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Retail Tenants Need to ZIP Up Their Class-Action Defenses in CA

By John Powers
July 25, 2011

A significant legal development has occurred, which directly impacts any retail tenant with business operations in California. Retailers who ask customers for their ZIP Codes at the time of a credit card purchase may now find themselves the subject of class-action claims alleging violations of California's Song-Beverly Credit Card Act (the Credit Card Act). There has been a recent flood of plaintiffs' cases filed in California state and federal courts. These class-action lawsuits request a penalty of up to $1,000 for each customer whose ZIP Code was requested by a retailer in the last 12 months. Thus, the penalties requested for alleged violations of the Credit Card Act are astronomical.

The Credit Card Act, codified at California Civil Code ' 1747.08, prohibits vendors from requesting and recording “personal information” in connection with credit card transactions. The statute defines “personal information” as “information concerning the cardholder, other than information set forth on the credit card and including, but not limited to, the cardholder's address and telephone number.” Civil Code ' 1747.08(b).

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