‘Unlikely’ False-Ad Claims vs. Belkin Will Be Entirely Dismissed: Report

Plaintiff Dennis Gromov thinks discovery in his false-advertising class action against Belkin should proceed immediately, said a joint status report Wednesday (docket 1:22-cv-06918) in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois in Chicago. Gromov alleges Belkin advertised power banks for mobile devices in a deceptive manner and the chargers don’t deliver the volume of power promised on its packaging and marketing materials. Belkin moved to dismiss Gromov’s complaint in its entirety without leave to amend because he didn't identify a misleading or deceptive act. Gromov’s response to the motion to dismiss is due Friday (see 2302060002). Even if Gromov’s claims are partially dismissed based on the pending motion, it’s unlikely the complaint will be dismissed in its entirety, said the status report. Two other cases in the Northern District of Illinois alleging “substantially similar claims” survived motions to dismiss, it said. Gromov believes that after the completion of fact discovery, “expert reports and discovery should pertain to the anticipated motion for class certification, with additional final expert reports and discovery to be completed after a ruling on the motion for class certification,” it said. Amid Belkin’s pending motion to dismiss, the defendant suggests waiting until the court has ruled on that motion before setting discovery deadlines, said the report. Belkin proposes the sides submit another joint status report within 14 days after that ruling, and that it should propose discovery deadlines, it said. Belkin disagrees that expert reports should be limited to class certification issues, it said. Gromov demanded a jury trial, and the parties estimate a trial would last five to seven days, it said. The parties participated in voluntary mediation, but it was unsuccessful, said the report. They don’t think additional settlement talks “would be productive at this time,” it said.