Avis 2007 Annual Report Download - page 33

Table of Contents
the Esquivel matter, a hearing on the plaintiff’s motion for class certification was adjourned and has not been rescheduled. No class
certification hearing has been scheduled in the Stafford case, where discovery is ongoing.
On October 27, 2006, plaintiffs Giuseppe Demarte and Mona Self filed a complaint against Budget Truck Rental, LLC (“BTR”)
in the Superior
Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles. The complaint alleges causes of action for unlawful business practices in violation of
California Business & Professions Code Section 17200, et seq., and conversion, relating to BTR’s refueling practices and procedures. The
complaint is asserted as a putative class action on behalf of “all persons who, within the four years preceding the filing of the Complaint, have
entered into a truck rental agreement with BTR in California that provided for a refueling fee and who paid that fee, or have paid for fuel in
connection with that rental agreement based on the amount of fuel measured by the rented truck’s fuel gauge, or have returned the rented truck
to Budget with more fuel in the tank than at the initiation of the rental.” The parties have settled this action and court approval of settlement
terms is pending.
On November 14, 2007, two California residents filed a putative class action lawsuit, captioned Michael Shames et al. v. The Hertz Corp. et al.
, No. 07 CV 2174H (S.D. Cal.), against Avis Budget, six other rental car companies, the California Travel and Tourism Commission (the
“CTTC”) and the CTTC’s Executive Director, alleging that the defendants violated federal antitrust law and California’s Unfair Competition
Law and False Advertising Law by allegedly agreeing to pass on airport concession fees and a state tourism commission assessment to
passenger car renters in California. One plaintiff has raised an additional claim against the CTTC and its Executive Director of alleged
violations of California’s Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. The plaintiffs are seeking treble damages, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees and
costs. We have filed a motion to dismiss the Shames suit, which has not yet been decided. We intend to vigorously defend this suit as we
believe it is without merit.
In December 2007, two individuals filed separate but virtually identical putative class action lawsuits, captioned Thomas J. Comiskey et al. v.
Avis Budget Group, Inc. et al.,
No. CV07-08118 (C.D. Cal.) and Isabel S. Cohen et al. v. Avis Budget Group, Inc. et al, No. CV07-
08164 (C.D.
Cal.), against Avis Budget, 12 other rental car companies, the CTTC and California’s Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing.
These suits challenge the tourism commission assessment fees imposed on certain renters in California as of January 1, 2007. Both the
Comiskey and Cohen suits allege that California’s tourism assessment program with respect to the rental car industry (i) infringes on renters’
speech and associational rights in violation of both the U. S. and California Constitutions, (ii) violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S.
Constitution, (iii) violates 42 U.S.C. § 1983 insofar as the assessment program violates the federal Constitution’s Commerce Clause and First
and Fourteenth Amendments, and (iv) violates the Motor Vehicle Revenues section of the California Constitution. Both complaints seek
declaratory and injunctive relief, a refund of all California tourism commission assessment fees collected by the rental car defendants,
attorneys’ fees and costs, and unspecified damages. On February 5, 2008, the district court consolidated the Comiskey and Cohen suits, and
defendants’ responses have been postponed until after the plaintiffs have filed a consolidated complaint. We intend to vigorously defend this
consolidated action as we believe it is without merit.
Corporate Litigation
Pursuant to the Separation Agreement, Realogy has assumed 62.5% and Wyndham Worldwide has assumed 37.5% of certain contingent and
other corporate liabilities (and related costs and expenses), including legal matters and related disputes, of the Company or its subsidiaries
which are not primarily related to any of the respective businesses of Realogy, Wyndham Worldwide, Travelport and/or the Company’
s vehicle
rental operations, in each case incurred or allegedly incurred on or prior to the date of the separation of Travelport from the Company. Such
litigation includes the litigation described below.
After the April 15, 1998 announcement of the discovery of accounting irregularities in the former CUC International, Inc. (“CUC”) business
units approximately 70 lawsuits claiming to be class actions and other
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