Opinion ID: 625108
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Partial Summary Judgment for False Advertising

Text: We first consider whether the district court erred in granting partial summary judgment to Skydive Arizona on its false advertising claim. There are five elements to a false advertising claim under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act: (1) a false statement of fact by the defendant in a commercial advertisement about its own or another's product; (2) the statement actually deceived or has the tendency to deceive a substantial segment of its audience; (3) the deception is material, in that it is likely to influence the purchasing decision; (4) the defendant caused its false statement to enter interstate commerce; and (5) the plaintiff has been or is likely to be injured as a result of the false statement, either by direct diversion of sales from itself to defendant or by a lessening of the goodwill associated with its products. 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(B); Southland Sod Farms v. Stover Seed Co., 108 F.3d 1134, 1139 (9th Cir.1997). Although materiality in false advertising claims is typically proven through consumer surveys, nothing in the Lanham Act, nor under our precedents, requires a plaintiff to use such surveys. Southland Sod Farms, 108 F.3d at 1140. On appeal, SKYRIDE disputes only the district court's materiality finding. Specifically, SKYRIDE contends that the district court erred in granting partial summary judgment to Skydive Arizona on its false advertising claims because the evidence admitted on materiality, namely the declaration of consumer James Flynn, was ambiguous. We disagree. In granting partial summary judgment to Skydive Arizona, the district court found that the Flynn declaration constituted direct evidence that SKYRIDE's statements were likely to influence consumers' purchasing decisions. In his declaration, Flynn stated that he had personally bought SKYRIDE certificates based on the SKYRIDE's online representations and advertisements that he could redeem the certificates at Skydive Arizona. Based upon Flynn's declaration, the district court held that SKYRIDE's advertisements contained material false statements indicating SKYRIDE had skydiving facilities in the locations advertised when in fact they did not, or alternatively, that consumers could redeem [SKYRIDE's] certificates at locations where they in fact could not. Skydive Arizona's decision to proffer declaration testimony instead of consumer surveys to prove materiality does not undermine its motion for partial summary judgment. Although a consumer survey could also have proven materiality in this case, we decline to hold that it was the only way to prove materiality. Indeed, as we held in Southland Sod, consumer surveys tend to be most powerful when used in dealing with deceptive advertising that is literally true but misleading. 108 F.3d at 1140. Here, Defendants' advertisements were both misleading and false. Flynn's declaration proved that consumers had been actually confused by SKYRIDE's websites and advertising representations. The district court's materiality finding was further supported by Skydive Arizona's evidence of numerous consumers who telephoned or came to Skydive Arizona's facility after having been deceived into believing there was an affiliation between Skydive Arizona and SKYRIDE. Accordingly, we hold that the district court did not err in finding materiality based upon Flynn's declaration, and evidence from other consumers, and we affirm the district court's grant of partial summary judgment.