Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores
California Supreme Court
246 P.3d 612 (2011)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Jessica Pineda (plaintiff) made a purchase at a store owned by Williams-Sonoma Stores (defendant). The cashier asked Pineda for her zip code as part of the transaction. Pineda thought that the zip code was required to complete the credit-card transaction and gave the cashier the zip code. Williams-Sonoma recorded the zip code and used it, along with Pineda’s name, to determine Pineda’s home address. Pineda sued Williams-Sonoma for violating the California state law that prohibited businesses from obtaining and then recording personal-identification information from consumers during a credit-card transaction. The law stated that personal-identification information was information concerning the consumer that was not on the credit card itself, including the consumer’s phone number and address. The court of appeal held that a person’s zip code, without more, did not constitute personal-identification information under the law. Pineda appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Moreno, J.)
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