Kearns v. Ford Motor Company
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
567 F.3d 1120 (2009)
Ford Motor Company (defendant) marketed vehicles under its Certified Pre-Owned program, claiming they underwent rigorous inspection to certify superior safety, reliability, and road-worthiness compared to ordinary used cars, and sold them at a price premium. William Kearns (plaintiff) brought a state-law class action alleging Ford knowingly made false and misleading safety and reliability claims with intent to induce reliance and defraud consumers. Kearns argued Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b)'s requirement that fraud be pleaded with particularity shouldn't apply because his claims arose under state law, some claims weren't fraud-based, and the complaint should be evaluated under state pleading law instead. The trial court dismissed the complaint, and Kearns appealed.
Whether the requirement in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) that allegations of fraud be pleaded with particularity applies to claims made in federal court under state law.