A man has decided to turn a minor annoyance, getting a newspaper at your hotel room door and getting charged for it, into a class action lawsuit.

The basis of the complaint was when a 55-year old man stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn and saw a copy of USA Today outside his door the next morning. “He did not request a newspaper and assumed it had been placed there by hotel staff,” said the suit. He later got a 75-cent charge for the paper on his bill. In suing Hilton, he accused the hotel chain of hiding the fee in an “extremely small font which is difficult to notice or read” on the envelope the hotel room key goes into.

According to the suit, “The alleged consumer injury is substantial, causing millions of guests at defendant’s hotels to unwittingly part with money for a newspaper they did not request and reasonably believed was provided to them without charge.”

It’s over a piddly sum, but the case could have big implications if it becomes the impetus to sue other hotel chains, since many hotels do just the same thing.

Hilton guest makes federal case of 75-cent paper [SF Gate] (Thanks to Paul!)

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