HP Moves to Dismiss LD Products’ Countersuit

HP recently filed a motion to dismiss LD Products’ countersuit against it. In that lawsuit, LD Products accused HP of false advertising about the environmental benefits, quality, and reliability of remanufactured cartridges.

HP now asserts that the facts in LD’s counterclaim are insufficient to support its claim of false advertising. HP’s lawyers assert, “LD does not allege any facts. However, it charges that HP’s statements are false or misleading and, therefore, its Counterclaim fails as a matter of law.”

In its supporting statements, HP alleges that it notified LD by letter in February 2011, “that it was selling cloned cartridges that were ‘described as remanufactured cartridges’.”

LD indicated in a statement to Actionable Intelligence that the packaging for these compatible cartridges was not “mislabeled as remanufactured.” Instead, CEO Aaron Leon claims, several cartridges LD sells were mistakenly mislabeled on its websites and it had resolved this mistake.

HP says it does not agree that LD’s conduct was merely a mistake “as sales of cloned cartridges, described as remanufactured cartridges, continued after HP contacted LD about the issue.”

HP requests that LD’s claims must satisfy a heightened pleadings standard. Under this standard, says HP, LD must provide specifics about the false representations and explain what is false or misleading about the statements. LD has not done so, HP added.

Thus, HP is asking the court to dismiss LD’s claim. A hearing on this motion is scheduled for July 26, 2013. A response from LD is due early next month and will then be available for examination.