Nippon Sigmax Co., Ltd. v. Kranos Corporation, Inc.
Opinion
trial_court Opinion
I. Background
This a civil procedure case in contract law’s clothing. Specifically, the Court must determine whether the heightened pleading standards Twombly and Iqbal announced apply to an affirmative defenses pled in an answer.
CIVIL MINUTES – GENERAL
Case No. 8:21-CV-00375-DOC-ADS Date: June 25, 2021
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A. Facts
Plaintiffs Nippon Sigmax Co. Ltd. and its wholly owned subsidiary Nippon Sigmax design, manufacture, sale, and export supports, braces, icing products, insoles, and other related support devices for athletes marketed under the name ZAMST. Complaint (“Compl.”) ¶¶ 1-8.
On or about October 3, 2018, Sigmax entered into a distribution agreement (the “Agreement”) with Defendant Kranos Corporation, Inc. dba “Schutt Sports,” (“Kranos”). Id. ¶ 3. Robert Erb, also a named Defendant, was at all relevant times Kranos’s CEO. (Collectively, Kranos and Erb are called “Defendants”) Id. ¶ 4. The Agreement made Kranos the exclusive dealer of ZAMST products in North America, and Kranos agreed to pay Plaintiff the wholesale price of the ZAMST products it sold. Id. ¶ 12.