Jan. 30, 2014
William A. Delgado
See more on William A. DelgadoWillenken Wilson Loh & Delgado LLP | Los Angeles | Complex business litigation
One example is how the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act - created to protect consumers' privacy - may be applied to online purchases.
This has been a focus of Delgado's practice and has involved such prominent clients as Microsoft Corp. and Ticketmaster LLC, which hired him to defend against claims that the plaintiffs' privacy had been abridged during online purchases.
In 2011, while the Microsoft case was pending in federal court, the Ticketmaster case was consolidated in state court with similar litigation involving eHarmony and Apple Inc.
They all went up on appeal to the state Supreme Court, which designated Apple as the lead case.
In February 2013, the court held that the Song-Beverly Act doesn't apply to online transactions where there is an electronic download of goods. Apple Inc. v. the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, S199374 (Cal. Sup. Ct., filed Feb. 4, 2013).
The plaintiff in the Microsoft case then voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit. Salmonson v. Microsoft, 11-CV-05449 (C.D. Cal., filed June 30, 2011).
But, in Ticketmaster's case, there was a new wrinkle: Delgado had to convince the trial court that the act shouldn't be applied to online transactions where there are physical shipments of merchandise either. Luko v. Ticketmaster, BC462492 (Los Angeles Super. Ct., filed May 27, 2011).
"We maintain the act doesn't apply to any type of online transactions no matter how the goods are delivered," Delgado added.
The court agreed and, on Jan. 10, issued its order that the Song Beverly Credit Card Act doesn't apply to online transactions, even when the goods are physically shipped.
While the issue involves California law, Delgado said the outcome will be closely watched by other states, especially Massachusetts, which has similar litigation pending.
- PAT BRODERICK
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