Judge James L. Robart, of the Western District of Washington, denied defendant’s motion to dismiss. The Court hound that the alleged Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) violations were not pre-empted by CAN-SPAM.
Background: Plaintiff Harrison Ma alleged Nike violated CEMA by sending marketing emails with subject lines stating that sales would expire on specific dates. According to the complaint, Nike later extended the same promotions beyond the advertised deadlines. Ma asserted CEMA and Consumer Protection Act claims based on the allegedly misleading subject lines.
Analysis: The court denied Nike’s motion to dismiss. It held that CEMA’s prohibition on false or misleading subject lines falls within CAN-SPAM’s savings clause for state laws targeting “falsity or deception” and therefore is not preempted. The court rejected Nike’s argument that the savings clause applies only to claims equivalent to common-law fraud. The court also found the complaint adequately pleaded the allegedly misleading emails under Rule 9(b) by identifying specific emails, dates, subject lines, and the reasons they were allegedly false.
Ma v. Nike, Inc., 816 F. Supp. 3d 1227 (W.D. Wash. 2026).
