Online vacation home rental platform Airbnb has been hit with a class action lawsuit accusing it of unlawfully holding customer advance lease payments in interest-bearing escrow accounts. The suit alleges that this practice generates income for Airbnb and is in violation of California law.
The plaintiff, Jamie Edson, is represented by Zimmerman Reed LLP and allegedly filed the case on behalf of the general public. The lawsuit was filed March 11 in San Francisco County Superior Court.
The suit claims that Airbnb's conduct has resulted in out-of-pocket losses for customers who have transacted with the company.
Edson does not seek individual relief but aims to secure public injunctive relief to halt Airbnb's alleged unlawful practices. The plaintiffs are setting aside individual damages in a bid to prevent Airbnb from using the arbitration clause included in the user agreement to keep the matter out of court.
Instead they are seeking a court order directing Airbnb to begin holding customer payments in accounts that bear interest to the benefit of the customer, rather than Airbnb,
They are also seeking attorney fees.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Caleb Marker, Christopher Nagakawa, Flinn T. Milligan and Nare Kupelian, of the firm of Zimmerman Reed, of Los Angeles.