Shopper’s Suit Thrown Out

A Vons shopper’s lawsuit that raised questions about the privacy of information that supermarkets collect on their customers’ purchases has been thrown out of court. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Horowitz tossed out the civil suit by plaintiff Robert Rivera of Los Angeles, declaring that the evidence never established that Vons was liable for damages.

The central issue in the case was a negligence claim Rivera made against Vons. It stemmed from an accident at the Lincoln Heights’ Vons in 1996 in which Rivera slipped on spilled yogurt and smashed his kneecap.

Although that issue was a routine legal matter, the case drew attention because Rivera raised the privacy issue in the pretrial phase. Rivera claimed that he learned that Vons looked up computer records of alcohol purchases he made while using his club discount card and threatened to use the information against him at trial.

Vons, however, denied looking up Rivera’s purchase records and the issue never came up in the trial, which lasted two weeks before being thrown out by the judge Tuesday.

A Vons spokesman said the company was “gratified by the judge’s decision.” M. Edward Franklin, a Century City lawyer representing Rivera, said he would seek a new trial for his client.