Facts

Six consumer plaintiffs filed three separate class action lawsuits against The Children's Place. Each plaintiff purchased goods at a Children's Place store in California using a credit card. During the checkout process, plaintiffs were asked to provide their telephone numbers, which plaintiffs contended violated the Song-Beverly Act and other laws. The Judicial Council consolidated the three cases before the Hon. Judge Mayhew.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs contended that defendant violated the Song-Beverly Act each time one of its clerks requested a customer's phone number in connection with a credit card transaction. Plaintiffs contended that this information was used to obtain the customer's mailing address and to subject customers to unwanted marketing materials.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant denied that its challenged practices violated the Song-Beverly Act or other law. Defendant contended plaintiffs were clearly advised that their provision of telephone numbers was strictly voluntary and not required to complete their transactions. Defendant also contended that customers should not be prohibited from providing information to receive marketing material simply because they chose to pay with a credit card.

Result

The parties mediated the case before the Hon. William J. Cahill and subsequently reached a settlement. The Court certified a class for settlement purposes. Under the settlement, each class member was eligible to receive a $10 gift card and a 30 percent discount voucher, and also had the option to have his or her information deleted from defendant's marketing database. The total value of redeemed settlement consideration is estimated at approximately $1 million.