Left Field Holdings v. Google LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

LEFT FIELD HOLDINGS, et al., Case No. 22-cv-01462-VC

Plaintiffs,

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO

v. DISMISS

GOOGLE LLC, Re: Dkt. No. 44 Defendant.

The plaintiffs in this case don’t like how Google facilitates online orders from their restaurants. They try to articulate claims for trademark infringement, counterfeiting, false association, and false advertising. They don’t succeed, especially considering Rule 9(b)’s heightened pleading requirements for claims sounding in fraud.1 One of the plaintiffs’ theories is that the “Order Online” or “Order Delivery” button is misleading by itself because it is near the restaurant’s name and is surrounded by links that would otherwise “directly connect the consumer to the restaurant.” Dkt. No. 41 at 14–15. It is true that the “Website” and “Call” links would do so. Whether a “Directions” link connects someone directly to a destination is debatable. But in any case, an equally prominent button allows the user to save the restaurant within their Google account to find later. There is also a star rating and a blue link to “Google…