Kearns

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Kearns brought this diversity class action for himself and those similarly situated (collectively “Kearns”), claiming that Ford Motor Company and its dealerships (collectively “Ford”) acted illegally to increase sales of their Certified Pre- Owned (“CPO”) vehicles, in violation of the CLRA and UCL. The district court dismissed Kearns’s TAC for failure to plead fraud with particularity as required by Rule 9(b) and granted Ford’s request to strike the first footnote of Kearns’s TAC.

Ford offers potential buyers three classifications of cars to purchase—new, used, and CPO. CPO vehicles are late model used vehicles, which Ford purports to put through a rigorous inspection process in order to certify that the vehicle’s safety, reliability, and road-worthiness surpass non-certified used vehicles. Ford advertises and markets these CPO vehicles to purchasers at a premium (above that charged for ordinary used cars).

Ford Motor Company markets and sells the CPO program to its dealerships as a way of repackaging its used car inven- tory while increasing their profit margin. Ford Motor Com- pany then charges each dealership (1) an annual fee for the…