Sanford v. MemberWorks, Inc., No. 09-55502

Unordered Merchandise Statute Action

In Sanford v. MemberWorks, Inc., No. 09-55502, an action under the Unordered Merchandise Statute, as well as state-law claims for conversion, unjust enrichment, and fraud, arising out of plaintiffs' alleged billing for membership in a product discount program, the court affirmed the dismissal of the complaint where 1) plaintiff's claims in this action arose out of the same allegations in her state-court case against defendant, which plaintiff had settled; 2) it was not unreasonable to expect the party who placed the phone calls to defendant to have personal knowledge of the relevant facts, and thus the district court properly denied plaintiff's motion to amend to state a RICO claim; and 3) nothing defendant allegedly mailed to plaintiffs fit within the definition of "merchandise."

As the court wrote:  "We must decide whether consumers can pursue claims against a company that allegedly deceived them into buying memberships in a discount club."

Related Resources

• Read the Ninth Circuit's Decision in Sanford v. MemberWorks, Inc., No. 09-55502