United States Ex Rel. Huangyan Import & Export Corp. v. Nature's Farm Products, Inc.

ORDER

This is a suit by the United States (the qui tam relator has been dismissed) under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 USC § 3729 et seq, and the common law against an importer of canned mushrooms and its affiliates. Following various settlements, only the importer, Nature’s Farm Products (NFP) and its officers (collectively, the “NFP defendants”) remain in this suit. The United States alleges that defendants conspired to and did evade customs duties on their imports by falsifying their products’ country of origin. The NFP defendants move pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6) to dismiss the FCA causes of action for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, advancing purely legal arguments about the reach of the FCA. Doc # 13 (motion to dismiss FCA conspiracy claim); Doc # 22 (motion to dismiss FCA substantive claim). The court sua sponte raised the question of its subject matter jurisdiction in light of United States v. Universal Fruits & Vegetables, 370 F.3d 829 (9th Cir.2004). For the reasons that follow, the court concludes that it has jurisdiction over, this case, GRANTS the NFP defendants’ motion to dismiss the FCA conspiracy claim and DENIES the NFP defendants’ motion…