Expedia 2008 Annual Report Download - page 29

Similarly Situated v. Hotels.com, Inc., No. DC-03-259 (District Court, 229th Judicial District, Duval County).
The complaint and subsequent amended complaints filed August 12, 2003 and May 6, 2004, allege that
hotels.com collects “excess” hotel occupancy taxes from consumers (i.e., allegedly charges consumers more
for occupancy taxes than it pays to the hotels for the hotels’ use in satisfying their obligations to the taxing
authorities). The complaint sought certification of a nationwide class of all persons who have purchased hotel
accommodations from hotels.com since June 20, 1999, as well as restitution of, disgorgement of, and the
imposition of a constructive trust upon all “excess” occupancy taxes allegedly collected by hotels.com. On
September 25, 2003, the plaintiff filed a demand for arbitration containing substantially the same factual
allegations as the Olvera lawsuit. On September 2, 2004, the arbitrator issued a final award granting
hotels.com’s motion to dismiss the arbitration claim.
On May 6, 2003, a purported class action was filed in Texas state court against hotels.com, L.P.
(“hotels.com”), Mary Canales, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. Hotels.com, L.P.,
No. DC-03-162 (District Court, 229th Judicial District, Duval County). The complaint, as amended, alleges
that hotels.com charges customers “taxes” that exceed the amount required by or paid to the applicable taxing
authorities and that hotels.com charges customers “fees” that do not correspond to any specific services
provided. The complaint seeks restitution of, disgorgement of, and the imposition of a constructive trust upon
all “excess” occupancy taxes allegedly collected by hotels.com. On April 29, 2005, the court issued an order
granting the plaintiff’s motion for class certification. On February 1, 2006, the court of appeals reversed the
holding certifying the class and remanded the case to the trial court. On April 20, 2006, Canales filed a fourth
amended petition and a new motion for class certification. Certification briefing has been deferred indefinitely.
On November 18, 2008, the parties submitted a joint status report to the court asking that the next status
conference be set in approximately six months.
Expedia»Washington. On February 18, 2005, three actions filed against Expedia, Inc., a Washington
corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of the registrant (“Expedia Washington”) — C. Michael Nielsen et
al. v. Expedia, Inc. et al., No. 05-2-02060-1 (Superior Court, King County), Bruce Deaton et al., v. Expedia,
Inc. et al., No. 05-2-02062-8 (Superior Court, King County), each of which was filed January 10, 2005 and
Jose Alba, on Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated v. IAC/InterActiveCorp et al., No. 05-2-
04533-7 (Superior Court, King County) filed February 3, 2005 — were consolidated under the caption In re
Expedia Hotel Taxes and Fees Litigation, No. 05-2-02060-1, pending in King County Superior Court. The
consolidated complaint alleges that Expedia Washington is improperly charging and/or failing to pay hotel
occupancy taxes and engaging in other deceptive practices in charging customers for taxes and fees. The
complaint seeks certification of a nationwide class of all persons who were assessed a charge for “taxes/fees”
when booking rooms through Expedia Washington. The complaint alleges violation of the Washington
Consumer Protection Act and common-law conversion and seeks imposition of a constructive trust on monies
received from the plaintiff class, as well as damages in an unspecified amount, disgorgement, restitution,
interest and penalties. Six of the seven originally named plaintiffs have withdrawn from the suit. On March 27,
2006, a new named plaintiff was permitted to intervene. During a March 2, 2007 hearing, the court indicated
that the plaintiff should amend its complaint and that the parties should provide further briefing on class
certification issues. Hearings on plaintiff’s motion for class certification took place on September 28, 2007 and
April 4, 2008. On May 7, 2008, the court entered an order granting plaintiff’s motion to certify the class. On
June 17, 2008, Expedia Washington filed, with the court of appeals, a motion for discretionary review of the
order certifying the class and a motion to stay further proceedings. On August 14, 2008, the Court of Appeals
denied Expedia Washington’s motion for discretionary review of the trial court’s order granting the plaintiff’s
motion to certify the class. On October 17, 2008, the Court of Appeals denied Expedia Washington’s motion
to modify the denial of its motion for discretionary review. Trial is scheduled for July 27, 2009.
Hotwire. On April 19, 2005, three actions filed against Hotwire, Inc. (“Hotwire”) were consolidated and
now are pending under the caption Bruce Deaton v. Hotwire, Inc. et al., Case No. CGC-05-437631, in the
Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco. The consolidated complaint, which was
amended on February 17, 2006, alleges that Hotwire is improperly charging and/or failing to pay hotel
occupancy taxes and engaging in other deceptive practices in charging customers for taxes and fees. The
complaint seeks certification of a nationwide class of all persons who were assessed a charge for “taxes/fees”
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