423LLR Retailers, relying on guidance from LLR, explained to Porsch and other consumers that purchasing through Facebook was analogous to purchasing directly from the Retailer at his or her home, and that the tax laws of the Retailer's jurisdiction therefore applied. Porsch alleges that "her purchasing behavior changed" in response to LLR's practices. She alleges, for example, that she spent time and effort to identify Retailers located in low-tax jurisdictions or those that had made the switch from Audrey to Bless.
LLR never remitted any of the $ 50.63 that Porsch paid in "tax" to any New York state or municipal taxing authority. Rather, LLR remitted those funds to the taxing jurisdiction of the Retailer who was responsible for the sale. In total, LLR charged sales tax on about 104,144 transactions shipped into non-taxing jurisdictions in New York between April 2016 and June 1, 2017.
A class action challenging LLR's sales tax practices was filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania on February 17, 2017, under the caption Webster v. LLR, Inc., 2:17-cv-00225 (DSC). Porsch alleges that, prior to the commencement of the Webster action, LLR had only refunded taxes on 38 of the 2.5 million nationwide transactions on which it had improperly charged sales tax. Only one of those refunds went to a consumer located in New York. At the time the instant action was commenced, LLR had refunded $ 329,922.83 of improperly charged sales tax to New York consumers including Porsch, without interest.
On August 20, 2018, class certification was denied in the Webster action because of variation in the laws of the eleven states in which the class members were located. Thereafter, plaintiffs who were members of the Webster class filed putative class actions, including this action, in district courts around the country challenging LLR's sales tax collection practices under the laws of various states.
This action was filed on October 11, 2018. A First Amended Complaint ("FAC") was filed on November 28. Defendants moved to dismiss the FAC on December 12. On January 7, 2019, Porsch filed her Second Amended Complaint ("SAC"), thereby mooting the December 12 motion. The SAC contains two causes of action for deceptive acts and practices in violation of New York General Business Law § 349 and for conversion under New York law. Defendants renewed their motion to dismiss on January 28. That motion became fully submitted on March 14.
Discussion
I. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
LLR has moved to dismiss the SAC for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), asserting that Porsch lacks constitutional standing to sue under Article III of the United States Constitution. That motion is denied.
When moving to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, a defendant may either challenge the pleading as facially deficient, "based solely on the allegations of the complaint," or may "make a fact-based Rule 12(b)(1) motion, proffering evidence beyond the Pleading." Carter v. HealthPort Tech., LLC,
Article III vests the federal courts with jurisdiction over "cases" and "controversies." U.S. Const. art. III. In the absence of a case or controversy, a federal court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and the complaint must be dismissed pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). Thus, "[s]tanding to sue is a doctrine rooted in the traditional understanding of a case or controversy." Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, --- U.S. ----,
"To demonstrate injury in fact, a plaintiff must show the invasion of a legally protected interest that is concrete and particularized and actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical." Strubel v. Comenity Bank,
Porsch has alleged an injury in fact sufficient to satisfy the requirements of Article III Standing. It is undisputed that Porsch was fully refunded all of the sales tax that she alleges was inappropriately charged. Nonetheless, LLR's voluntary refund program does not deprive Porsch of Article III standing.
In Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, --- U.S. ----,
Moreover, temporary deprivation of money to which a plaintiff has a right constitutes a sufficient injury in fact to establish Article III standing. As the Honorable Richard Posner has observed, albeit in another context, "[e]very day that a sum of money is wrongfully withheld, its rightful owner loses the time value of the money." Habitat Educ. Ctr. v. U.S. Forest Serv.,
*425Atlantic Mut. Ins. Co. v. Commissioner,
Neither the Second Circuit nor the Supreme Court have directly addressed whether loss of the time value of money is a sufficient injury in fact to establish Article III standing. The Seventh Circuit, however, has suggested that it is. In Dieffenbach v. Barnes & Noble, Inc.,
In a case against the same defendants arising out of the same LLR refund program, a court in the District of Alaska has held that "the de minimus amount alleged lost in interest is inadequate to establish Article III standing." Van v. LLR, Inc., 3:18-cv-0197 (HRH),
LLR relies principally on two district court cases in arguing that the lost time value of money is not an adequate "injury in fact" for constitutional standing purposes. Both of those decisions, however, avoided squarely addressing this question. Taylor v. Federal Aviation Admin.,
The remaining prongs of Article III standing -- causation and redressability -- are unchallenged and are met here. Porsch therefore has Article III standing to bring this suit and this Court has subject matter jurisdiction. LLR's motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is denied.
