Hanai

INTRODUCTION

21 In this defective vehicle action, defendant moves to dismiss plaintiffs’ fraudulent 22 concealment claim under Rule 12(c) and Rule 9(b). To the extent herein stated, defendant’s 23 motion to dismiss is GRANTED.

STATEMENT

25 Around December 20, 2017, plaintiffs Martin Hanai and Shigeru Hanai purchased a new 26 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 from a Mercedes-Benz of San Francisco (Compl. Exh. C). 27 Defendant, Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA), is the manufacturer of the vehicle here at issue. Around March 16, 2020, and April 4, 2020, plaintiffs brought the vehicle to authorized MBUSA repair facilities after noticing a bad smell coming from the air conditioning. On both occasions, plaintiffs believed that the vehicle was repaired because the service technician represented that the issue had resolved and that the car was safe to drive. However, the air conditioning continued to cause a foul odor even after the attempted repairs (Compl. ¶¶ 5, 6, 12, 16, 17). Plaintiffs allege that MBUSA knew of the defect that led to the odor but still decided to manufacture and market the vehicle. At no point during this pre-purchase…