Bottle King Expiration Date Class Action Amended Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval

MENDHAM, N.J., May 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- An amended settlement of a class action lawsuit against the popular New Jersey wine and liquor retailer Bottle King® was recently approved by New Jersey State Court Judge Donald S. Coburn.  The class action relates to Bottle King's printing of credit and debit card expiration dates on sales receipts in alleged violation of New Jersey's Fair Credit Reporting Act and New Jersey's Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act. 

The lawsuit, captioned Nelson v. Ledgewood B.K., et al., Docket No. MRS-L-2426-12, was filed on behalf of a class of New Jersey consumers who used credit or debit cards to make purchases at any Bottle King store location during the period April 30, 2008, through October 10, 2012, in the State of New Jersey.

On May 1, 2014, Judge Coburn of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Morris County, granted conditional certification of the settlement class and preliminary approval of the amended settlement in the Nelson action.  Members of the settlement class may be entitled to a coupon with a value of up to $40.00 redeemable at Bottle King store locations in New Jersey. The claim period runs through July 7, 2014.  The full Notice of Settlement and claim form are available at www.bottlekingsettlement.com.

The case was settled by agreement between the plaintiff and the companies that own and operate the Bottle King stores.  "Bottle King has been very cooperative in taking responsibility for this.  As soon as they were made aware that expiration dates were appearing on receipts, they corrected the problem," said plaintiff's attorney David DiSabato of Mendham, New Jersey's DiSabato & Bouckenooghe LLC. 

The details of the amended settlement agreement, which replaced an earlier agreement that was preliminarily approved by the Court on March 10, 2014, were shaped with the help of the Attorney General's Office, according to DiSabato.  "The parties acknowledge and appreciate the assistance of the New Jersey Attorney General in offering constructive suggestions for the resolution of this matter," he said.

Bottle King changed software companies in 2008, said Ken Friedman, president of Allied Management, the company that operates the Livingston, New Jersey based Bottle King.  Although the previous software firm had been removing expiration dates and properly truncating credit card numbers, "the new software company didn't take out the expiration date.  As soon as we heard about it, we corrected it that day," Friedman said. 

Friedman and Bottle King maintain that no one was harmed as a result of expiration dates being printed on credit and debit card receipts and that all Bottle King receipts X-d out the required credit and debit card account numbers.  However, they concluded that it was in Bottle King's best interests to resolve the case in order to avoid expense, inconvenience, and interference with ongoing business operations.

Those persons eligible for relief under the settlement are all New Jersey residents who used a personal credit or debit card to make a purchase at any Bottle King location in the State of New Jersey between April 30, 2008, and October 10, 2012, where the receipt from the transaction contained an expiration date. 

In order to receive relief under the amended settlement, claimants must submit a completed claim form by July 7, 2014.  Claim forms are available for download at www.bottlekingsettlement.com or can be obtained at any of Bottle King's fourteen New Jersey locations.  Completed claim forms must be postmarked by July 7, 2014, and should be mailed to the Angeion Group, at the address provided on the claim form.

Any questions concerning the Nelson Action, the Nelson Amended Settlement, or the claim form should be directed to Class Counsel, DiSabato & Bouckenooghe LLC, at 973-813-2525 or [email protected], with reference to the Nelson Action.

David DiSabato, Esq.
DiSabato & Bouckenooghe LLC
973-813-2525

SOURCE DiSabato & Bouckenooghe LLC