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 SB & V Attorneys Win Landmark Decision in New Jersey Supreme Court Representing BJ's Wholesale Club, SB & V has won a major victory in the New Jersey Supreme Court on behalf of retailers who are sued for alleged misrepresentations made in phone cards sold out of vending machines in their stores. In Smith vs. Southern New England Telephone Company and BJ's Wholesale Club, No. C-859 (July 25, 2002), the plaintiff brought a class action lawsuit alleging that phone cards issued by SNET and sold out of vending machines at BJ's stores falsely stated the number of minutes for which the cards were valid and that they misrepresented the per minute rates charged under the cards. SNET defended the case on the basis of the federal "Filed Rate Doctrine," which provides that all persons are presumed to know the regulated rate filed with the Federal Communications Commission and that rates deviating from the filed rate cannot be valid. Because the plaintiffs did not allege that the rates deviated from the filed rates, but rather, that the rates charged were different than the advertised rates, SNET claimed the claim must be dismissed pursuant to the Filed Rate Doctrine. SB & V argued that the cards represented a service that could only be provided by a licensed telecommunications provides such as SNET and that BJ's could not be held liable where SNET was insulated from liability. The trial court ruled in favor of BJ's and SNET, but the Appellate Division of the Superior Court reversed that decision in 2001. Both BJ's and SNET filed petitions for certification to the New Jersey Supreme Court, which issued a landmark ruling on the applicability of the Filed Rate Doctrine in reversing the Appellate Division and ordering to enter judgment in favor of SNET and BJ's. SB & V attorney Jonathan J. Bart represented BJ's on the Briefs and arguments. Mr. Bart concentrates his practice in complex commercial litigation in federal, state and bankruptcy courts. BACK TO INDEX |
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