New Ninth Circuit UCL/CLRA pleading decision: Kearns v. Ford Motor Co.

In Kearns v. Ford Motor Co., 567 F.3d 1120 (9th Cir. Jun. 8, 2009), the Ninth Circuit held that "the heightened pleadings standards of Rule 9(b)" applied to UCL and CLRA claims that were "grounded in fraud." 

In a recent post-Tobacco decision, a federal district court followed Kearns but determined that the complaint's allegations satisfied the heightened pleading standard because they "sufficiently identified 'the circumstances constituting fraud so that the defendant can prepare an adequate answer from the allegations.'" Germain v. J.C. Penney Co., 2009 WL 1971336, *3-*5 (C.D. Cal. Jul. 06, 2009) (quoting Walling v. Beverly Enterprises, 476 F.2d 393, 397 (9th Cir.1973)).