(Under NYTL § 1139 and 20 NYCRR §§ 534.2 and 534.8 for Violations of § 526.5(c)(4))   (Violations of GBL § 349)    As relevant here, Costco’s coupon booklets were distributed in two different  standard formats before the beginning of the Class Period: (i) the pre-August 8, 2013 format; and  (ii) the format effective on and after August 8, 2013 until the beginning of the Class Period.    Beginning with the coupon booklet valid October 3-27, 2013, an “Instant  Savings” notation in small print was again included for many of the coupons immediately above  the “$[X] OFF” and any applicable quantity limit for the pictured product. However, unlike the  pre-August, 2013 format, there was no asterisked message below the “Instant Savings” notation  stating “See inside cover for terms and conditions.” An “Instant Savings” notation was not added  for the limited number of coupons that included a blue arrow pointing at the price and stating  “Book Or App Required,” or the “ONLINE-ONLY OFFER” coupons.     No other changes were made to the format of the coupon booklets prior to the  beginning of the Class Period. As with the August 8-September 1, 2013 coupon booklet, the  coupon booklets did not include any reference to “Manufacturer’s coupon” for the coupons that  were not “ONLINE-ONLY OFFERS,” and the coupon booklets did not include any statement  that “[t]he instant savings in this booklet are Manufacturers’ savings” for the coupons that  included an “Instant Savings” notation. And the coupons themselves did not show that they were  “manufacturers’ coupons” and that the reduced price was the result of a “manufacturer’s  reimbursement” to Costco.  B.  Costco’s Coupon Booklets During the Class Period    The Costco receipt issued to customers for warehouse purchases is produced in a  standard, computer generated, structured data format. Generally, for each item purchased, the  receipt includes a line that lists the assigned identifying item number, a brief textual description  of the product such as a name abbreviation, and the full price.    For taxable items, the receipt includes a letter code to the right of the price which  depends on the rate at which the Sales Tax is charged. For example, an “A” to the right of the  price indicates that Sales Tax is charged at the full rate imposed by New York—for items  including but not limited to household cleaning and paper products, home goods like sheets and  towels, and taxable beverages like beer and soft drinks. An “F” to the right of the price is  assigned to items of clothing, which if priced at less than $110 per item, are exempt from New  York State Sales Tax but may still be subject to county sales tax.    For items purchased involving coupon price reductions, the coupon number,  generally the notation “CPN/[Item number]” and the amount of the coupon’s price reduction are  listed on a line immediately below the line for the item whose price is reduced by that coupon.    Only by manually totaling the full price of all “A” taxable items on the receipt  and applying the stated sales tax rate shown on the receipt can customers determine that Costco  has charged Sales Tax on the full price rather than the reduced price of purchased items  involving the coupons. And even then, the customers would have to subtract the total coupon- related price reductions for all “A” taxable items to calculate the amount of Costco’s Sales Tax  liability that Costco has illegally charged the customers on the full price rather than the reduced  price of their coupon-related warehouse purchases subject to Sales Tax, and Costco’s liability for  Sales Tax under § 526.5(c)(4) that it has illegally shifted its to its New York customers. By  contrast, all of this information and the related computations for all New York customers can be  derived from the structured data that resides and is maintained in Costco’s computer systems.   Plaintiff brings this action, individually and as a class action under Fed. R. Civ. P.  23(a) and (b)(3), on behalf of the following class:  All Costco customers who, for the period beginning three years prior to the  commencement of this action and continuing up to and including the present (the  “Class Period”), paid New York State Sales Tax to Costco for their purchases at  Costco’s New York warehouses on the full price rather than the reduced price of  taxable items when the price reduction was based on a coupon issued by Costco in  its monthly coupon booklet (the “Class”). Excluded from the Class are Costco and  Costco’s directors, officers, parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and successors.    Plaintiff and the Class satisfy the requirements for class certification under Fed.  R. Civ. P. 23(a) and 23(b)(3).    The members of the Class are so numerous that joinder of all members is  impracticable, as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(1). Although the number of members of the  Class is not precisely known to Plaintiff at this time and can be determined only from appropriate  discovery, it is reasonably estimated based on the 18 Costco warehouses in New York State and  the average number of members and cardholders per warehouse worldwide as disclosed in  Costco’s Form 10-K that the Class includes many hundreds of thousands and probably in excess  of one million members.     Plaintiff will fairly and adequately represent and protect the interests of the Class,  as required under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(4). Plaintiff has no interests antagonistic to or in conflict  with the Class, and Plaintiff has retained competent counsel with extensive experience in  consumer and other types of class actions involving, among other things, deceptive consumer  acts and practices regarding taxes under the New York Tax Law, to further ensure the protection  of those interests and who intends to prosecute this action vigorously.    Plaintiff realleges and reincorporates each and every allegation in the preceding  paragraphs of this Complaint as if set forth verbatim.    Costco has violated § 526.5(c)(4) by charging and collecting from Plaintiff and  the Class Sales Tax for their purchases at Costco’s New York warehouses on the full price rather  than the reduced price of taxable items when the price reduction was based on a coupon issued  by Costco in its monthly coupon booklet, thereby illegally shifting its liability for Sales Tax on  the difference between the full price and the reduced price to Plaintiff and the Class.    Plaintiff and the Class have been injured by Costco’s illegal Sales Tax practices.    Costco is liable for, and should be required to repay to Plaintiff and the Class, the  Sales Tax that Costco has illegally shifted to and collected from them, in an amount to be  determined at trial.   Plaintiff realleges and reincorporates each and every allegation in the preceding  paragraphs of this Complaint as if set forth verbatim.    In determining what types of conduct may be deceptive practices under GBL §  349, the courts of New York have applied an objective standard which asks whether the  “representation or omission [is] likely to mislead a reasonable consumer acting reasonably under  the circumstances,” while taking into account not only the impact on the “average consumer” but  also on “the vast multitude which the statutes were enacted to safeguard ... including the  ignorant, the unthinking and the credulous who, in making purchases, do not stop to analyze but  are governed by appearances and general impressions.”    Costco’s Sales Tax practices described in this Complaint constitute deceptive acts  or practices in the conduct of business, trade or commerce or in the furnishing of services in this  State which affects the public interest under GBL § 349.    Plaintiff and the Class have been injured by Costco’s conduct.    Additionally, because Costco has willfully or knowingly violated § 349, Plaintiff  and the Class each are entitled to recover an amount not to exceed three times their actual  damages up to $1,000.  I.  Costco’s Monthly Coupon Booklets And Coupons During The Class Period Do Not  Indicate That The Coupons Are “Manufacturers’ Coupons,” And Do Not Disclose  That The Reduced Price Is The Result Of A “Manufacturer’s Reimbursement” To  Costco  