Court Says CAN-SPAM Plaintiff Can’t Take Second Bite at the Apple — Melaleuca v. Hansen
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Melaleuca v Hansen, 10-cv-00553 (D. Idaho; Apr. 15, 2011) This is a case where Melaleuca – a large multi-level marketing company – asserted spam claims against Daryl Hansen. That’s probably a charitable way of putting it….
A Look at the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] The Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011 Senators McCain and Kerry recently introduced the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011. It will probably go through various iterations before being enacted, and its…
FTC Warns Debt Collector About Using Facebook to Contact Debtor
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In the Matter of Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C. (FTC Letter; Mar. 10, 2011) Debt collectors have gotten into trouble over the use of social media to contact debtors. (See “Judge Orders Creditor to Stay Off Debtor’s…
Judge Recognizes Loss of Value to PII as Basis of Standing for Data Breach Plaintiff — Claridge v. RockYou
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric] Claridge v. RockYou, 2011 WL 1361588 (N.D. Cal.; Apr. 11, 2011) RockYou is a developer and publisher of applications for use with Facebook, MySpace, hi5, and Bebo. RockYou’s applications allow users to…
Court Smacks Down Lawyer Who Tries to Enforce Copyright in 23 Word Email — Stern v. Does
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Stern v. Does, 09-cv-01986 (C.D. Cal.; Feb. 10, 2011) Professor Goldman mentioned this case in his quick links roundup, but I think it’s worth a standalone post. A lawyer sends an 23 word email to a…
Intelius Dodges a Bullet Over Allegedly Deceptive Online Marketing Practices — Hook v. Intelius
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Hook v. Intelius, 10-CV-239(MTT) (M.D. Ga.; Mar. 28, 1011) I mentioned a class action in Washington against Intelius over its online sales practices in a couple of weeks ago. (“Intelius May be Liable for Deceptive Online…
Claims that Emails were not Labeled as Ads and did not Disclose Tracking Preempted by CAN-SPAM — Martin v. CCH
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Martin v. CCH, 10-cv-3494 (N.D. Ill.; Mar. 24, 2011) Plaintiff received two emails from CCH, with the following subject lines: “Buy now pay Feb. 15” [and] “Offer extended – Buy now pay Feb. 15” Based on…
Court Denies Request for Discovery of Facebook and Twitter Account Information, Finding that the Request is a “Digital Fishing Expedition”
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Caraballo v. City of NY, Index No. 75535/08 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.; Mar. 4, 2011) Plaintiff suffered personal injuries “while performing work at 417 O’Gorman Avenue, also known as 45 Keegans Lane, on Staten Island.” Predictably, defendant…
N.D. Cal.: Facebook Posts are Electronic Mail Messages, Subject to CAN-SPAM — Facebook v. Maxbounty
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Facebook, Inc. v. Maxbounty, Inc., CV-10-4712-JF (N.D. Cal.; Mar. 28, 2011) The Northern District of California ruled that commercial posts to a Facebook user’s wall, news feed, and home page constitute “electronic mail messages” that are…
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…