ST. LOUIS - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Exxon Mobil Corporation and two private convenience store operators who printed more information than was necessary on customer credit card receipts.
In an April 13 ruling, U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled Michael Coleman didn’t show an actual injury. Coleman claimed Exxon, Bi-State Southern Oil Company and Reeves Boomland Inc. violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act by printing the first six digits of his credit card number on receipts they provided after he purchased gas last summer. The receipts also listed the last five digits of his credit card.
In this case, the court sought to answer the following question, “Is receiving an overly revealing credit card receipt - unseen by others and unused by identity thieves - a sufficient injury.”
It his opinion, Limbaugh said, “Under the facts of this case, it is not.”
While Coleman didn’t allege his identity was stolen, he “believes he has forgotten to pull his receipt out of the machine, leaving it hanging in public view” and other times he “believes he has thrown his receipt in the trash next to the pump.” He accused the defendants of causing him to “suffer a heightened risk of identity theft” and “potentially exposed” his private information to others who may have found his receipts. He sought punitive and statutory damages.
The court found that while the defendants violated the statute that prohibits receipts from showing more than the last five digits of the card number, it doesn’t mean Coleman “automatically has standing to bring his claim.” The court noted that Congress stated the purpose of the law “is to ensure that consumers suffering from actual harm to their credit or identity are protected while simultaneously limiting abusive lawsuits that do not protect consumers.”
The court said Coleman didn’t allege that “machine watchers or dumpster divers” would snatch the receipts he left behind, try to steal his identity or be successful if they tried.
“If plaintiff actually thought this bizarre hypothetical presented a material risk of identity theft, he probably would not have tossed his receipts or left them in the machines,” the judge wrote.
The court also noted that the first six digits of Coleman’s credit card number don’t “convey any personal information about him,” but identify the bank that issued the card.