Michael Burns Quoted in the Los Angeles/San Francisco Daily Journal, The Recorder, Law.com, The Washington Post, Associated Press and More Regarding California Supreme Court’s Ruling in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores Inc.
“Retailers On the Hook Over Zip Code Collection”

San Francisco labor and employment partner Michael Burns was quoted across the country after the California Supreme Court issued an opinion that deemed it was illegal for retailers to ask customers for their zip codes. Retailers may be on the hook for potentially millions of dollars in penalties for illegally requesting zip codes from customers who pay with credit cards. According to the articles, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores Inc. suit that stores requesting zip codes from customers who pay with credit cards violate the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act. Michael Burns noted that dozens of similar class actions were filed against retailers between 2007 and 2009, but that activity dropped off after the 4th District Court of Appeals sanctioned the collection of zip codes with Pineda as well as Party City Corp. v. Superior Court in 2008. Mike is predicting a new wave of class actions suits to be filed now that the state’s high court has overturned those lower court rulings. He noted, “I can imagine there are a lot of e-mails going on between attorneys and general counsels.”