Facebook Privacy Class Action Filed by Lanier Firm Voluntarily Dismissed — Melkonian v. Facebook
[Post by Venkat] Melkonian v. Facebook, Orange County Superior Court Case No. 30-2009-00293755-CU-BT-CJC [complaint] In August of last year, prominent plaintiffs’ lawyer Mark Lanier filed a privacy lawsuit against Facebook on behalf of a group of plaintiffs. [WSJ Law blog]…
Another Court Finds that TCPA Applies to Text Messages — Lozano v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
[Post by Venkat] Lozano v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Case No. Civ. 09-cv-6344 (N.D. Ill) [scribd] A court in Illinois rejected a motion to dismiss filed by defendants in a class action brought on behalf of plaintiffs who received…
Craigslist Wins $1.3M Default Judgment Against Autoposting Facilitator — craigslist v. Naturemarket
[Post by Venkat] craigslist, Inc. v. Naturemarket, Inc., Case No. C 08-05065 PJH (MEJ) (N.D. Cal. March 5, 2010) [scribd] (report and recommendation adopted on February 5, 2010) Craigslist obtained a 1.3 million dollar default judgment against defendants Naturemarket, Inc….
Plaintiff Wins $7,000 Following Bench Trial on Claims Under California Anti-Spam Statute — Balsam v. Trancos
[Post by Venkat] Balsam v. Trancos, Inc., Cal Sup. Ct. Case No. (Civ.) 471791; March 10, 2010 [scribd] Although spam lawsuits have not gone particularly well for individual (non-ISP) plaintiffs, Dan Balsam recently took a case to trial in San…
Beacon Class Action Settlement Approved — Lane v. Facebook
[Post by Venkat] Lane v. Facebook (Case No. 09-3845 RS; March 17, 2010) [scribd link] Judge Seeborg yesterday issued an order approving the class settlement in Lane v. Facebook, the class action lawsuit arising out of Facebook’s Beacon program. Background:…
Eighth Circuit: No Derivative Liability Under Iowa Spam Statute — Kramer v. Bartok
[Post by Venkat] Kramer v. Bartok, Case No. 08-3841 (8th Cir. Feb. 19, 2010) (scribd link). The Eighth Circuit recently reversed an award of $236 million in damages against a spam defendant based on a theory of secondary liability. The…
Ninth Circuit: Creditor Can Execute Against Domain Name Where Registry is Located — Office Depot v. Zuccarini
[Post by Venkat] The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling in Office Depot v. Zuccarini [Scribd link], agreeing that a creditor may levy against a domain name in the jurisdiction where the domain name registry is located. The decision…
Court Finds that SMS Spam Messages are Subject to the TCPA and Rejects First Amendment Defense — Abbas v. Selling Source, LLC
[Post by Venkat] Abbas v. Selling Source, LLC, Case no. 09 CV 3413 (N.D. Ill.; Dec. 14, 2009). I didn’t think there was much dispute as to whether SMS spam falls under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, but Judge Gottschall’s…
Online Commenter Did Not Waive Right to Anonymity by Agreeing to News Website’s Privacy Policy — Sedersten v. Taylor
[Post by Venkat] Sedersten v. Taylor, 2009 U.S. Dist LEXIS 114525 (Case No. 09-3031-CV-S-GAF) (W.D. Mo. Dec. 9. 2009). A Missouri district judge rejected a plaintiff’s attempt to unmask an online commenter based in part on the argument that language…
Court Rejects Computer Fraud & Abuse Act Claim Based on Unsolicited Text Messages–Czech v. Wall Street on Demand
[Post by Venkat] Czech v. Wall Street on Demand, Inc., No. 09-180 (DWF/RLE) (Dec. 8, 2009). A Minnesota district judge rejected claims brought under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act based on the receipt of unsolicited text messages. There’s not…