Settlement in Bateman v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc. receives preliminary approval

Today the United States District Court, Central District of California, preliminarily approved a class action settlement in Bateman v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc., Case No. 07-cv-00171 JHN (AJWx).  The Complaint alleges that AMC willfully violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(g), by printing the expiration date or more than the last five digits of credit and debit card numbers on electronically printed receipts provided to customers at the point of sale or transaction after January 1, 2005.

The settlement follows a successful appeal of the District Court's denial of class certification on superiority grounds.  The Ninth Circuit concluded that none of the three grounds relied upon by the district court — the disproportionality between the potential statutory liability and the actual harm suffered, the enormity of the potential damages, or AMC’s good faith compliance — justified the denial of class certification on superiority grounds.

The deadline for submitting a claim is May 20, 2011.  Claim forms are available on this website here.