Richard Stanford v. Home Depot U.S.a, Inc.

Plaintiff Richard Stanford alleges that he purchased a hot water heater at a retail store of defendant Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. located in California. He asserts that he contracted with and paid defendant to have the heater installed and appropriate permits obtained, but that defendant failed to obtain the necessary permit and, contrary to the parties’ contract, charged him more for the permit than the local municipality actually charged. Plaintiff brought his action on behalf of a putative class of similarly situated California residents. After removing this case from state court, defendant raised a question of whether plaintiff lacked standing, which the district court resolved on summary judgment. On summary judgment, there was no genuine factual dispute that the alleged excess permit charge was refunded on the day after the purchase and that a permit was issued a few months after the installation and prior to plaintiff filing his lawsuit. Holding there was no evidence of any injury caused to plaintiff by a delay, the district court dismissed the case without prejudice for lack of standing.

On appeal, plaintiff contends his individual claim still existed because the inspection…