Courts Allows Text Spam Class Action Against Voxer, a Cell Phone Walkie-Talkie App — Hickey v. Voxernet
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Hickey v. Voxernet, C12-373 MJP (W.D. Wash.; Aug 13, 2012) Voxer is an app that turns your cell phone into a walkie-talkie. Plaintiff sued on his own behalf and on behalf of a putative class, alleging…
Fight Over Access to Log-in Credentials for Blog Does not Trigger Copyright Preemption – Insynq v. Mann
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments by Eric] Insynq, Inc. v. Mann, 3:12-cv-05464 RBL (W.D. Wash.; Aug. 29, 2012) Insynq is an application service provider that “provides virtual desktops and remotely hosts applications for accountants and small business owners.” Mann…
Lawyer Who Advised Brother-in-Law Regarding the Use of Spyware on His Wife Disqualified in Ensuing Privacy Dispute — Zang v. Zang
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Zang v. Zang, 11-cv-00884 (S.D. Ohio; Aug. 30, 2012) This is another case involving surreptitious monitoring in the context of a divorce. I’ve half-jokingly mentioned that people who deploy monitoring or tracking software should seek the…
Barnes & Noble’s Online Contract Formation Process Fails –Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble, 12-cv-0812-JST (RNBx) (C.D. Cal.; Aug. 28, 2012) Plaintiff tried to purchase an HP “TouchPad” tablet that was on sale because the model was being discontinued by HP. According to plaintiff, he…
Family Court Says Facebook Photos of Grow Operation Wrongly Admitted in Termination Proceeding – In re A.D.W., et al.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re A.D.W., A.L.W., and X.M.M., No 2-648 / 12-1060 (Iowa Ct. App.; Aug. 8, 2012) [pdf] This is an action to terminate parentage. The father and mother have a long and difficult history dealing with…
Stored Communications Act Does Not Bar Discovery of Employee Phone Records–Mintz v. Bartelstein Assocs.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Mintz v. Bartelstein & Assocs, CV 12 02554 SVW (SSx) (Aug. 14, 2012) Mintz is a sports agent who represents among others, some NBA players. He worked for Bartelstein & Associates for 11 years. After leaving…
Sixth Circuit Affirms Conviction for Threat Posted to YouTube – US v. Jeffries
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with a comment from Eric] US v. Jeffries, 2012 WL 3641639 (6th Cir.; Aug. 27, 2012) We blogged previously about US v. Jeffries, where the district court declined to dismiss an indictment for posting an allegedly…
Virtual (SuperPoke!) Pet Owners Must Arbitrate Their Claims Against Google and Slide — Abreu v. Slide
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Abreu v. Slide, Inc., 12 0042 WHA (N.D. Cal.; July 12, 2012) This is a motion to compel arbitration filed by Google and Slide, the developer of SuperPoke! Pets. As mentioned by Eric in this initial…
Online Marketplace Not Liable to Buyer for Aborted Private Sale of Facebook Shares — Facie Libre Associates v. SecondMarket Holdings
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Facie Libre Associates v. SecondMarket Holdings, 2012 N.Y. Misc. Lexis 3914; 2012 NY Slip Op 51545U (Supreme Court of NY; Aug 10, 2012) SecondMarket operates an “online marketplace website” where shares of privately held companies are…
Judge Seeborg Rejects Sponsored Stories Settlement For Now — Fraley v. Facebook
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Fraley v. Facebook, C 11-1726 RS (N.D. Cal.; Aug 17, 2012) We’ve covered the Facebook Sponsored Stories litigation before. It’s a putative class action arguing that Facebook improperly used the likeness and personality rights of its…