## Facts

- Jessica Pineda made a purchase at a Williams-Sonoma store in California using a credit card.
- During the credit card transaction, the cashier requested Pineda’s ZIP code.
- Pineda alleged she believed providing the ZIP code was necessary to complete the transaction and the cashier recorded it.
- Pineda alleged Williams-Sonoma used her name and ZIP code to obtain her home address from a database, then marketed to her and sold her personal information to other businesses.
- Pineda filed a putative class action alleging the request and recording of her ZIP code violated the Song–Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971, Cal. Civ. Code § 1747 et seq.

## Issues

1. Whether a customer’s ZIP code is “personal identification information” under Cal. Civ. Code § 1747.08 such that a retailer may not request and record it in connection with a credit card transaction.
2. Whether § 1747.08 is violated when a business requests and records a ZIP code during a credit card transaction even if the retailer characterizes the information as optional.

## Decision

- The California Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal.
- The Court held that a ZIP code constitutes “personal identification information” under § 1747.08.
- The Court held that requesting and recording a cardholder’s ZIP code during a credit card transaction, without more, violates the Act.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings.

## Legal Principles

- The Song–Beverly Credit Card Act is a consumer-protection statute that restricts merchants from requesting and recording “personal identification information” in credit card transactions.
- “Personal identification information” is defined broadly as information concerning the cardholder other than information on the credit card and “including, but not limited to,” the cardholder’s address and telephone number.
- Because the definition is nonexclusive, the statute covers data that can be used, alone or combined with other available information, to identify or locate a cardholder, including information that can lead to the cardholder’s address.
- A ZIP code is within the statute because it is part of an address and, when combined with a name, can be used through databases to obtain a consumer’s full address, which would permit an end run around the statute if allowed.
- Liability under § 1747.08 turns on requesting and recording the information in connection with the credit card transaction, not on whether the customer was formally required to provide it.

## Conclusion

The California Supreme Court held that a retailer violates Cal. Civ. Code § 1747.08 by requesting and recording a credit-card customer’s ZIP code at the point of sale, because a ZIP code is “personal identification information” that can be used to obtain the customer’s address.


Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc., 51 Cal. 4th 524 (Cal. 2011)