Skadden secured a victory before the California Supreme Court on behalf of client Priceline.com and its co-defendants, which are other online travel companies such as Expedia and Orbitz. In a unanimous decision, the court affirmed a ruling by the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District holding that an online travel company is not an operator of a hotel and therefore cannot be liable for the city of San Diego's transient occupancy tax on amounts the company charges for its online travel services in hotel room reservation transactions. The decision ends a decade of litigation with the city, which first filed its case in 2006.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates