Federal court reinstates consumer claim against Restaurant.com

Consumer fraud case against RDC dismissed

4-Nov-13 – The Supreme Court of New Jersey and a U.S. Court of Appeals have spoken. A consumer dispute against a Chicago company owned by two River North residents will continue in U.S. District Court.

The appellate court for the Third Circuit, based in Philadelphia and serving three states, has decided the claim against Restaurant.com – under New Jersey’s “Truth in Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act” – will be reinstated. The decision was issued on Monday.

The dispute is over gift certificates sold by Restaurant.com between 2006 and 2010 that had expiration dates in possible violation of law in at least two states. Representing potentially thousands of other customers, two residents of New Jersey filed a lawsuit against RDC in 2010. A federal court dismissed the claim, ruling the consumer contract law did not apply to RDC’s intangible certificates. The New Jersey Supreme Court reversed that decision and now the appellate court has interpreted the ruling further.

In dismissing the consumer fraud complaint, the appellate court said the plaintiffs suffered no actual loss. Wrote the court, “Plaintiffs provide only an unadorned and conclusory statement of a ‘theoretical’ loss that – according to the logic of the complaint – would be suffered by an individual the moment that she purchased a Restaurant.com gift certificate.”

Dr. Kenneth Chessick, a lawyer in Chicago, and his wife, Ellen Chessick, who is president of Marina Towers Condominium Association, own Restaurant.com. After many requests for comment, Ellen Chessick responded on September 12, saying the number of complaints against her company is “a miniscule fraction” of the total transactions.

“No business wants an unhappy customer and Restaurant.com has a large award-winning customer service department that works hard to address customers’ concerns,” said Chessick. “Anyone who owns a business knows that sometimes no matter what you do, you will not be able to make some people happy.”

(Above) Kenneth (at podium) and Ellen Chessick on October 26, 2013, at the official unveiling of the Kenneth and Ellen Chessick Practice Center at Northern Illinois University. The Chessicks donated $3 million toward the six-story, 87,000 square foot facility, where the NIU football team will practice. Photo obtained from Northern Illinois University.

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