Lawsuit Against Google for Putting Search Queries in Referral URLs Moves Forward – Gaos v. Google
By Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric Gaos v. Google, 5:10-CV 4809 (N.D. Cal.; Mar. 29, 2012) Gaos sued Google based on the theory that: (1) Google allows website owners (and third parties) to see what search terms a user…
What Do Soymilk and Nutella Have to Do With an Online Harassment Case?–Taylor v. Texas
By Eric Goldman Taylor v. State, 2012 WL 955383 (Tex. App. Ct. March 22, 2012) In service of you, the reader, I read a lot of cases to find the ones worth blogging. Inevitably, some of those cases are gross….
Facebook Posts Complaining About Supervisor Conduct do Not Support Retaliation Claim – DeBord v. Mercy Health System
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] DeBord v. Mercy Health System of Kansas, Inc., 10-4055-SAC (D. Kan.; Mar. 20, 2012) DeBord worked in Mercy Health Systems’ radiology department for approximately five years. She had a supervisor (Weaver) who the court describes as…
Lawsuit Against Avvo for Lawyer’s Profile Dismissed as SLAPP–Davis v. Avvo
By Eric Goldman Davis v. Avvo, 2:11-cv-01571-RSM (W.D. Wash. March 28, 2012). Avvo’s post when the lawsuit was initially filed. Florida lawyer Larry Joe Davis, Jr. claimed that his Avvo profile misrepresented his practice. He sued Avvo in Florida for…
Emailing the URL of an Allegedly Defamatory Post Immunized by 47 USC 230–Shrader v. Biddinger
By Eric Goldman Shrader v. Biddinger, 2012 WL 976032 (D. Colo. February 17, 2012). That ruling is the magistrate’s report. The judge adopted the magistrate report verbatim last week. The initial complaint. This case also produced an interesting 10th Circuit…
Qwest Gets Mixed Rulings on Contract Arbitration Issue—Grosvenor v. Qwest & Vernon v. Qwest
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] I recently blogged about Kwan v. Clearwire, which involved Clearwire’s efforts to force arbitration of a consumer dispute. The court in that case looked at Clearwire’s contracting practices and made an initial ruling that customers could…
No Breach of Contract Claim from Mid-Stream Change of WSJ Online Pricing – Lebowitz v. Dow Jones
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Lebowitz v. Dow Jones & Co., 06 Civ. 2198 (MGC) (S.D.N.Y.; Mar. 12, 2012) Dow Jones operates WSJ Online. Historically, it offered WSJ Online subscribers access to WSJ Online and Barron’s Online. At some point, Dow…
Trademark Lawsuit Over Website Text Comparing Products Baffles the Judge–AR Pillow v. Cottrell
By Eric Goldman AR Pillow Inc. v. Cottrell, 2012 WL 868109 (W.D.Wash. March 13, 2012). The complaint. Every time I read an opinion like this, a little piece of me dies. This is a ridiculously easy case, yet somehow it…
Jan.-Feb. 2012 Quick Links, Part 6 (Privacy and more)
By Eric Goldman Privacy It was a really busy two months for privacy, and I’m sorry I didn’t get to grok a number of these developments in more detail! * State AGs are unhappy with Google’s privacy integration of its…