UPDATE: On August 25, 2011, the California Senate Judiciary Committee voted to pass Assembly Bill 1219, which will allow gas stations to collect zip codes from customers in certain instances. Before doing so, however, the Committee amended the bill to include an urgency clause. According to the amendment, the “immediate implementation of this statute will prevent… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Retail
Subscribe to Retail RSS FeedHartford Denies Coverage for Song-Beverly Claims
Posted in Class Action, Coverage, Credit Card Transaction, Insurance, Privacy Legislation, RetailThe Hartford Fire Insurance Company has filed at least two suits against insureds seeking a declaration that CGL policies it issued do not provide coverage for Song-Beverly claims filed in the wake of the Pineda decision. Hartford filed suits in Illinois federal court against Euromarket Designs, Inc. (a/k/a Crate & Barrel) and in New Jersey federal… Continue Reading
Michaels Moves to Dismiss Massachusetts Pineda-Like Suit
Posted in Credit Card Transaction, Privacy Legislation, RetailAs we previously reported, a Michaels customer filed a Pineda-like suit in Massachusetts federal court alleging that the collection of zip codes by the arts and crafts retailer violated the Massachusetts Unfair Trade Practices Act. Late last month, Michaels moved to dismiss the complaint. Although plaintiff’s allegations are based on Pineda and specifically refer to… Continue Reading
The Pineda Storm Travels East
Posted in Class Action, Privacy, RetailMassachusetts is now poised to become the second state to consider whether retailers who request and store zip codes during the course of a credit card transaction violate a consumer privacy statute. A complaint entitled Tyler v Michaels Stores, Inc. was filed May 23, 2011 in the federal court for the District of Massachusetts. Plaintiff, who seeks… Continue Reading
Retailers (and their Insurers) Dealt Another Blow in California
Posted in Class Action, Credit Card Transaction, Privacy Legislation, RetailRetailers were dealt a blow in February when the California Supreme Court ruled in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. that a zip code constitutes “personal identifciation information” under the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971, thus prohibiting retailers from requesting such information. Although the California legislature responded quickly by proposing legislation that would limit the effects of the… Continue Reading
Sony Insurers Should Expect a Busy Year
Posted in Cyber Breach, Damages, Retail, UncategorizedSony insurers are going to have a busy year. Sony is estimating loses of $3.2 billion [pdf] from the Earthquake damage and Sony’s continued troubles with hackers. Since our last post we have learned: The hacker used Amazon’s Elastic Computer Cloud, or EC2, service to attack SOE. May 17, Sony’s chief executive, Howard Stringer, claimed… Continue Reading
Emailed Receipts Exempt from FACTA Requirments
Posted in Credit Card Transaction, FACTA, Privacy, Privacy Legislation, RetailAn electronic receipt transmitted to a customer via email is not subject to the FACTA privacy regulations according to the 9th Circuit. While retailers are continuing to struggle with the remifications of the California Supreme Court Pineda decision (See our post here), the 9th Circuit decision in Simonff v. Expedia, Inc. represents a small victory. After… Continue Reading