Plaintiff Seeks Class Certification for Subway Receipt Lawsuit

A plaintiff is seeking class certification for his Subway receipt lawsuit that alleges the receipt violated FACTA laws.

Plaintiff Shane Flaum says the Subway run by Doctor’s Associates Inc. possibly revealed credit card information of millions of customers because the receipts included the full expiration date.

Because the customers are easily identified through the credit card records, they would all be sharing the same claims against Doctor’s Associates Inc. according to the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, known as FACTA.

“Indeed, several courts in this district have recently certified FACTA cases for class treatment in contested prceedings as well as part of class wide settlements,” Flaum said.

Flaum’s Subway receipt lawsuit is based on a June 3, 2016 purchase at a Pompano Beach, Florida Subway shop. The receipt he received showed the full expiration date of his Visa card in addition to the last four digits of his card number.

According to FACTA regulations, the card expiration date should never be printed upon receipts.

Doctor’s Associates Inc. has been sued four times previously because of similar violations.

Subway tried to have the Subway receipt lawsuit dismissed, based on the fact that fact that Flaum did not allege injury. Subway argued that even if the allegations are true, the only possible harm would be an increased risk of identity theft, and courts have determined that a risk of future harm does not qualify as an injury.

U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga turned down Subway’s motion because Flaum showed that his Subway receipt did violate FACTA law.

Another appeal by Subway was also denied.

Anyone who obtained a similar receipt with the last two years from Subway that included their card’s full expiration date would be eligible to join the Subway receipt lawsuit. Statutory damages can range from $100 to $1000 per receipt.

FACTA Card Receipt Rules Designed to Protect You

The Bureau of Consumer Protection, a division of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), says compliance with FACTA laws are important because “credit card numbers on sales receipts are a ‘golden ticket’ for fraudsters and identity thieves.”

Businesses that do not comply with FACTA receipt rules can face law enforcement action by the FTC. Both civil penalties and injunctive relief have been applied in various cases. (Injunctive relief means the court orders the defendant to cease a specified act rather than ordering the defendant to make a monetary payment.)

A merchant is more apt to be found he has “willfully” violated FACTA receipt laws if the retailer “knew or should have known” of FACTA’s regulations and was made aware of the statute’s requirements.

The Subway Receipt Lawsuit is Flaum v. Doctor’s Associates Inc., Case No. 0:16-cv-61198, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
UPDATE: On March 21, 2017, Subway agreed to pay $30.9 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the company of violating the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act by printing credit card expiration dates on its receipts. Court documents indicate that this settlement “sets a new record” and may be the “largest FACTA settlement in the history of FACTA.”

UPDATE 2: November 2018, the Subway credit card receipt class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

UPDATE 3: On May 30, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers are starting to receive checks in the mail from the Subway class action settlement worth as much as $52.92.

Free FACTA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you made one or more purchases and the retailer provided you with a receipt that contained more than the last five digits of your credit or debit card number or the expiration date, you may be eligible for a free class action lawsuit investigation and to pursue compensation for these FACTA violations.

Get Started