Rakuten, Inc. has confirmed a class action lawsuit has been filed against its consolidated subsidiary Buy.com Inc. (U.S.). As of February 14, neither Rakuten, Inc. nor Buy.com Inc. have been served by the Plaintiffs notice of the complaint related to the lawsuit.
1. Court and date of filing
(i) Court: United States District Court, Central District of California – Southern Division
(ii) Date: February 5, 2013 (PST)
2. Plaintiff
Michael Ambers
3. Case summary
Plaintiff represents a class of Buy.com customers who made credit card purchases and were required to provide a telephone number on the Buy.com website during the 12 months prior to the filing date. The plaintiff claims requiring the listing of a phone number in a customer credit card transaction violates the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act. In addition, the plaintiff believes penalties could exceed US$ 500 million.
4. Forecasts
Rakuten, Inc. believes the plaintiff’s claims are groundless and should be rejected. Buy.com Inc. (U.S.) will properly defend itself in the U.S. courts. We do not expect this class action will affect the earnings of the Rakuten Group. However, we will immediately make a timely disclosure when required.
In addition, Rakuten, Inc. and its subsidiaries do not disclose earnings forecasts as these business operations include domestic and global Internet service businesses characterized by high uncertainty, and finance related businesses such as securities business whose results depend heavily on highly volatile markets. This precludes us from making earnings forecasts.
Notes
1) This English translation is provided for information purposes only. If any discrepancy arises between this translation and the Japanese original, the Japanese original shall prevail.
2) This notice includes forward-looking statements relating to our future plans, targets, objectives, expectations and intentions. The forward-looking statements reflect management’s current assumptions and expectations of future events, and accordingly, they are inherently susceptible to uncertainties and changes in circumstances, and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially, for a wide range of possible reasons, including general industry and market conditions and general international economic conditions. In light of the many risks and uncertainties, you are advised not to put undue reliance on these statements. The management targets included in this notice are not projections, and do not represent management’s current estimates of future performance. Rather, they represent targets that management strives to achieve through the successful implementation of the Company’s business strategies. The Company may be unsuccessful in implementing its business strategies, and management may fail to achieve its targets. The Company is under no obligation – and expressly disclaims any such obligation – to update or alter its forward-looking statements. Names of companies, products, and services and such that appear in this material are trademarks or registered marks of their respective companies.