Donald Sipple, et al. v. City of Alameda, et al.
Published: Nov. 3, 2012 | Result Date: May 2, 2012 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: BC462270 Demurrer – Defense
Court
L.A. Superior Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Stephen B. Morris
(The Law Offices of Stephen B. Morris)
Defendant
Holly O. Whatley
(Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley PC)
Michael G. Colantuono
(Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley PC)
Facts
Various California municipal governments taxed telephone customers of New Cingular Wireless. Cingular collected the fees and remitted the taxes to the municipalities in violation of the Internet Tax Freedom Act. In a prior class action case in Illinois affecting municipalities from multiple states, Cingular's customers were to receive refunds for those taxes. Cingular subsequently sued the California municipalities seeking refunds from the municipalities in order to pay back the customers. The defendants filed demurrers in response.
Result
Demurrers sustained without leave to amend because Cingular had not suffered any economic loss, and thus, lacked standing. Because Cingular had yet to pay back its customers, it had not expended any money prior to seeking the refunds from the municipalities. As such, it endured no loss and lacked the standing to obtain the collected taxes.
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