Is Washington’s Email Marketing Law the Next Big Target for the Plaintiffs’ Bar?

It’s a question we’ve been discussing with clients for months, and now it’s starting to look real: Is Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) becoming the next major class-action trend for plaintiffs’ attorneys?

Over the past six months, we’ve seen a noticeable uptick in lawsuits under CEMA, especially as creative plaintiffs’ lawyers find ways to challenge ordinary email marketing tactics. The law’s combination of statutory damages and its link to Washington’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA) make it an appealing new frontier for class actions.

Recent cases, like Harrington v. Vineyard Vines, LLC, No. 25-2-14683-9 SEA (Wash. Super. Ct. May 15, 2025), show how quickly routine marketing emails can create risk. The complaint targeted subject lines that allegedly overstated urgency or misrepresented the scope of a discount—issues most marketers would consider harmless. But in Washington, those claims can actually lead to major liability.

These lawsuits are part of a larger trend: marketing emails are being scrutinized not just for compliance with federal spam rules (CAN-SPAM) but for truthfulness under state consumer protection statutes.

CEMA prohibits sending commercial emails with false or misleading subject lines to Washington residents. It applies broadly to businesses that send emails to or from Washington, or when they “know or have reason to know” the recipient is located there.

Earlier this year, the Washington Supreme Court made the stakes clear: violating CEMA is a per se violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Act. That means plaintiffs don’t have to prove separate harm—just that the subject line was false or misleading.

In practice, this means:

• Subject lines must truthfully describe the offer, particularly for limited-time or minimum-spend promotions.

• Businesses should make reasonable efforts to determine whether recipients are in Washington, using tools like shipping or billing addresses, IP data, or account information.

Given how often companies send promotional emails, CEMA risks can’t be ignored. The law’s mix of strict liability, statutory damages, and a private right of action makes it a potent tool for the plaintiffs’ bar.

As we’ve been telling clients lately, CEMA is shaping up to be the “TCPA of email.” And like the TCPA, the best defense is proactive compliance.