Christiansen v. Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Background

Kim Christiansen alleged that she suffered personal injury from using Cottonelle Flushable Wipes purchased from Target on October 8, 2020. She asserted claims for strict products liability, negligence, and breach of warranty against Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Target.

The defendants separately moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). That rule allows dismissal when a complaint does not allege enough facts to present a legally plausible claim for relief.

Court’s Analysis

The court explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 requires a complaint to provide a short and plain statement showing that the plaintiff is entitled to relief. A complaint cannot merely recite the elements of a cause of action; it must allege enough underlying facts to give the defendants fair notice and allow them to defend themselves.

The court found Christiansen’s negligence allegations insufficient because they stated essentially that she bought the product and that it caused personal injuries, without providing additional supporting facts. The court also found that her strict-products-liability allegations were a formulaic recitation of legal elements and did not identify sufficient underlying facts. Finally, the court found that Christiansen alleged no facts supporting her breach-of-warranty claim.

Disposition

The court granted Target’s motion to dismiss and granted Kimberly-Clark’s motion to dismiss. It also granted Christiansen leave to amend under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2). The court stated that any amended complaint should allege the underlying facts for each claim, including whether and how Christiansen used the product, what legal duties the defendants breached, and what injuries resulted. The amended complaint was due within 21 days of the order. If Christiansen did not file one by that deadline, the court stated that it would dismiss the case with prejudice.