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Business & Tech

St. Charles Attorney Files Lawsuit Against Groupon Inc.

The lawsuit filed by Robert M. Foote on behalf of Adam Dremak claims that Groupon's "coupons" are actually gift certificates with expiration dates that violate state law.

A St. Charles-based attorney filed a class action lawsuit Wednesday against Groupon Inc. in Kane County Circuit Court asserting that the on-line company offers gift certificates as opposed to coupons.
 
Robert M. Foote, an attorney with Foote, Meyers, Mielke & Flowers filed the lawsuit on behalf of lead plaintiff Adam Dremak. The suit states that Groupon’s “coupons” are actually gift certificates with expiration dates that are in violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, according to a press release dated July 20.

The lawsuit alleges that Dremak bought “a Groupon gift certificate redeemable at Nordstrom Rack that expired only five weeks from the date he purchased it.” The suit states that Groupon is in violation of the state law because gift certificates in Illinois have to be valid for at least five years.

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The lawsuit alleges that “through time-sensitive ‘Daily Deal’ offerings and aggressive marketing efforts, Groupon creates a shopping frenzy that pressures consumers to click ‘buy’ and purchase ‘Groupon’ gift certificates with short-term expiration periods of six months to a year—significantly less than the five-year period mandated” by state law.

A motion for a preliminary injunction also was filed seeking to prevent Groupon Inc. from issuing its Groupons with allegedly illegal expiration dates.

A motion for class certification was also filed on behalf of all Illinois citizens who purchased Groupons but did not use them by their stated expiration dates.

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