Michael Burns Quoted in Inside Counsel
"ZIP Code Ruling Leads to Billion-Dollar Lawsuits"

Seyfarth Shaw San Francisco partner Michael Burns was quoted in the June 2011 issue of Inside Counsel. The article discussed the California Supreme Court decision Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc., which held that retailers were in violation of California law when they asked their customers to provide ZIP codes when making purchases. As a result of the decision, the plaintiffs bar has filed a number of class action suits, potentially exposing retailers to billions of dollars in liability for past credit card transactions.

Michael pointed out that it was "difficult to assess how much the lawsuits could cost companies," as people rush to file cases in what he called the "post-Pineda craze."

The article mentioned that the outcome of pending class actions may depend on the how the retailers used the ZIP code information, as companies collect information for reasons separate from marketing. On behalf of some retailers and noting that some consumers may voluntarily release personal information, Michael said, "Many consumers would like to receive more information from their favorite companies."

Michael suggested to retailers, if they "want to eliminate any possibility of litigation, the only way to do so is to stop requesting possible PII [personally identifiable information] at the point of sale."