Simon Property Group, the owner of the Crystal Mall in Waterford, Connecticut, recently agreed to pay nearly $309k to settle a lawsuit brought by the Connecticut Attorney General alleging that inactivity fees that applied to its gift cards violated state consumer law.
Most of the money that will be paid out by Simon will be in the form of refunds to thousands of customers. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said:
“Simon brazenly devalued gift cards by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now, the company’s actions would be beyond the state law enforcement because it has shifted to cards issued through a national bank, deemed subject only to federal law. We must close the national bank legal loophole.”
Simon charged customers a $2.50 per month “administrative” fee on cards not fully redeemed after six months.
My law firm, Trief & Olk, has brought a class action against Simon for these same violations that is currently pending in a New York state court.
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