II. Failure to State a Claim
"To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, *426accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Sierra Club v. Con-Strux, LLC,
When a party moves to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Rule 12(b)(6), Fed. R. Civ. P., a court must "constru[e] the complaint liberally, accept[ ] all factual allegations as true, and draw[ ] all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor." Coalition for Competitive Electricity, Dynergy Inc. v. Zibelman,
A. New York Tax Law Sections 1139 and 1140
LLR argues that Porsch's claims are barred by New York Tax Law Sections 1139(a) and 1140, which provides an exclusive administrative remedy for sales taxes "erroneously, illegally or unconstitutionally collected or paid."
Section 1139 of the New York Tax law establishes a procedure through which a taxpayer may seek a refund for "any tax, penalty or interest erroneously, illegally or unconstitutionally collected or paid" by application to the tax commission.
[t]he remedies provided by sections eleven hundred thirty-eight[4 ] and eleven hundred thirty-nine shall be exclusive remedies available to any person for the review of tax liability imposed by this article; and no determination or proposed determination of tax or determination on any application for refund shall be enjoined or reviewed by an action for declaratory judgment, an action for money had and received, or by any action or proceeding other than a proceeding *427under article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
Statutory interpretation "begins ... with the text of the statute." Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc. v. U.S. Food and Drug Admin.,
Courts applying Section 1140 as a bar to civil actions have observed that the collection of sales tax is a "ministerial act." See Cohen v. Hertz Corp., 13cv1205(LTS),
The cases upon which LLR relies to support its contention that Section 1139 provides the exclusive remedy for illegally or erroneously collected sales tax even where the tax was never remitted to the state are inapposite. Togut v. Forever 21, Inc.,
B. General Business Law Section 349
Section 349 of the New York General Business Law prohibits "[d]eceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any business ... or in the furnishing of any service in this state."
*428N. State Autobahn, Inc. v. Progressive Ins. Grp.,
First, LLR's alleged practice of over-charging customers under the guise of a "sales tax" was consumer-oriented. It reflects "a standard or routine practice that [could] potentially affect[ ] similarly situated consumers." N. State Autobahn, Inc.,
Second, LLR's practices are "likely to mislead a reasonable consumer" and were thus "materially misleading." Mantikas,
C. Conversion
Under New York law,
[a] conversion takes place when someone, intentionally and without authority, assumes or exercises control over personal property belonging to someone else, interfering with that person's right of possession. Two key elements of conversion are (1) plaintiff's possessory right or interest in the property and (2) defendant's dominion over the property or interference with it, in derogation of plaintiff's rights.
Colavito v. N.Y. Organ Donor Network, Inc.,
Porsch has stated a claim for conversion. She has alleged that, through deception, LLR took possession of money to which it had no right and held that money *429for a period of months, thus interfering with her right of possession.
LLR argues that it cannot be liable for conversion because it has refunded the improperly collected sales tax and because Porsch does not allege that she made a demand for return of her money. These arguments are meritless. "A claim for conversion will exist even when the deprivation is partial or temporary." Slue v. New York Univ. Med. Ctr.,
III. Motion to Strike Class Allegations
LLR has moved to strike the class allegations from the SAC pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f). Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f), courts "may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12. Rule 12(f) motions to strike are disfavored. "The function of a 12(f) motion to strike has been seen as avoiding the expenditure of time and money that must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to trial." VNB Realty, Inc. v. Bank of Am. Corp., No. 11cv6805 (DLC),
LLR's motion to strike the class allegations is based on its arguments that its refund program is a superior form of adjudication to a class action and that Porsch is an inadequate class representative. These arguments will be addressed at the time any motion for class certification is filed. LLR's motion to strike the class allegations is denied.
Conclusion
LLR's January 28 motion to dismiss and to strike class allegations is denied.
A declaration submitted by LLR in connection with this motion indicates that, according to LLR's records, it actually overcharged Porsch $ 152.60 during the class period and has refunded her that amount. For the purposes of addressing this motion, the Court will refer to the $ 50.63 number pleaded in the SAC. The precise number has no bearing on the decision of this motion.
On March 8, 2019, a Magistrate Judge in the District of Montana issued a Report and Recommendation in another related case which rejected the holding in Van and recommended that LLR's motion to dismiss for lack of Article III standing be denied. Hill v. LLR, Inc., 4:18-cv-00120-BMM-JCL, ECF no. 50.
Although some courts have considered the reach of New York's tax law a jurisdictional issue to be analyzed under Rule 12(b)(1), see, e.g. Estler v. Dunkin' Brands, Inc., 16cv932(LGS),
Section 1138 of the New York Tax Law deals with determination of tax.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Lauren PORSCH, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. LLR, INC. d/b/a/ LuLaRoe, and LuLaRoe, LLC
- Cited By
- 28 cases
- Status
- Published