On Thursday, April 17, the Washington Supreme Court issued an opinion regarding the scope of the Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA), in Brown v. Old Navy. CEMA was adopted by the Washington State legislature in 1998. The statute prohibits email marketing messages containing “false or misleading information in the subject line.” RCW 19.190.020 (1)(b).
Brown v. Old Navy was filed in 2023 in the Western District of Washington on behalf of consumers who received marketing emails from Old Navy that advertised promotions as limited time offers when they were not. These email subject lines advertised deals as only available for a limited time (ex: “today only”), when the advertised promotion actually continued for days or weeks after the message was sent. The consumers allege that the marketing emails were intended increase sales by creating a false sense of urgency.
Old Navy asked the court to examine the scope of (1)(b) following a federal interpretation that held this section to mean “false or misleading information as to the nature of the email.” Blythe Chandler argued the case for the consumers in September, 2024. The Washington Supreme Court adopted the consumers’ interpretation, holding that the language of (1)(b) unambiguously prohibits commercial emails that contain any false or misleading information in the subject line.
In rejecting Old Navy’s arguments, the Court wrote: “There is nothing absurd about holding defendants liable for violating the law, even if that law is specifically focused on the subject line of the e-mail and not its body. Conversely, it would be absurd for us to ignore the plain meaning of subsection (1)(b) simply because Old Navy would have to pay statutory penalties if it violated the law.”
Related news articles: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article304537371.html