Court Rejects Spam Lawsuit Against Shufersal, Orders Plaintiff to Pay NIS 60,000
Translated & summarized from Ice by baba
The Central District Court in Lod dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Shufersal, ruling that digital invoices with minimal advertising do not violate the "Spam Law." The court ordered the plaintiff, attorney Lior Haik, to pay Shufersal NIS 30,000 in legal costs. A similar lawsuit filed by Haik against Aloniel was also dismissed, resulting in an additional NIS 30,000 payment. The ruling has significant implications for the retail sector regarding digital communications.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Court ruled sending digital invoices with limited ads does not violate "Spam Law".
- Plaintiff Lior Haik ordered to pay Shufersal NIS 30,000 in legal costs.
- A similar lawsuit against Aloniel also dismissed, costing Haik another NIS 30,000.
- Decision has broad implications for retail and service sectors in Israel.
- Judge noted digital invoices are environmentally beneficial and encouraged.
- Plaintiff had been involved in 11 similar prior cases, mostly settled.
The Central District Court in Lod has dismissed a class-action lawsuit filed against the Shufersal retail group, which alleged violations of the "Spam Law." Judge Carmit Ben Eliezer ruled that sending a digital invoice with limited, service-related advertising content does not constitute a violation of the law, especially when a customer agrees to receive digital invoices. This decision has broad implications for the retail and service sectors, addressing an issue the court noted had not been directly settled in previous case law.
Shufersal was represented by attorneys Noam Halav and Kobi Bar On. The lawsuit was initiated by attorney Lior Haik following purchases at Shufersal's Be Pharm chain. Haik argued that after agreeing to receive invoices via SMS, marketing content was included at the bottom, inviting him to join the customer club. He contended this was an illegal "advertisement" sent without specific consent.
Judge Ben Eliezer sided with Shufersal, distinguishing between primarily promotional messages and those with a core service purpose. She determined the primary purpose of the message was to deliver the requested invoice, and the marketing component was secondary. The court emphasized that the transition to digital invoices is a positive policy, partly for environmental reasons. Furthermore, the judge stated that even if a violation were proven, the negligible harm to the plaintiff did not justify the public resources required for a class-action proceeding.
The ruling also noted that Haik had been involved in 11 similar prior applications, most of which ended in compensated withdrawals. In this case, the proceedings went to a judicial decision after evidence and summations were heard. The court ordered Haik to pay Shufersal NIS 30,000 in legal expenses and attorney fees.
In a parallel case, the same plaintiff filed a similar suit against Aloniel, the operator of McDonald's in Israel. This suit was also dismissed, with Haik ordered to pay Aloniel NIS 30,000 in expenses, bringing his total payment to NIS 60,000 across both cases. Separately, Shufersal, controlled by brothers Yossi and Shlomi Amir, recently secured a strategic advantage in the pharmacy market with the closure of a Super-Pharm flagship store in Haifa, which will be replaced by the 99th Be Pharm branch.