Texas Supreme Court Says Amazon Isn’t the Seller of Marketplace Items It Fulfills–Amazon v McMillan
The Fifth Circuit certified the following question to the Texas Supreme Court: Under Texas products-liability law, is Amazon a “seller” of third-party products sold on Amazon’s website when Amazon does not hold title to the product but controls the process…
New Essay: “Regulating Internet Services by Size”
Jess Miers and I have published an essay called “Regulating Internet Services by Size,” part of a special CPI Antitrust Chronicle special issue on Section 230. Our essay does two main things. First, it explains different drafting choices for defining…
Domino Pizza’s Website Violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)–Robles v. Domino’s
This ruling follows up the precedent-setting 9th Circuit ruling from 2019, Robles v. Domino’s Pizza. The 9th Circuit held that the ADA applies to Domino’s website and app. The 9th Circuit remanded the case back to the district court to…
RedBubble Gets Another Favorable Ruling–YZ Productions v. RedBubble
Rebecca Zamolo appears to be a YouTuber/influencer who merchandises her brand in multiple ways. She claims that RedBubble users are infringing her IP and counterfeiting her offerings. The complaint includes many images showing the alleged infringements, such as: The court…
Want to Engage in Anti-Competitive Trademark Bullying? Second Circuit Says: Great, Have a Nice Day!–1-800 Contacts v. FTC
Starting in the mid-2000s, 1-800 Contacts sought to control how its competitors bought search engine advertising triggered by its (so-called) trademarks, a process I call competitive keyword advertising. To do this, 1-800 Contacts typically sued its competitors and then quickly…
Print Ad’s “Terms and Conditions” Don’t Create Binding Arbitration Clause–Soliman v. Subway
Subway ran a promotion offering deals if customers signed up for text messages. The stores displayed the following print ad: The language in the bottom right: Limited Time Only. Message and data rates may apply. Max10msgs/mo-Msgs may be autodialed from…
California Court Holds Amazon Strictly Liable for Marketplace Items Amazon Didn’t Fulfill–Loomis v. Amazon
This is another lawsuit over a fiery Chinese-manufactured hoverboard sold through Amazon’s marketplace. In Bolger v. Amazon from August 2020, a California appellate court held that Amazon was strictly liable for marketplace items it fulfilled, and Section 230 immunity didn’t…
Amazon Can’t Force Arbitration of Minors’ Privacy Lawsuit Over Alexa Recordings–BF v. Amazon
Minors allege that Amazon’s Alexa service improperly stores or utilizes their voiceprints. The district court denied Amazon’s request to force arbitration of the claims based on the fact that the plaintiffs, who were minors, were not signatories (or had not…
CCPA Data Breach Lawsuit Against Walmart Fails–Gardiner v. Walmart
This is a data breach lawsuit against Walmart in which plaintiff (on his own behalf and on behalf of a putative class) asserts that his data is being currently sold on the dark web. Plaintiff asserted the typical claims, but…
Massachusetts Supreme Court Says Turo Doesn’t Qualify for Section 230…Sometimes…–Massport v. Turo
Turo facilitates peer-to-peer car rentals. It provided an option for users to pickup/dropoff at Logan Airport, but Turo took the position that it wasn’t a car rental service pursuant to the applicable regulations. The airport authority (Massport) sued Turo and…