Case Name: Michael J. OTTO, Individually, and on Behalf of Other Members of the General Public Similarly Situated, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ABBOTT LABORATORIES INC., DBA Abbott Nutrition, a Delaware corporation, Defendant-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2017-12-12
Citations: 706 F. App'x 349
Docket Number: No. 16-55394
Parties: Michael J. OTTO, Individually, and on Behalf of Other Members of the General Public Similarly Situated, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ABBOTT LABORATORIES INC., DBA Abbott Nutrition, a Delaware corporation, Defendant-Appellee.
Judges: Before: KOZINSKI, HAWKINS, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 706
Pages: 349–350

Head Matter:
Michael J. OTTO, Individually, and on Behalf of Other Members of the General Public Similarly Situated, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ABBOTT LABORATORIES INC., DBA Abbott Nutrition, a Delaware corporation, Defendant-Appellee.
No. 16-55394
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Argued and Submitted November 14, 2017 Pasadena, California
Filed December 12, 2017
Mark Philip Pifko, Attorney, Roland Karim Tellis, Esquire, Baron & Budd, P.C., Encino, CA, Sherri Ann Saucer, Attorney, Baron & Budd, P.C., Dallas, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant
Mark Charles Holscher, Esquire, Attorney, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Gregg F. Locascio, Christopher Landau, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Washington, DC, for Defendant-Appellee
Before: KOZINSKI, HAWKINS, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.
The Honorable Barrington D. Parker Jr., Senior Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, sitting by designation.

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
Michael J. Otto ("Otto") appeals the Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of his literal-falsity claim under California law. He also at tempts to appeal the class-certification rulings regarding his deception-by-omission claim.
We have jurisdiction to hear the Rule 12(b)(6) literal-falsity dismissal, but not the class-certification rulings regarding Otto's voluntary dismissal of his deception-by-omission claim. See Microsoft Corp. v. Baker, — U.S. -, 137 S.Ct. 1702, 1707, 198 L.Ed.2d 132 (2017).
The determination that Otto failed to state a claim for literal falsity was proper. Viewed collectively and in full context, the sources cited by Otto reveal that Abbott's products do help rebuild strength naturally lost over time, at least for those with normal vitamin-D levels. Otto has therefore failed to plausibly allege that Abbott's representations were literally false. See, e.g., Warren v. Fox Family Worldwide, Inc., 328 F.3d 1136, 1139 (9th Cir. 2003) ("[W]e are not required to accept as true conclusory allegations which are contradicted by documents referred to in the complaint and [w]e do not . necessarily assume the truth of legal conclusions merely because they are cast in the form of factual allegations.") (citations and quotation marks omitted); In re GNC Corp., 789 F.3d 505, 516 (4th Cir. 2015) (a representation is not literally false under the UCL and the CLRA if "the scientific evidence is equivocal").
DISMISSED IN PART AND AFFIRMED IN PART.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
. California's Unfair Competition Law ("UCL"), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq., California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act ("CLRA"), Cal. Civ. Code § 1750 et seq., and California's False Advertising Law ("FAL"), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17500 et seq.