Defendant Succeeds On Second Attempt With a Section 230 Dismissal–Mealer v. GMAC

By Eric Goldman Mealer v. GMAC Mortgage LLC, 2011 WL 1103357 (D. Ariz. March 25, 2011) I previously blogged about this case a few weeks ago. Mealer claims that a GM employee, Kordella, bad-mouthed him in a comment on Mealer’s…

Court Rules That Instant Message Conversation Modified the Terms of a Written Contract — CX Digital v. Smoking Everywhere

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with a few comments from Eric] CX Digital Media, Inc. v. Smoking Everywhere, Inc., 09-62020-CIV-Altonga (S.D. Fl.; Mar. 23, 2011) As contract cases go, this one is interesting. It’s more than interesting, it’s awesome! The court…

Website Privacy Policy Supports Pseudonymous Poster’s Expectation of Privacy — Cornelius v. Deluca

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Cornelius v. Deluca, 10-Cv-027-BLW (D.Id.; Mar. 15, 2011) A district court judge in Idaho denied a request to unmask the identity of a pseudonymous forum poster. In support of its decision, the court looked to the…

Groupon Hit With Two Lanham Act Lawsuits, and One Takes Google Along for the Ride

By Eric Goldman Groupion, LLC v. Groupon, Inc., 3:11-cv-00870-EMC (N.D. Cal. complaint filed Feb. 24, 2011) San Francisco Comprehensive Tours, LLC v. Groupon, Inc., CV-1300 (N.D. Cal. complaint filed March 17, 2011) __________ A company doesn’t reach a purported $6B…

Another Advertiser Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Google–Woods v. Google

By Eric Goldman Woods v. Google Inc., 5:11-cv-01263-HRL (N.D. Cal. complaint filed March 15, 2011) Since Google settled its click fraud lawsuits in 2006 and the CLRB Hanson case in 2009, it’s been a little quiet on the advertiser-vs.-Google class…

Illinois Identity Theft Statute Partially Invalidated–People v. Madrigal

By Eric Goldman People v. Madrigal, 2011 WL 1074427 (Ill. March 24, 2011) Many state anti-identity theft laws are written very broadly. This loose drafting creates the possibility that they unintentionally restrict innocent–and indeed socially desirable–activity. Today’s case is a…

Yelp Beats “Implied Extortion”/”Pay-to-Play” Lawsuit in Round #1–Levitt v. Yelp

By Eric Goldman Levitt v. Yelp, 3:10-cv-01321-MHP (N.D. Cal. Mar. 22, 2011). See the motion to dismiss, the opposition and the reply. This ruling deals with the Second Amended Complaint. Levitt’s initial complaint. Cats & Dogs Animal Hospital’s first amended…

Photo Hosting Site Gets DMCA 512 Safe Harbor–Wolk v. Photobucket

By Eric Goldman Wolk v. Kodak Imaging Network, Inc., 2011 WL 940056 (S.D.N.Y. March 17, 2011) Wolk (is this her?) is a visual artist whose work was allegedly infringed on Photobucket. She sent some 512(c)(3) takedown notices to Photobucket, which…

Judge Rader Talk Recap

By Eric Goldman Last week, we had Chief Judge Rader of the Federal Circuit on campus for a lunchtime talk to a capacity crowd. Judge Rader is always an entertaining speaker, and he is typically more willing to publicly discuss…

Ninth Circuit Upholds Anti-SLAPP Ruling for Blogger/Griper–Sedgwick v. Delsman

By Eric Goldman Sedgwick Claims Management Services v. Delsman, 09-16809 (9th Cir. March 21, 2011). Delsman is a blogging griper about Sedgwick. He made some griping material that included cut-and-pasted headshots of Sedgwick’s managers. Sedgwick sued Delsman aggressively. Delsman got…