One-year limits on redeeming gift certificates from dining-deal site Restaurant.com may violate a New Jersey consumer-protection law, says a putative class-action suit given a green light by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

The judges based their ruling in Shelton v. Restaurant.com on an advisory opinion by the New Jersey Supreme Court that such certificates fall within the province of the Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act.