Motivo Engineering, LLC v. Black Gold Farms

I. INTRODUCTION

Presently before the Court is plaintiffs partial motion to dismiss defendant’s first amended counterclaim. The Court finds that plaintiff's motion is appropriate for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 78: C.D. Cal. L-R. 7-15. Accordingly, the matter is hereby taken under submission. On February 14, 2022, plaintiff Motivo Engineering, LLC filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against defendant Black Gold Farms (“BFG’’) and Does 1-25 for (1) breach of contract; and (2) restitution/unjust enrichment. Dkt. 1-1 (“Compl.”). Plaintiff is an end-to-end product design and engineering firm that builds robotic automation equipment in the agricultural industry. Id. 1, 2. Defendant is a North Dakota cooperative association whose farming operations date back to 1928. Dkt. 12 4 6. The dispute in this case arises from the joint development of an automated sweet potato transplanter (the “Project”) by plaintiff and defendant. Compl. § 2. The transplanter is a smart robotic implement that can transplant potatoes when pulled behind machinery. Id. Plaintiff alleges that during the phase of the Project that called for production of a…