While this is technically a 'filter failure', I would say it's not so much a defect in the filter, as it is the result of damage at the hands of the consumer segment.
Lots of people are quick to point out that the dent itself is small, but these people seem to be missing the point that the internal damage resulting from the drop is likely far worse than the dent would reveal.
Since the dent is on the top of the filter, it would have fallen top-down. Given the weight of the overall filter and the average height at which I see the Fram Ultras stocked on store shelves, the actual impact force would have been fairly substantial, and the spring would have bore the brunt of it, which would have compromised it quite a bit.
Drop one of these on your foot, and tell me if you think there was a lot of impact force on that spring.