Cook, Perkiss And Liehe, Inc. v. Northern California Collection Service Inc.

911 F.2d 242 59 USLW 2152 , 15 U.S.P.Q.2d 1894 COOK, PERKISS AND LIEHE, INC., and David J. Cook, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COLLECTION SERVICE INC.; Sacramento Valley Board of Trade Inc.; Lawrence H. Cassidy, Defendants-Appellees. No. 88-15447. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Oct. 5, 1989. Decided Aug. 10, 1990. David J. Cook, Cook, Perkiss & Liehe, San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellants. Harold B. Auerback, San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before WALLACE, PREGERSON and ALARCON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: 1 Appellant Cook, Perkiss & Liehe appeals the decision of a United States Magistrate acting pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 636 (c) granting appellees' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim for false advertising under section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1125 (a). We agree with the magistrate that Cook's complaint does not state a claim for relief under the Lanham Act because, as a matter of law, the alleged misrepresentations contained in the appellees' advertisement are merely "puffery." We…