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…

Employee’s Twitter and Facebook Impersonation Claims Against Employer Move Forward — Maremont v. Fredman Design Group

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Maremont v. Susan Fredman Design Group, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26441 (N.D. Ill.; March 15, 2011) As alleged in the complaint, Fredman is a prominent interior designer who runs the Susan Fredman Design Group (SFDG). SFDG…

FTC Online Endorsement Guidelines Strike Again – FTC Dings Legacy Learning Over Allegedly Misleading Affiliate Reviews

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with some comments by Eric] In re Legacy Learning Systems, Inc., FTC File No. 102 3055 [FTC Release] [Complaint (pdf)] An FTC press release notes that the FTC settled with Legacy Learning over allegations that Legacy…

Intelius May be Liable for Deceptive Online Marketing Practices Based on Third Party Transaction at Checkout — Keithly v. Intelius

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Keithly v. Intelius, No. C09-1485RSL (W.D. Wash.; Feb. 08, 2011) A district court judge in Washington held that Intelius could potentially be held liable for allegedly deceptive marketing practices based on its making available third party…

Court Refuses to Set Aside Order Requiring Disclosure of Twitter Users’ IP Addresses

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with some comments by Eric] In re: sec. 2703(d) Order; 10GJ3793; Miscellaneous Case No. 1:11dm00003 (E.D. Va. March 11, 2011) [pdf] A federal magistrate judge refused to vacate a previously issued order granting the government’s request…

Social Search Services Duel Over “Post Post” Mark — Boathouse Group v. TigerLogic

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Boathouse Group v. TigerLogic Corp., 10-12125-NMG (D. Mass.; March 7, 2011) Background: Boathouse developed a “social media search and curation application” called POSTPOST which it launched at postpo.st in August 2010. Its application allows users to…

Debt Collection Text May Result in Liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act — Gutierrez v. Barclays Group

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Gutierrez v. Barclays Group, Case No. 10cv1012 DMS (BGS) (S.D. Cal.; Feb. 9, 2011) The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is a big stick. And it’s being wielded against debt collectors. Plaintiffs (a husband and wife) applied…

California Supreme Court Rules That a ZIP Code is Personal Identification Information — Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma, S178241 (Cal. Supreme Court; Feb. 10, 2011) Plaintiff made a purchase at Williams-Sonoma and when she went to pay, the cashier asked for plaintiff’s ZIP code. Thinking she was required to provide it…

Court Dismisses Class Action Against Spokeo for Lack of Standing — Robins v. Spokeo

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Robins v. Spokeo, 10-cv-05306 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 27, 2011) Spokeo is a website that bills itself as an aggregator of hard-to-find information about people. Robins filed a complaint against Spokeo for violation of the Fair Credit…

Court: Husband’s Access of Wife’s Email to Obtain Information for Divorce Proceeding is not Outrageous

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Miller v. Meyers, 09-cv-6103 (W.D. Ark.; Jan 21, 2011) This case presents another fact pattern involving an increasingly common twist to the modern divorce proceeding – someone surreptitiously accesses his or her spouse’s email and on-line…