In a rift with a state court, a federal judge in Newark has thrown out a putative class action charging that kitchenware chain Williams-Sonoma violated New Jersey law by asking credit-card-paying customers to provide their ZIP codes.

Senior District Judge William Walls ruled Monday that the ZIP code requests do not violate the Truth in Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act, N.J.S.A. 56:12-14 et. seq., because they are not made under a provision of a written contract.