RIP, car wash coupon class action lawsuit

After more than three years of wrangling, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has rendered its verdict: under Minnesota law, gas station car wash coupons are not gift certificates.

In its second whack at the case, the appeals court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a class action brought by Donald Wells, a Blaine man who sued after purchasing a $7.99 car wash coupon at a Holiday gas station that included an expiration date. Wells claimed that violated a provision of 2007 consumer protection law that bars the use of expiration dates on gift cards.

After the district court granted a motion to dismiss, Wells appealed and the appeals court remanded based “on the limited record.” Following discovery, the district court again dismissed, and this time the appeals court affirmed the decision.

In an 11-page decision that included linguistic minutiae involving distinctions between the dictionary definition of the word “value” and its use in the statute, Judge Michael Kirk took note of one seemingly salient point that was raised during discovery: Under Holiday’s policy, customers with “expired” car wash coupons can still present their coupons to the cashier and get a new car wash code or a cash refund.

So why include the 30-day expiration date? As it turns out, Kirk wrote, the use of expiration dates is designed “to prevent a practice called ‘jackpotting,’ which is when an individual randomly punches numbers into the code box to try to obtain a free car wash.”

Will Wells seek relief from the Minnesota Supreme Court?

Attorney Susan Coler said she has yet to discuss the ruling with her client, whom she described as an ordinary citizen who sued out of principle. But despite the apparently low stakes involved, Coler said the court’s decision effectively undermines the consumer protections.

“Under this court’s interpretation of statute, if you go to ma and pa nail salon, get a hand written gift certificate with an expiration date, that would be just fine,” she ventured. “It will eliminate a lot of the common paper forms of gift certificate.”