• Chicago Sun-Times, Friday, March 4, 2011 12:07 PM

Deal-a-day leader Groupon has been hit with a potential class action lawsuit, which claim that it issues coupons with illegal expiration dates. As The Chicago Sun-Times reports, an unhappy customer claims he purchased a gift certificate through Groupon with an illegally deceptive expiration date, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court.

"Groupon and the retail partners state the gift certificates expire within months," reports SunTimes.com. "The suit claims the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act prohibits the sale of gift certificates with expiration dates of less than five years." Whether the lawsuit could threaten Groupon's business practices is not yet know. The company saw its revenue surge to $760 million last year from $33 million in 2009, but it faces still competition from a host of rivals, any of whom would be happily exploit such legal setback.

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