Although New Jersey’s Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (TCCWNA), N.J.S.A. 56:12-14 to -18, was enacted in 1982, it had yet to be interpreted by the state Supreme Court until July of this year, when the court announced its long-awaited decision in Shelton v. Restaurant.com, A-123-10.
Shelton arrived in the New Jersey Supreme Court via two certified questions sent under Rule 2:12A-1 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The Third Circuit is presently considering an appeal from the district court’s 2010 dismissal of the case. That dismissal was premised in large part on the district court’s interpretation of TCCWNA and its finding that the online discount certificates sold by Restaurant.com do not constitute tangible property or services because the certificates provide only a contingent right. As such, according to the district court, the purchasers of these discount certificates cannot be considered “consumers” under TCCWNA and, similarly, the certificates cannot be considered “consumer contracts.”
