State high court rules attorney has standing to sue credit company

An attorney has the right to sue a credit card processing company for discrimination even though he never signed up for its services, a unanimous state Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The issue came to the court from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Bankruptcy attorney Robert E. White originally sued Square Inc. under California's Unruh Civil Rights Act in 2015 over a policy that barred use by attorneys.

The company offers services and accessories that allow vendors to take credit card payments over phones or other devices without having an account with major credit card providers.

White didn't attempt to sign up, stating later he believed doing so could constitute fraud. The high court found a federal judge was wrong to dismiss White's case on standing grounds, stating his action went beyond "mere awareness of a businesses' discriminatory policy," and he went to the company's website with the "intent" of engaging its services.

The opinion by Justice Goodwin H. Liu found standing must be interpreted through the Legislature's intent when it passed the Unruh Act. White v. Square Inc., 2019 DJDAR 7552 (Cal. Aug. 12, 2019).

Among the cases he cited was Koire v. Metro Car Wash, 40 Cal. 3D 24 (1985), which found gender-specific pricing such as "ladies' nights" at the bar violated the rights of men. The court took no position on White's underlying claims.

-- Malcolm Maclachlan