TripAdvisor’s “Dirtiest Hotels” List Isn’t Defamatory—Seaton v. TripAdvisor
Seaton v. TripAdvisor LLC, 2013 WL 4525870 (6th Cir. Aug. 28, 2013) TripAdvisor published a list of the “Dirtiest Hotels” based on users’ rankings, including some unflattering quotes from users’ reviews. One of the listed hotels sued TripAdvisor for defamation…
Telephone Consumer Protection Act Case Update – Summer 2013 Edition
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] There are a ton of TCPA cases out there. I don’t have the resources to track all of them, but here are a few that came up on my radar screen over the past few months….
App Stores Aren’t Liable For Third Party Apps–Evans v. HP (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Evans v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 2013 WL 4426359 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 15, 2013) Due to the growing importance of mobile devices, app stores are among the most powerful intermediaries in the Internet ecosystem. With great power comes great…
Supervisor’s Post-Termination Access of Employee’s Gmail Account May Violate ECPA – Lazette v. Kulmatycki
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] BYOD Meets SCA in E-Mail Privacy Case
Another Federal Court Rejects Service of Process via Facebook – Joe Hand Promotions v. Shepard
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Joe Hand Promotions v. Shepard, 4:12cv1728 SNLJ (E.D. Miss. Aug. 12, 2013) Earlier this month, I blogged about a federal court’s rejection of service of process via Facebook. (See “Federal Court Doesn’t ‘Like” Service of Process…
Blasting Your Landlord Online? Pick Your Words Wisely (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Bently Reserve L.P. v. Papaliolios, 2013 WL 3949029 (Cal. App. Ct. July 30, 2013) Few things in life are more irritating than a bad landlord. Typically tenants are trapped by their lease, so they are powerless to…
Employee’s Privacy Claim Based on Allegedly Improper Access to Facebook Post Fails — Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hosp.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hosp. Service Corp., 2013 WL 4436539 (D.N.J. Aug. 20, 2013). We previously blogged about a case where the court declined to dismiss claims brought against an employer for accessing one employee’s Facebook posts…
Another Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Fails–Allied Interstate v. Kimmel & Silverman
By Eric Goldman Allied Interstate LLC v. Kimmel & Silverman P.C., 2013 WL 4245987 (SDNY August 12, 2013) This opinion isn’t earth-shattering but it provides a useful illustration of what I’m seeing. The plaintiff is a debt collection service. The…
Another Judge Declines to Dismiss Claims Against Apple over App Privacy Practices — Pirozzi v. Apple
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Pirozzi v. Apple, Inc., 12-cv-01529-JST (N.D. Cal. Aug. 3, 2013) This is a lawsuit alleging that Apple allowed its app developers to improperly collect the personal information of users. The court previously granted Apple’s request to…
Another Spam Litigation Factory Unravels –- Beyond Systems v. Kraft
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Beyond Systems, Inc. v. Kraft Foods, Inc., PJM 08-409 (D.Md. Aug. 12, 2013). We keep blogging significant spam cases, but in recent years we’ve noted the decrease in spam litigation (perhaps owing to a shift in…