Big 5 Sporting Goods Reaches ZIP Code Class Action Settlement

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Big 5 Sporting Goods has agreed to a $1 million class action settlement to resolve claims that it requested ZIP codes from consumers during credit card transactions in violation of California law. The Big 5 ZIP code class action settlement will provide gift cards and coupons to consumers if approved.

Consumer protection lawyers are investigating a growing number of retailers for needlessly requesting certain personal identifying information during credit card transactions. Big 5 Sporting Goods was hit with several class action lawsuits over the practice, which is in violation of California’s Song Beverly Act. The state supreme court ruled last year that ZIP codes are considered “personal identifying information,” a key part of the statute.

While not admitting wrongdoing, Big 5 Sporting Goods has agreed to provide either a $25 gift card to consumers with a receipt or other proof of purchase at one of the company’s locations, or a $10 coupon for any new purchase for any transactions that occurred between February 2007 and February 2011, as part of the class action settlement. The total funds the company has set aside is $1 million, not including attorneys’ fees.

The company told one news outlet that it settled the class action lawsuits in spite of believing that its usage of the ZIP codes was not really a violation of the law because it did not individually profile shoppers, but rather used aggregated information to help inform advertising and expansion plans by region.

Still, the decisions by the California Supreme Court regarding the Song Beverly Act and their counterparts in Massachusetts who recently ruled that ZIP codes are considered personal identifying information as it pertains to the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. In the case of California, the decision in 2011 on Pineda v. Williams Sonoma Inc. indicated that new class action lawsuits could be filed regarding practices that occurred prior to that ruling.

The consolidated Big 5 Sporting Goods ZIP Code Class Action Lawsuit is Big 5 Sporting Goods Song-Beverly Cases, Case No. JCCP4667, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County.

UPDATE 1: Instructions on how to file a claim for the Big 5 Sporting Goods ZIP code settlement are now available! Click here or visit www.Big5ZIPCodeSettlement.com for more information.

UPDATE 2: Payments for the Big 5 Sporting Goods class action settlement were mailed to eligible Class Members the first week of February 2015.