Bales

INTRODUCTION

17 In this defective product action, defendant moves to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) and 18 moves to strike under Rule 12(f). For the following reasons, the motion to dismiss is DENIED 19 and the motion to strike is DENIED in part and GRANTED in part. 20

STATEMENT

21 In November 2013, plaintiff James Bales bought his 2013 RAM 1500 pickup truck from 22 a dealer authorized by defendant Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US LLC (FCA). In May 2014, he 23 took it to an FCA authorized repair facility to fix a warning light on the dashboard. In July 2015 24 and January 2016, the pickup truck’s airbag light lit up, so Bales took it back to the repair 25 facility. In August 2017, the airbag light lit up again and the pickup truck appeared to be stuck 26 in fourth gear in “limp mode.” After each visit, Bales reasonably believed that the facility had 27 repaired the issue because the service manager or repair technician stated that his pickup truck 28 1 was operating normally and safe to drive. In February 2018, the airbag light came on yet again 2 along with the check engine light. After bringing it to the repair facility for the fifth time, Bales 3 allegedly learned of a…