Kawa v. Wakefern Food Corp. Shoprite Supermarkets, Inc.

24 N.J. Tax 39
CourtNew Jersey Tax Court
DecidedApril 3, 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 24 N.J. Tax 39 (Kawa v. Wakefern Food Corp. Shoprite Supermarkets, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kawa v. Wakefern Food Corp. Shoprite Supermarkets, Inc., 24 N.J. Tax 39 (N.J. Super. Ct. 2008).

Opinion

MENYUK, J.T.C.

This matter comes before the court on a motion made in lieu of answer pursuant to ll. 4:6—2(e), to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The specific issue raised by the motion is whether a claim made pursuant to the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act may be maintained against a vendor who is alleged to have collected more sales tax than is required by the Sales and Use Tax Act.

The complaint, filed as a class action, alleges that the plaintiff made several purchases from the defendant supermarkets during the period 2002 through 2005, and that defendants overcharged the amount of sales tax that was due on the purchases. The overcharges are said to have resulted from defendants’ computation of sales tax based on the regular price of the items purchased rather than on the reduced or discounted sale prices actually charged for the items, particularly in transactions where the plaintiff used store coupons or used a shopper’s club card issued by the supermarket. The complaint alleges violations of the Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 to -20, and also alleges breach of fiduciary duty, common law fraud, and negligent taxation.

Defendants Wakefern Food Corporation (“Wakefern”), Shoprite Supermarkets, Inc. (“Shoprite”), and Foodarama Supermarkets, [42]*42Inc. (“Foodarama”),1 move to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the plaintiffs exclusive remedy is to seek a refund of the overpaid tax from the Division, of Taxation as provided by the Sales and Use Tax Act, N.J.S.A. 54:32B-1 to -29, the State Uniform Tax Procedure Law, N.J.S.A. 54:48-1 to 54:53-18, and the regulations promulgated under those statutes. The defendants further contend that the Consumer Fraud Act remedy sought by the plaintiff directly conflicts with the design of the tax statutes enacted by the Legislature for the refund of overpaid sales tax and cannot be maintained as a matter of law. Defendants finally assert that because of the exclusive statutory scheme created by the Legislature for the refund of overpaid sales taxes, plaintiffs tort claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and negligent taxation are also precluded and must be dismissed. For the following x’easons, the defendants’ motion is granted.

I. Procedural History

The complaint and the motion to dismiss were originally filed in the Law Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County, and were subsequently transferred to the Tax Court by order entered October 27, 2006, because the complaint and the motion raise issues as to which expertise in matters involving taxation is desirable. See N.J.S.A. 2B:13-2(b) (setting forth the jurisdiction of the Tax Court over such matters); R. 4:3-4(a) (providing for transfer of actions from the Superior Court to the Tax Court).

The motion was originally brought as a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Defendants later filed the affidavits of corporate officers of defendants Wakefern, Shoprite, and Foodarama, each of whom had responsibility for the collection of sales tax and remittance of the tax to the State of New Jersey (the “State”). The substance [43]*43of the affidavits was that each of those defendants routinely remitted all sales tax collected in the normal course of operations to the State as required by statute and by regulations promulgated by the New Jersey Division of Taxation. Plaintiff did not submit any material in opposition, and at oral argument, plaintiffs counsel conceded that, for purposes of the motion, the facts set forth in the affidavits were true.

Rule 4:6-2 provides that when matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion is to be treated as one for summary judgment. The standard for decision, then, is that the court “must view the facts in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, and, if the competent evidential materials, when viewed in that light, present material issues of disputed fact, summary judgment must be denied.” Lederman v. Prudential Life Ins. Co. of Am. 385 N.J.Super. 324, 337, 897 A.2d 373 (App.Div.) (citing Brill v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 142 N.J. 520, 540, 666 A.2d 146 (1995)), certif. denied, 188 N.J. 353, 907 A.2d 1013 (2006). As the case is presented by the parties on this motion, there are no material issues of fact in dispute, and the only issues presented to the court for decision are issues of law. The matter is therefore ripe for summary judgment. R. 4:46-2(c).

II. The Statutory Provisions

The Consumer Fraud Act makes it an unlawful practice to use “any unconscionable commercial practice, deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, or the knowing, concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact with intent that others rely upon such concealment, suppression or omission, in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise....” N.J.S.A 56:8-2. The Consumer Fraud Act not only protects consumers from “sharp” business practices and dealings, but also from unfair practices even when the merchant acts in good faith. Cox v. Sears Roebuck & Co., 138 N.J. 2, 15-16, 647 A.2d 454 (1994).

The Division of Taxation has promulgated a regulation concerning the taxability of purchases where the purchaser presents a [44]*44coupon entitling the purchaser to a discount. N.J.A.C. 18:24-1.4(f). The regulation provides that when the coupon is a “store” coupon for which the vendor receives no reimbursement from the manufacturer for the discount, the vendor collects tax from the customer on the discounted price of the item only, and not on the price without the discount. Ibid. In her complaint, plaintiff also cites a publication of the Division of Taxation, Publication ANJ-9, entitled “Coupons, Discounts & New Jersey Sales Tax,”2 which provides:

Whenever a taxable item is purchased “on sale” and no coupon is required for the discount, sales tax is due only on the discounted price____
When a store or manufacturer offers a taxable item free with no coupon required, sales tax should not be charged on the free item____
Often, supermarkets issue customers a store card which can be used to obtain discounts on certain items. Discounts obtained through such cards are treated the same as discounts with store coupons. Thus, sales tax is due on the discounted amount.
[ANJ-9 at 1 (rev. 9/06) (emphasis added).]

Most of the transactions set forth in the complaint involve tax charged on the full price of items purchased at a discount through the use of a store card. In at least one instance, plaintiff availed herself of a store policy that guaranteed the accuracy of its optical price scanners by giving a customer a free item if it scanned higher than the shelf unit price label.

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Related

Kawa v. Wakefern Food Corp. Shoprite Supermarkets, Inc.
24 N.J. Tax 444 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
24 N.J. Tax 39, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kawa-v-wakefern-food-corp-shoprite-supermarkets-inc-njtaxct-2008.